Newsletter about the City Council meeting of December 21, 2010 - Addendum to Decommission and Permanently Secure Ivey and Ridgeview Pools

Approval , George Ivey and Ridgeview to Alleviate Existing Safety Concerns and Liability Issues - Upon a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission, City Council recently decided that the City should pursue alternative avenues of aquatic activities. Staff now recommends that the City take the appropriate action to remedy the existing safety concerns and liability issues associated with these two vacated pools by decommissioning and permanently securing them. Parks and Recreation staff and Public Services staff have worked together to develop a plan to permanently remedy all safety concerns and liability issues associated with these pools. This work will include the removal of pool infrastructure and filling in the ensuing void. All work will be performed inhouse, with each pool taking approximately one week for completion.

Mayor Pro Tempore Alderman Brad Lail lays the ground rules for Public Address of Council and City Manager Mick Berry gives the reasons for decommissioning the pools. Karen Hoyle addresses Council about City officials dividing the city.



Walter Witherspoon - I'm sick of it! The people need to work on solutions and not put trust and faith in the council. The council is not listening. Why have the surveys and charrettes, if you aren't going to follow through? What about the rule of law. This was not one of the six options. This is a new agenda.



Jimmy Davis - A summary of how we got to where we are now. The pools weren't maintained and the council is going against their own words and actions.



Larry Pope - The city has not lived up to it's commitments. If you won't listen to the taxpayers, then you need to resign. There are a lot of conflicts of interest on this council. Larry raises cain at the 4:19 mark. Sam Hunt gets sentimental about what the Ridgeview pool means to him. Thom Shell (Me) The race to the bottom. We aren't striving for excellence. When people show pride we take it away from them! We need to work together as a city.



Final Comments: Billy Sudderth about the cancellation and later movement of Kwanzaa from the Ridgeview Community Center. We are powerless. This should not have taken place. A Ms. McNeur (sp?) - Council member stated that she wasn't very smart if she threw her lot in with Ridgeview. Ridgeview and west Hickory are the two largest neighborhoods in Hickory and are the two poorest socio-economically. Patricia Wilson Johnson spoke about how the city has taken things away and not replaced it with anything. How can we be great, if our community isn't great. We want to bring people into the community, but first we need to take care of those here.

The Council voted Unanimously to approve the motion to Decommission and Permanently Secure Both Pools. Several people stormed out of council chambers shouting No Justice No Peace.






The Hound hopes that this is the wake-up call and education that people need to understand how our local government is working (or isn't). It is hard for me to believe that the good people of this community and the vast majority of those within local government can support this type of governance. I guess it is all about the paycheck. Will the regular people in this community ever have a say in how the city is governed, instead of this Boss Hogg crapfest!

My heart just cannot believe what my brain has taken in over the last several years. How can you run a government this way. I have been told by members of the Ridgeview community that no one contacted them to let them know that this issue was being worked on, much less decided upon. There is no way that this item should have ever been placed on the consent agenda. It shows that members in the Whitener building have a total lack of respect for the people in the less well-to-do sections of Hickory, but I am alright with this, because this lays it all out there for everyone to see. They believe the people of this city are their subjects.

Do you remember when the forces aligned on the Lowe's Home Improvement project issue. Alder Fox was vehemently opposed to the construction of that business, as was the Mayor in the beginning, and Alder Patton came to office because of the position that she took on that issue. Those political forces that aligned in that instance created a power struggle, which changed the makeup of the city council to where it is today. I am not pointing to this as a way of chastising anyone. I am pointing to this, because I want you to see that these sorts of forces of action do have consequences.`

People said that John Watts did not listen to the will of the people and he lost in a landslide, because people rallied around how that process formed and was executed. If John Watts had communicated with the public better about that issue, then he is probably still on council today. Many say that he turned a deaf ear towards concerned citizens, especially those from his ward. It does not matter, what we have seen in the subsequent years, and how that project has uplifted the area. In the end John Watts was right about that project and the positive effects it would have on the economic development of that area. What cost John Watts was the fact that he did not communicate well with the people of his ward or the people of the city of Hickory in general.

What comes around goes around. The people on the Council still have not learned that lesson. They refuse to listen to the people. It is a shame that the person who benefited most from that lesson seems to have no clue about this or has she forgotten? It is not only that the council refuses to listen to the people, because sometimes that is a necessity with leadership. The problem is that they have refused to communicate with the people over this issue. Who formed the charrettes and the surveys? Who directed city funds, and those supposedly sacred tax dollars, towards the implementation of these directives?

If I am the shareholder of a company that has wasted this sort of money on, and this much time on, a charade, then I would want everyone involved in this fiasco fired; no compromises, no ifs, no ands, no buts.... It is time that people express their loss of confidence in the leadership of this community's leaders, because there is none. They think the city's government is their toy to use and abuse as they see fit. This is not high school. This is not some kind of popularity contest. This is a results oriented business, and we have not seen any results for a long, long time.

What we're seeing is the race to the bottom with a City Manager, Mayor, and City Council with their foot to the floor board. They are always talking about "Quality of Life." Just whose quality of life are they referring to?

As I have shown you on this blog. We are ranked in the bottom 10% by just about every analytical survey done by national entities. The Gallup-Healthway survey that was released a couple of months ago ranked the Hickory Metro area with the lowest well being in the United States in most categories, that they studied. This study included 185 metropolitan areas throughout the nation. The Milken Institute ranked Hickory as the 197th best place to do business in the United States and Forbes magazine ranks the area as the 179th best place for business and careers. What does this say about what has been going on around here. Where is the sense of urgency?

It is not the average person who should be facing the consequences of this ineptitude. It is shameful to see the level of hubris related to our local governance and leadership (or lack there of). The people who should be facing the consequences are the people who have made the decisions that led us to this point. Yet, it is the poor people who keep getting less and less. We're told that the city is doing what it is supposed to do. The garbage is getting picked up, fires are being put out, and police are responding to calls. With this race to the bottom, how long will it be until our city leaders look to justify not providing city services to the South side of the tracks.

You say that is impossible. What if we got into a time machine and went back to 1995 and told the people of Ridgeview that by 2009 there would be no pool. This would have occurred after assurances several times in the early 90s that there would be an upgrade to the pool and/or a new pool was on the way. Would they not have thought this current situation was impossible then? I wouldn't put anything past what I have seen from this crew!

It is really getting old, and it is obvious that people just don't get it. We're always applying for some superfluous award like All-American city, Tennis Town USA, or something else that doesn't amount to a hill of beans. I don't care about plaques or trophies or photo ops. When we will know that the city is turning around is when one of these national surveys show us climbing the ladder and making real progress. These surveys lay a road map for what we need to do and number one on that list is to invest in your community's people.

The latest embarrassment of surveys was provided by Portfolio.com (Yeah, I knew about that one too). It ranks us as the 193rd out of 200 brainyist cities- Here is the PDF Link. Another notch in the belt. And the people at the top continue tinkling, because they won't admit that we need to invest in the people in our area in order to get out of this predicament, because that costs money. That is the Audacity of Ignorance. Cheap begets Cheap!

Let these pools serve as a reminder and a metaphor of the Old South style of culture that has brought us to this point, "As long as my clubs open, screw you. (Snap, Snap)Hey Johnny go fetch me another sweet tea."

Our city leaders don't want to work with anybody, unless it serves their personal interests. The people that used the pools and the kids, who would've had the opportunity to use those pools, will go by them every day and the story will be told, and the story will be spread. We all know that this is not over. This could have shown how a city can come together and do what is in the best interest for everyone from all walks of life. Instead this issue will continue to divide this community and those railroad tracks that run through the center of our city will continue to show the extreme disparity between the haves and have-nots in our community.

I really feel sorry to think of the legacy of the people who originally built Hickory. What was once a thriving and prosperous community will continue to head towards nothing unless we turn the corner very soon and it might already be too late. People who don't get it never will get it! No Justice, No Peace!

Stop the Demolitions of Our Pools - The Citizens for Equity in Government is sponsoring a Demonstration and Picketing at the City of Hickory’s Government Center 76 North Center Street, on Tuesday December 28,2010 from 7:30 – 9:30am. Please support our efforts.

Contact : Billy Sudderth (828-308-4669)


Why We Must Act! - Citizens for Equity in Government
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of November 16, 2010 - Addendum on the Hickory City PoolsCity Pools issue displays Local Officials' Myopic Views
REBUILDING & EMPOWERING FROM THE BOTTOM UP -- Citizens for Equity in Government
Citizens Of Ridgeview address the City Council about the City Pools Issue
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of July 20, 2010 - Addendum on the Hickory City PoolsMore than Pools
Hickory City Pools -- Told You So 8)
Continuing the Rant - The City of Hickory's Budget
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of June 15, 2010
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of May 4, 2010
HDR Editorial - Hickory council needs a member with vision
The City Council Candidate Forum Last Night - 10/29/2009 - (Audio Available)
From the Hickory Daily Record - Election issues discussed at forum

Who Rules America?

(Prologue) - The following information shows the disparity in income between the wealthiest sector of the U.S. Economy versus those in the bottom 80%. You need to understand how the Power structure works in this country. That is what has led to the growing disparity of income and subsequent loss of status of the regular citizens of this nation. This is the reason why no one follows the will of the American people. The bottom 80% have no influence over the direction of the country. Money Talks!

George William (Bill) Domhoff (Wikipedia) - (born August 6, 1936) is a research professor in psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His first book, Who Rules America?, was a controversial 1960s bestseller which argued that the United States is dominated by an elite ownership class both politically and economically.

He was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of George William and Helen S. (Cornet) Domhoff. He received a B.A. in Psychology at Duke University, a MA in psychology at Kent State University, and a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Miami.

In the early 1960s, Domhoff served as an assistant professor of psychology at Los Angeles State College. In 1965, he became an assistant professor at the University of California, Cowell College, Santa Cruz, where he is now professor of psychology and sociology.

Domhoff is the author of Who Rules America? (1st ed. 1967, most recent edition 2009) and many other well-known books in sociology and power structure research, as well as Finding Meaning in Dreams (1996) and The Scientific Study of Dreams (2003)

The Wealth Distribution - Wealth, Income, and Power - Updated in December 2010 - (Link to William Domhoff's website)



In the United States, wealth is highly concentrated in a relatively few hands. As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one's home), the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 42.7%. Table 1 and Figure 1 present further details drawn from the careful work of economist Edward N. Wolff at New York University (2010).

Table 1: Distribution of net worth and financial wealth in the United States, 1983-2007

	Total Net Worth
	Top 1 percent	- Next 19 percent	- Bottom 80 percent
1983	33.8%	47.5%	18.7%
1989	37.4%	46.2%	16.5%
1992	37.2%	46.6%	16.2%
1995	38.5%	45.4%	16.1%
1998	38.1%	45.3%	16.6%
2001	33.4%	51.0%	15.6%
2004	34.3%	50.3%	15.3%
2007	34.6%	50.5%	15.0%
	Financial Wealth
	Top 1 percent	- Next 19 percent	- Bottom 80 percent
1983	42.9%	48.4%	8.7%
1989	46.9%	46.5%	6.6%
1992	45.6%	46.7%	7.7%
1995	47.2%	45.9%	7.0%
1998	47.3%	43.6%	9.1%
2001	39.7%	51.5%	8.7%
2004	42.2%	50.3%	7.5%
2007	42.7%	50.3%	7.0%

Total assets are defined as the sum of: (1) the gross value of owner-occupied housing; (2) other real estate owned by the household; (3) cash and demand deposits; (4) time and savings deposits, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts; (5) government bonds, corporate bonds, foreign bonds, and other financial securities; (6) the cash surrender value of life insurance plans; (7) the cash surrender value of pension plans, including IRAs, Keogh, and 401(k) plans; (8) corporate stock and mutual funds; (9) net equity in unincorporated businesses; and (10) equity in trust funds.

Total liabilities are the sum of: (1) mortgage debt; (2) consumer debt, including auto loans; and (3) other debt. From Wolff (2004, 2007, & 2010).

December Rant - I can't believe I'm Channeling Donald Trump!

Hey Burr, Hey Hagan get off your @55e$ and make something happen. You say you want to create jobs. What are you going to do to bring jobs back to America? Who do you represent the Chinese and Wall Street or the people of North Carolina?

I can't believe I am in the position of supporting Donald Trump! Are we running Mexico or this country. Our country is not the force it used to be. It is no longer respected the way it used to be. Wilmington, Ohio; Newton, Iowa; Hickory, North Carolina and many, many more. Cities that used to thrive with manufacturing and entrepreneurship and you politicians have left the citizens hanging. You have brought this country to its knees.

I know that Senator Hagan is in the pockets of the banksters and Senator Burr has been bought by the Insurance industry. They both voted to reappoint the Goldman Sachs toady Ben Bernanke to Chairmanship of the Federal Reserve. These two have shown me no understanding of Common Sense Economics. I know they understand politics, but what about business and what is in the economic interests of the State of North Carolina.

Job Creation is the issue of the day. The problems are clear as the day is long. We need tariffs on these Third World Imports. We need to stop supporting these companies that have taken our jobs overseas.

I don't care if Nike is paying the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its coaches millions of dollars to be marketing prostitutes for their product. No State supported Universities should be outfitting their teams with goods made from Chinese Slave Labor or for that matter made in the Maquiladoras of Latin America. They should be wearing clothing made in the United States. Heck! North Carolina State University should be designing and manufacturing their own athletic equipment!

I want to ask you. Who do you think is going to provide you a better product. An employee that you take care of and invest in or someone with a metaphorical or virtual gun pointed at their head? What incentive do these people in the third world have to create a top notch product. It seems like workers are considered expendable these days. They don't even enter into the equation. That is wrong! We can't build communities like this.

Your eyes do not deceive you. Only the Wizards of Wall Street and their marketing guru, mind programmers have you convinced to the contrary. You buy an electronic gadget from China and it doesn't work. Shuck it in the garbage and we will send you a new one. Oh, that toy has lead paint, here's your money back. Now come buy some more. That lot of furniture you imported is shoddy. Burn it and we'll send some more. Oh, the dog food killed your dog -- Oops.

The multi-national companies doing all of this are treated as though they are above the law. They aren't held accountable to the extent American based small companies are. This has had a dire effect on our economy. I know that they will pull the Smoot-Hawley card out of the playbook. Folks, we were already in the depression in 1930 when this Tariff Act passed and at that time we were net exporters. All we have been asking for for the last 20 years is a level playing field!

We don't have free trade. We are getting ripped off for the interests of a few people on Wall Street and the oligarchs of other nations. We have wasted so much money over the last few years through so called stimulus plans that sent our money to foreign nations, because we don't produce anything. How was anyone expecting these stimulus plans to have any impact on our economy?

This has been criminal. It is fraud. Forget Julian Assange who is not even a U.S. citizen. He is a diversion. Are our foreign trade problems and diplomacy issues created from incompetence or is this treason? Probably a little of both.

I'm not saying that Donald Trump is the right man for the Presidency, but I will say that I am onboard with pushing this agenda forward. And if you aren't with us, then I need to hear some tangible reasons why.

You say you want to create jobs. HOW?
You say you want to rebuild the entrepreneurial spirit. What are we going to sell?
You say you want to help small business. Where's the proof? What does the past show?
Look at NAFTA, the WTO, GATT... Why are we creating incentives for businesses to leave our country?

You are either for us or against us!
THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!

Coming to America - Austerity

The reports below are the result of the economic squeeze put on citizens from Greece and Italy. Unemployment there is worse than here and the citizens are having guaranteed benefits cut, loss of unemployment benefits, and increases in already burdensome taxes. The governments are also cutting payrolls.

Does this not sound familiar? Do you really believe that the U.S. Government might not cut off Social Security payments? Do you really believe that the U.S. government won't cut off retired military pensions? Cutting off unemployment benefits for those who truly can't find work? Do you not think our government is capable of raising taxes drastically? If not, why not? The government has shown a drastic willingness to protect the interests of the bureaucracy over those of the people.

The images are dramatic and breathtaking, but you need to see this, because this is reality. Are you seeing this on America's nightly news? Why?



Violent protests as Greeks strike over austerity cuts

Bullish on Corruption - Bearish on the American People

In America Crime pays, while the American people turn their heads away from issues of importance and towards mindless pop culture. I will help those who are humble, but don't come trying to steal from me when it hits the fan. Remember how you laughed at those of us who warned you about this path. When we asked you to rise up, you told us to sit down!

I believe that about 1% of the people in our area care about what is going on. In the City of Hickory that would equate to 400 people. In Catawba County about 1,300. That is what I see from the numbers that I run. What will it take for people to wake up? It's going to be too late when they do!



Donald Trump - Taxes Should Remain as Low as Possible - Tax China - China is laughing at us!