Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Jay Adams - Candidate 96th NC House District - First Talk with Hal Row
I have known Jay Adams for several years now. He was a participant in the Future Economy Council and that was where I first formally met him. Jay is an idea guy. He is very approachable and easy to talk to and he is very knowledgeable about local property development. You see an ACRES sign, that is Jay Adams.
This is his interview on Hal Row this morning. He talks about the hot topics in relation to primary education and the medicare expansion issue. He talks about the uncertainty in education and says teachers want to teach. He is conditioned to identify economic opportunity. He wants to sell Hickory in Raleigh. He wants the expansion of Highway 16 to Charlotte to become a priority. Jay says there is so much (too much) hyperbole in Raleigh. You have to sit at the table to "hear it for real." He talks about his being the best candidate because he knows the area and he has the experience.
Jay wanted to make the point, "that he is the candidate that will return results creating jobs and expanding the economy, because he has actual experience doing it."
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Privatization can reduce the National Debt -- Harry Hipps
The $17 trillion and rising debt that we, as citizens of the USA have amassed is a mind boggling figure that is so large that most people can’t really relate to it. But the debt, along with the dysfunctional political system and the ideological divide we have today has nearly everyone worried about our future and what kind of country our kids and grand kids will have. I wish I had a buck for every time a heard phrases like: “We are saddling our grandkids with a debt that will make it hard for them to enjoy the lifestyle we enjoyed.” Well, spending is out of control, we are a divided nation, and there are some serious problems we need to deal with to reinvigorate our democracy and adapt to a fast changing world. But can I inject a bit of optimism here?
Rarely mentioned in the ongoing angst in the media is a simple, but overlooked fact - we have some assets! The average person has probably at some time sold some of the stuff that is cluttering up the house and garage. The garage is cleaner and easier to get around in. And a few bucks were put in the pocket. And this simple idea can work for the over sized garage that is our federal government.
According to Bob Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, in their recent book “The Fourth Revolution, The Global Race to Reinvent the State” selling public assets and businesses could virtually eliminate the debt. Amtrak lurches from crisis to crisis despite having some lucrative routes and could be sold to a private company that would probably figure out how to make it profitable. The feds own 900,000 buildings, some that are in some very expensive real estate markets and around 45,000 are unused or underused. The Bureau of Land Management has jurisdiction of around 260 million acres of land, and while no one would advocate selling our national parks, much of this land is agricultural or unused land with shale deposits that could contribute an estimated $14.5 trillion dollars to the economy by 2050. The government also has their hands in numerous businesses.
Recently, President Obama suggested selling the Tennessee Valley Authority but was immediately confronted by Republican politicians objecting to the move. One can only imagine the Gipper looking down from the Shining City on a Hill and wondering what the heck is going on here. We should seriously study whether selling the TVA as well as some other government agencies to private entities. Let them do what businesses do, try to find efficiencies and run them profitably. With the regulatory apparatus we have today the public’s interest can be managed without the cost inefficiencies that inevitably come with government run operations. And the revenue from the sale of public assets could shrink, if not eliminate that huge debt.
We Americans have a lot of work to do to retool our democracy for the modern era. The entitlement programs aren’t sustainable, health costs continually grow, and globalization and technology are both causing dislocations and offering new opportunities. The challenges are large and our dysfunctional system is slowing our response to them. Selling assets could change our fiscal situation dramatically, but would only be a temporary fix if we only use our decreasing debt burden to justify more out of control spending. But I wouldn’t write off the kids’ future just yet. There are answers if we can only find the will and the leadership.
Rarely mentioned in the ongoing angst in the media is a simple, but overlooked fact - we have some assets! The average person has probably at some time sold some of the stuff that is cluttering up the house and garage. The garage is cleaner and easier to get around in. And a few bucks were put in the pocket. And this simple idea can work for the over sized garage that is our federal government.
According to Bob Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, in their recent book “The Fourth Revolution, The Global Race to Reinvent the State” selling public assets and businesses could virtually eliminate the debt. Amtrak lurches from crisis to crisis despite having some lucrative routes and could be sold to a private company that would probably figure out how to make it profitable. The feds own 900,000 buildings, some that are in some very expensive real estate markets and around 45,000 are unused or underused. The Bureau of Land Management has jurisdiction of around 260 million acres of land, and while no one would advocate selling our national parks, much of this land is agricultural or unused land with shale deposits that could contribute an estimated $14.5 trillion dollars to the economy by 2050. The government also has their hands in numerous businesses.
Recently, President Obama suggested selling the Tennessee Valley Authority but was immediately confronted by Republican politicians objecting to the move. One can only imagine the Gipper looking down from the Shining City on a Hill and wondering what the heck is going on here. We should seriously study whether selling the TVA as well as some other government agencies to private entities. Let them do what businesses do, try to find efficiencies and run them profitably. With the regulatory apparatus we have today the public’s interest can be managed without the cost inefficiencies that inevitably come with government run operations. And the revenue from the sale of public assets could shrink, if not eliminate that huge debt.
We Americans have a lot of work to do to retool our democracy for the modern era. The entitlement programs aren’t sustainable, health costs continually grow, and globalization and technology are both causing dislocations and offering new opportunities. The challenges are large and our dysfunctional system is slowing our response to them. Selling assets could change our fiscal situation dramatically, but would only be a temporary fix if we only use our decreasing debt burden to justify more out of control spending. But I wouldn’t write off the kids’ future just yet. There are answers if we can only find the will and the leadership.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of September 16, 2014
I began video recording the City Council in 2012, because of my desire that the City do it on their own as any modern 21st century community began doing long ago. I had people tell me that they couldn't make it to the meetings, but they would like to see what is going on. I was also told by some council members that my summaries did not truly reflect the record, so having a video/audio recording cannot be misinterpreted.
So below is the City Council meeting. With each agenda item, you can click on the links and it will take you to that specific point in the meeting. You can always drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.
Thoughts about the Hickory City Council meeting - September 16, 2014
Agenda about the City Council meeting of September 16, 2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hound's Notes: Please utilize the Agenda and Thoughts links to get further details about this meeting. The Agenda link is a detailed program that comes out before the meeting. It is directly related to the Hickory Inc.'s Agenda that is put out at their website on the Friday before the meeting and I try to include notes about items of interest. I put out Thoughts about the meeting as soon as possible following the meeting. There you will get a general summation of what happened during the meeting and some commentary. Of course, the longer the duration of the meeting, the longer it takes to collect the information and thoughts. I'm not going to haphazardly throw the info out there.
(OK, I'm continuing my discussion to relate what this site and this Newsletter is all about. You can read the beginning in the Newsletter from September 2nd.)
The city erases their version of the meetings posted on Youtube, as soon as a new, successive meeting is posted on Youtube. They say the official minutes of the meeting are the ones transcribes by the clerk. We disagree. We believe that those recordings are official documents and there is no reason to take them down other than to make it harder for the public to assess what happened during meetings. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then audio and video with a 30 frame per second framerate is worth 1,800,000 words a minute and 108 million words an hour. In the name of real transparency, they should not be taking these meetings down.
People say what's the point. According to the numbers we see, not that many people are watching. I have found that and View count mechanisms are flawed and don't count the total number of people viewing the material. I have also found that people go back and watch the older videos later. The try and follow the thread of the events and the consistency related to the issue of interest they are researching. It is a lot easier to do that than to read a transcipt and easier to get a sense of what has taken place in relation to the issue.
As I've gotten older, I have learned to accept walking into a Lion's Den. There have been a lot of things that I haven't wanted to do over the years, but there was a calling to be there. I've gotten the evil eye more times than many of you have seen in a lifetime. Do you think I like it? No. But no one is going to tell me where I can and can't go when I have a right to be there. That's the way you should feel also.
(To be continued)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invocation by Rev. Whit Malone, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church
Special Presentations
A. Proclamation for National Rehabilitation Month to Maureen McMahon, Administrative - Director of Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, Frye Regional Medical Center
Persons Requesting to Be Heard - No persons requested to be heard
Consent Agenda - No items were removed from the Consent Agenda
New Business - Public Hearings:
1. Consideration of Text Amendment (TA) 14-02 to the City’s Land Development Code. Hound notes related to this subject are in the Thoughts link provided above.
New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Acceptance of Funds from the State of North Carolina for a Building Reuse Grant on Behalf of OHM Holdings for the Transportation Insight project at Lyerly Mill.
2. Approval of New Scoring Criteria for Considering Grant Proposal under the City’s Community Appearance and Landscape Grant Programs.
3. Adoption of a Resolution Approving the City of Hickory’s financing Terms for the Hickory Metro Convention Center Parking Deck.
General Comments - (From the Council)
Alderwoman Patton commented that Southern Desk would be demolished in the next few weeks, and the building at First Baptist is in the process of demolition. She commended Code Enforcement and other staff for the work that they had done over the years with Southern Desk. That is going to be a real boost to clean up that area.
Mayor Wright commented now we can talk about the progress all the way from Lenoir-Rhyne all the way to Longview. We are indeed making progress.
So below is the City Council meeting. With each agenda item, you can click on the links and it will take you to that specific point in the meeting. You can always drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.
Thoughts about the Hickory City Council meeting - September 16, 2014
Agenda about the City Council meeting of September 16, 2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hound's Notes: Please utilize the Agenda and Thoughts links to get further details about this meeting. The Agenda link is a detailed program that comes out before the meeting. It is directly related to the Hickory Inc.'s Agenda that is put out at their website on the Friday before the meeting and I try to include notes about items of interest. I put out Thoughts about the meeting as soon as possible following the meeting. There you will get a general summation of what happened during the meeting and some commentary. Of course, the longer the duration of the meeting, the longer it takes to collect the information and thoughts. I'm not going to haphazardly throw the info out there.
(OK, I'm continuing my discussion to relate what this site and this Newsletter is all about. You can read the beginning in the Newsletter from September 2nd.)
The city erases their version of the meetings posted on Youtube, as soon as a new, successive meeting is posted on Youtube. They say the official minutes of the meeting are the ones transcribes by the clerk. We disagree. We believe that those recordings are official documents and there is no reason to take them down other than to make it harder for the public to assess what happened during meetings. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then audio and video with a 30 frame per second framerate is worth 1,800,000 words a minute and 108 million words an hour. In the name of real transparency, they should not be taking these meetings down.
People say what's the point. According to the numbers we see, not that many people are watching. I have found that and View count mechanisms are flawed and don't count the total number of people viewing the material. I have also found that people go back and watch the older videos later. The try and follow the thread of the events and the consistency related to the issue of interest they are researching. It is a lot easier to do that than to read a transcipt and easier to get a sense of what has taken place in relation to the issue.
As I've gotten older, I have learned to accept walking into a Lion's Den. There have been a lot of things that I haven't wanted to do over the years, but there was a calling to be there. I've gotten the evil eye more times than many of you have seen in a lifetime. Do you think I like it? No. But no one is going to tell me where I can and can't go when I have a right to be there. That's the way you should feel also.
(To be continued)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invocation by Rev. Whit Malone, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church
Special Presentations
A. Proclamation for National Rehabilitation Month to Maureen McMahon, Administrative - Director of Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, Frye Regional Medical Center
Persons Requesting to Be Heard - No persons requested to be heard
Consent Agenda - No items were removed from the Consent Agenda
New Business - Public Hearings:
1. Consideration of Text Amendment (TA) 14-02 to the City’s Land Development Code. Hound notes related to this subject are in the Thoughts link provided above.
New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Acceptance of Funds from the State of North Carolina for a Building Reuse Grant on Behalf of OHM Holdings for the Transportation Insight project at Lyerly Mill.
2. Approval of New Scoring Criteria for Considering Grant Proposal under the City’s Community Appearance and Landscape Grant Programs.
Hound Notes: I think that Hickory Inc. has taken note of what I and others have said about the same people always receiving grants and they have seen where the system has been gamed. They have helped the system be gamed by creating the atmosphere where they use these grants as chips in a political poker game. As we have said all along, these grants should be promoted more and spread around better and towards people and projects that truly need the assistance. Let's hope this system moves us forward.
3. Adoption of a Resolution Approving the City of Hickory’s financing Terms for the Hickory Metro Convention Center Parking Deck.
General Comments - (From the Council)
Alderwoman Patton commented that Southern Desk would be demolished in the next few weeks, and the building at First Baptist is in the process of demolition. She commended Code Enforcement and other staff for the work that they had done over the years with Southern Desk. That is going to be a real boost to clean up that area.
Mayor Wright commented now we can talk about the progress all the way from Lenoir-Rhyne all the way to Longview. We are indeed making progress.
Friday, September 19, 2014
The Most And Least Educated Cities In America -- Hickory Metro 135 out of 150
The Most And Least Educated Cities In America - Forbes - September 16, 2014
Hound Notes: The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Area ranks number 135 out of 150 in this study on education. When one looks into the numbers cited, they see that we are number 143 out of 150 in educational attainment, but number 65 out of 150 in quality of education. It's the same story I have been pointing to since 2008. I have seen many times where people want to throw our school system under the bus, but we are actually a bit better than average when one looks at the numbers cited. Also think about those numbers being skewed down, because the parents of the children that populate our local school system are some of the least educated people in America.
2014’s Most and Least Educated Cities - Wallet Hub - Richie Bernardo
An explanation for the study:
What we are seeing is the Brain Drain. We educate the young people fairly well in this community, but our best and brightest leave because they don't see the opportunity to progress in this community. When we look at the numbers provided in this survey, what we see in our State, is that other cities fared very well in this study - Raleigh ranks number 2, Durham ranks number 3, Wilmington ranks number 37, Asheville ranks 40, Winston-Salem ranks 55, Charlotte ranks 73. On the lower end - Greensboro ranks 115, Fayetteville ranks 116, and we rank the lowest in North Carolina at 135.
Only 2 metro areas within 500 miles of Hickory (other than Hickory) rank in the bottom 20% of the 150 metros, when it comes to educational attainment. Those Metros are Greensboro, NC ranked at 122 (Overall rank 115) and Chattanooga, TN at 128 (Overall rank 140). Our Educational Quality is better than Charlotte's ranked at 89, Greensboro's at 88, and Fayetteville's at 95.
Hound Notes: Make of it what you will. This study lays out a case that I made several years ago. The problem is not that we don't educate our young people properly. We are educating our young people just fine. The problem is that they can't wait to get the hell out of here and go to Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington, or Asheville... and once they leave they aren't coming back. This community needs to learn how to think younger.
HDR Editorial - Give young people a chance to thrive - September 27, 2009 <<< Right at 5 years ago
Hound Notes: The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Area ranks number 135 out of 150 in this study on education. When one looks into the numbers cited, they see that we are number 143 out of 150 in educational attainment, but number 65 out of 150 in quality of education. It's the same story I have been pointing to since 2008. I have seen many times where people want to throw our school system under the bus, but we are actually a bit better than average when one looks at the numbers cited. Also think about those numbers being skewed down, because the parents of the children that populate our local school system are some of the least educated people in America.
2014’s Most and Least Educated Cities - Wallet Hub - Richie Bernardo
An explanation for the study:
A little more than a year ago, the Economic Policy Institute also released its report on the effects of education on state finances. The EPI’s findings suggested that college degrees are supremely important in helping to resuscitate weak economies. One way to strengthen states is to attract well-paying employers “by investing in education and increasing the number of well-educated workers.”
As the fall semester commences, WalletHub analyzed the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States to determine where the most educated Americans are choosing to settle. We examined each city across nine key metrics. Among the set are educational attainment, the percentage of workers with jobs in computer, engineering and science fields as well as the quality and size of each metro area’s universities.
What we are seeing is the Brain Drain. We educate the young people fairly well in this community, but our best and brightest leave because they don't see the opportunity to progress in this community. When we look at the numbers provided in this survey, what we see in our State, is that other cities fared very well in this study - Raleigh ranks number 2, Durham ranks number 3, Wilmington ranks number 37, Asheville ranks 40, Winston-Salem ranks 55, Charlotte ranks 73. On the lower end - Greensboro ranks 115, Fayetteville ranks 116, and we rank the lowest in North Carolina at 135.
Only 2 metro areas within 500 miles of Hickory (other than Hickory) rank in the bottom 20% of the 150 metros, when it comes to educational attainment. Those Metros are Greensboro, NC ranked at 122 (Overall rank 115) and Chattanooga, TN at 128 (Overall rank 140). Our Educational Quality is better than Charlotte's ranked at 89, Greensboro's at 88, and Fayetteville's at 95.
Hound Notes: Make of it what you will. This study lays out a case that I made several years ago. The problem is not that we don't educate our young people properly. We are educating our young people just fine. The problem is that they can't wait to get the hell out of here and go to Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington, or Asheville... and once they leave they aren't coming back. This community needs to learn how to think younger.
HDR Editorial - Give young people a chance to thrive - September 27, 2009 <<< Right at 5 years ago
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Thoughts about the Hickory City Council meeting - September 16, 2014
1) The Main issue of the night seemed to be the Public Hearing relating to a Text Amendments being proposed for the City’s Land Development Code. - The proposed amendments retains a business’s ability to utilize temporary out-of-doors sales, but limits such sales to properties where the businesses are located. The proposed amendments would make temporary sales an accessory use to the primary business located on a particular property. The Planning Commission considered the proposed amendments on August 27, 2014, and voted (5-2) to recommend to City Council approval of the proposed amendments.
Planning Director Brian Frazier read from the above Powerpoint slide. The proposed amendment takes into consideration temporary and seasonal sales, such as Halloween Pumpkins, Christmas Trees, and July 4th Fireworks. It will also have no effect on any Agricultural sales (exempt). This will not effect City approved events, such as the Farmer's market, Oktoberfest, etc. as long as you have a special events permit. There is also a proposed amendment to allow food trucks. Businesses having a temporary sale for their items will be fine. Circuses, Carnivals, etc. will be fine.
What will not be allowed/will be prohibited is a truck selling Black Velvet Elvis painting, furniture, carpets. Maybe they have permission from the property owner, but they aren't going to get permission from the city. If you have a privilege license and are in a structure, you are allowed to do what you want to do.
Alder Patton asked about the objections of the two people on the planning commission that voted against the proposed amendments. Mr. Frazier stated that they believed that this was anti-business and would have adverse effects on start-ups. One commissioner stated that MDI started as a fruit and vegetable stand. One mentioned the effects on the Mall, who have tent sells and the loss of rent. This will effect small business more than large business. Alderman Seaver asked about lemonade stands? Mr. Frazier stated that, 'It depends on what jurisdiction you are in and he will leave that to the Health Department.' Alderman Zagaroli asked about someone wanting to sell rugs and working with a property owner? Mr. Frazier said that would not be allowed. Alder Patton asked about enforcement? Mr. Frazier said that they do have a planning officer and if this happened during the week she is pretty responsive. There is a concern about weeks, because no one is on duty. Alderman Meisner and Alder Patton concurred that most of the time it is going to be on the weekend. Mayor Wright made a comment about "every once in a while' schedules maybe being altered.
Larry Pope objected to the amendments. His general reasoning was that private property owners have given permission for someone to use a portion of their property and they already pay taxes. The property owner is giving that person the ability to earn a living. It can also bring business into the business that has granted permission. He equated it to a school yard bully that wants to stop an individual from doing something that they have the right to do and they aren't breaking the law. The city does not own the property. He seeks a workable change or the ordinance should be left alone.
During the Council discussion, Alderman Meisner seemed to be worried about the Lails having a furniture store and having to pay a lot of taxes and having to compete against someone who would put furniture in a parking lot and not pay sales tax, privilege tax, or property tax. Alder Patton took the opposite view and spoke about this adversely effecting small business and start-ups. She went on to say that this should have been brought up in a work shop and not crammed in at the last minute. Meisner went on about people coming in and leaving and there are no guarantees that they are going to be around or guarantees on the product... Patton said they may be filling a need that other stores and establishments don't fill. Alderman Lail spoke of the fairness and equity issue. He talked about the visual impact... the visual scene and appropriateness for what they are trying to do as a city. These people want to be on key corridors. Mayor Wright talked about regulations that provide restrictions on how people use/misuse their property.
Alderman Lail gave an example of puppies being sold in a cage on the side of a road. Alder Patton stated that she called the police about that and took care of it today. She said that this wasn't enforceable.
The Council voted 6 to 1 (Alder Patton) to approve the amendments.
Hound Notes: Kudos to Alder Patton for being pro small business and middle class/working class on this issue. In typical fashion of late, we see the status quo from Aldermen Meisner and Lail protecting the big corporate retail businesses and property owners over the free enterprise of the the individual and what America was built on.
Like what I have seen from the Chamber of Commerce, these people haven't seen a tax or license that they don't support. They talk all day long about excessive regulation and then the first thing they do is run to local governments and lobby for more regulation. Including the Mayor, they have bemoaned the State legislature that has looked to rein in this very regulation (privilege licenses), because it has been having a negative impact on the small business individual. They can't seem to grasp it.
Alder Patton gets it right when she talks about some of the products that are provided by these temporary sales -- the sunglass salesman and she gave another example. You see sales such as these in Charlotte and other cities all the time, but oh no, "cain't be competin in Hickry."
Now, I'm not advocating someone be allowed to pull up in a van in a parking lot and start trying to sell things without the permission of the business/property owner. I'm not proposing that someone be allowed to walk down the street in a trench coat and sell fake Rolexes.
My issue is what I spoke of in the comments related to this issue on the Agenda article. Out at the Springs Road Food Lion, there are people that have a yard sale on Saturday at the top of the parking lot. They aren't in anyone's way and they aren't bothering anyone. These people are just trying to make a little side money in a stinky economy. I'm sure that if they didn't need the money, then they wouldn't be there on a Saturday. They are there for visibility, and which is better, them being there and people having access to what they are selling or people driving through a neighborhood. Oops, they'll wanna put a stop to that next.
There were also other Canards like the unfair competition versus the Lail's. People buying furniture in a parking lot aren't the same client base as those shopping in the Hickory Furniture Mart. And the Lail's aren't furniture retailers. They are property retailers. Someone isn't going to go to the Furniture Mart, because they can't buy a sofa in a parking lot. Then as for someone selling puppies on the side of a road, that is an animal control issue. I highly doubt that is legal in any form or fashion and if it is, then I would support an ordinance against that.
Lastly, if this isn't enforceable, then what are we doing here? More regulation to be arbitrarily enforced when some bigwig gets their drawers in a wad.
2) Cal Overby presented a scoring mechanism for Considering Grant Proposals under the City’s Community Appearance and Landscape Grant Programs. The scoring sheet was on a Powerpoint slide that I will need to reproduce in the newsletter. This is a good move and will keep the grants from being gamed going forward. There has been an issue of certain individuals receiving grants multiple times and monies running out quickly in the budgetary cycle. Hopefully these criteria will address those issues.
Planning Director Brian Frazier read from the above Powerpoint slide. The proposed amendment takes into consideration temporary and seasonal sales, such as Halloween Pumpkins, Christmas Trees, and July 4th Fireworks. It will also have no effect on any Agricultural sales (exempt). This will not effect City approved events, such as the Farmer's market, Oktoberfest, etc. as long as you have a special events permit. There is also a proposed amendment to allow food trucks. Businesses having a temporary sale for their items will be fine. Circuses, Carnivals, etc. will be fine.
What will not be allowed/will be prohibited is a truck selling Black Velvet Elvis painting, furniture, carpets. Maybe they have permission from the property owner, but they aren't going to get permission from the city. If you have a privilege license and are in a structure, you are allowed to do what you want to do.
Alder Patton asked about the objections of the two people on the planning commission that voted against the proposed amendments. Mr. Frazier stated that they believed that this was anti-business and would have adverse effects on start-ups. One commissioner stated that MDI started as a fruit and vegetable stand. One mentioned the effects on the Mall, who have tent sells and the loss of rent. This will effect small business more than large business. Alderman Seaver asked about lemonade stands? Mr. Frazier stated that, 'It depends on what jurisdiction you are in and he will leave that to the Health Department.' Alderman Zagaroli asked about someone wanting to sell rugs and working with a property owner? Mr. Frazier said that would not be allowed. Alder Patton asked about enforcement? Mr. Frazier said that they do have a planning officer and if this happened during the week she is pretty responsive. There is a concern about weeks, because no one is on duty. Alderman Meisner and Alder Patton concurred that most of the time it is going to be on the weekend. Mayor Wright made a comment about "every once in a while' schedules maybe being altered.
Larry Pope objected to the amendments. His general reasoning was that private property owners have given permission for someone to use a portion of their property and they already pay taxes. The property owner is giving that person the ability to earn a living. It can also bring business into the business that has granted permission. He equated it to a school yard bully that wants to stop an individual from doing something that they have the right to do and they aren't breaking the law. The city does not own the property. He seeks a workable change or the ordinance should be left alone.
During the Council discussion, Alderman Meisner seemed to be worried about the Lails having a furniture store and having to pay a lot of taxes and having to compete against someone who would put furniture in a parking lot and not pay sales tax, privilege tax, or property tax. Alder Patton took the opposite view and spoke about this adversely effecting small business and start-ups. She went on to say that this should have been brought up in a work shop and not crammed in at the last minute. Meisner went on about people coming in and leaving and there are no guarantees that they are going to be around or guarantees on the product... Patton said they may be filling a need that other stores and establishments don't fill. Alderman Lail spoke of the fairness and equity issue. He talked about the visual impact... the visual scene and appropriateness for what they are trying to do as a city. These people want to be on key corridors. Mayor Wright talked about regulations that provide restrictions on how people use/misuse their property.
Alderman Lail gave an example of puppies being sold in a cage on the side of a road. Alder Patton stated that she called the police about that and took care of it today. She said that this wasn't enforceable.
The Council voted 6 to 1 (Alder Patton) to approve the amendments.
Hound Notes: Kudos to Alder Patton for being pro small business and middle class/working class on this issue. In typical fashion of late, we see the status quo from Aldermen Meisner and Lail protecting the big corporate retail businesses and property owners over the free enterprise of the the individual and what America was built on.
Like what I have seen from the Chamber of Commerce, these people haven't seen a tax or license that they don't support. They talk all day long about excessive regulation and then the first thing they do is run to local governments and lobby for more regulation. Including the Mayor, they have bemoaned the State legislature that has looked to rein in this very regulation (privilege licenses), because it has been having a negative impact on the small business individual. They can't seem to grasp it.
Alder Patton gets it right when she talks about some of the products that are provided by these temporary sales -- the sunglass salesman and she gave another example. You see sales such as these in Charlotte and other cities all the time, but oh no, "cain't be competin in Hickry."
Now, I'm not advocating someone be allowed to pull up in a van in a parking lot and start trying to sell things without the permission of the business/property owner. I'm not proposing that someone be allowed to walk down the street in a trench coat and sell fake Rolexes.
My issue is what I spoke of in the comments related to this issue on the Agenda article. Out at the Springs Road Food Lion, there are people that have a yard sale on Saturday at the top of the parking lot. They aren't in anyone's way and they aren't bothering anyone. These people are just trying to make a little side money in a stinky economy. I'm sure that if they didn't need the money, then they wouldn't be there on a Saturday. They are there for visibility, and which is better, them being there and people having access to what they are selling or people driving through a neighborhood. Oops, they'll wanna put a stop to that next.
There were also other Canards like the unfair competition versus the Lail's. People buying furniture in a parking lot aren't the same client base as those shopping in the Hickory Furniture Mart. And the Lail's aren't furniture retailers. They are property retailers. Someone isn't going to go to the Furniture Mart, because they can't buy a sofa in a parking lot. Then as for someone selling puppies on the side of a road, that is an animal control issue. I highly doubt that is legal in any form or fashion and if it is, then I would support an ordinance against that.
Lastly, if this isn't enforceable, then what are we doing here? More regulation to be arbitrarily enforced when some bigwig gets their drawers in a wad.
2) Cal Overby presented a scoring mechanism for Considering Grant Proposals under the City’s Community Appearance and Landscape Grant Programs. The scoring sheet was on a Powerpoint slide that I will need to reproduce in the newsletter. This is a good move and will keep the grants from being gamed going forward. There has been an issue of certain individuals receiving grants multiple times and monies running out quickly in the budgetary cycle. Hopefully these criteria will address those issues.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)