C-O-N-S-E-Q-U-E-N-C-E-S

Consequence -

1. Something that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition. See Synonyms at effect.
2. The relation of a result to its cause.
3. A logical conclusion or inference.

Through these troubled times that we now live in, there is one thing that rings true. There seems to be no reasonable logic to the events taking place in this era. Common sense has gone out the window with our values. What has happened to the highly regarded values of Honesty, Integrity, Honor, and Loyalty? It used to be that these merits were held in high esteem and noble people desired these qualities of themselves and their leaders.

Now we live in a world built upon materialism. A world where might makes right, a world where no one stands up for righteousness, a world where righteousness and justice are looked upon as relative terms, and no person wants to be judged or held accountable.

This world of excuses and justification has led us to the precarious ledge that we now stand upon. Let's open our minds by looking at a few current events through the prism of the good and noble values that we should represent.

Bernard Lawrence (Bernie) Madoff is charged with running a Ponzi scheme that may have cost investors over $50 billion. People were impressed by the way this man carried himself and the lavish lifestyle that he led (and is still leading). He has already broken and flaunted the rules of his bail. He is still out on bond. Why?

Timothy Franz Geithner is President Obama's nominee for Secretary of the Treasury. It is a fact that he did not pay taxes owed and his excuses for doing so are less than believable. He also had employed an immigrant housekeeper who briefly lacked proper work papers. Finally, Geithner was at the table with Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson when the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP fund) was created. He has said that the plan, which he helped create that has sent $350 billion out the window, isn't working and needs to be fixed. In my book, this guy has struck out. Can we afford for this man to be placed in charge of the world's largest cookie jar?

Outcomes are based upon logic. Doing the right things in life leads to positive consequences and doing the wrong things in life lead to negative consequences. If we put people in positions of power that we cannot trust, then we will surely pay the price when they follow their pattern of deeds. We cannot have viable commerce if we don't have trust naturally built into our Capitalist economic system.

Many economists are saying that our banks are insolvent, while politicians keep denying there is a systemic problem. They keep throwing more and more money towards these institutions without stopping to reassess the situation or demand accountabilty. Tell me what does empirical evidence make you think?

Capitalism has unjustly been put on trial. The problem is not Capitalism, it is Hedo-Economics. The people who have a Fiduciary responsibility to act in others best interest have not done so. We have seen political and business leaders act only towards their own material self-interests. This greed and subsequent poor judgment has led to the Recessionary consequences that we are enduring today. Yet, the perpetrators of misdeed are still in charge. Does that make sense?

We must learn from history. We are not going to solve the problems of our broken economy unless we demand positive values from our leaders! There must be transparency in the actions of people in power. When people break the law, no matter who they are, they must be held accountable. If they aren't, then we will continue to suffer. The laws of Common Sense are always in play and so are Consequences.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of January 20, 2009

This newsletter is about the Hickory City Council meeting that I attended this past week. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.

At the bottom right of this page under main information links is a Hickory's Local Government link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the bottom of the page you will see the future dates for meetings scheduled for this year.

At the top of the page, if you click on the “Documents” link, you will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the 1/20/2009 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below.

Invocation by Alderman Danny Seaver

Consent Agenda:
Approval of Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance Through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs -Funds are budgeted for these items through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant funding received in FY 2008. The Citizens’ Advisory Committee recommends approval

**The following applicants are being recommended for approval for assistance under the City of Hickory’s First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Loan Program:

Chang Chang & Pa Xiong Chang 3263 Treadwell Lane, Hickory Approved for up to $10,000 (Blue Sky Court)

Nena Lachella Freeman 3269 Treadwell Lane, Hickory Approved for up to $5,000 (Blue Sky Court)

**The following applicants are being recommended for approval for assistance under the City of Hickory’s Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program:

Crawford Ellis 212 4th Ave SW. Previously awarded $20,000. Cost of project Approval to increase loan to $22,721

Harold & Alice Wilfong 318 3rd Ave Dr SE Previously awarded $6,786.32. Present loan amount is $4,017.47. Approval to increase loan to $9,017.47 (additional $5,000.00 for a new roof).

Award Contract to Camp, Dresser, & McKee, Inc. for a Sludge Composting Facility Evaluation at the Regional Sludge Composting Facility in the Amount of $20,000. Approve Contract with Embarq for Relocation of Telephone Cable for Clement Boulevard Connector Project in the Amount of $112,329.54. Request by Catawba Science Center Guild for Donation of City Skybox for One Hickory Crawdads Game, Along With Ten Passes, to be Auctioned at the Catawba Science Center’s Annual Italian Dinner and Auction to be Held on March 28, 2009.

Budget Ordinance Amendments -Appropriate $276 from Catawba County Mental Health for a portion of an Officer’s time spent when accompanying involuntary commitment patients. Transfer $1,428 from the General Fund for the City of Hickory's payment to Catawba County for participating in a Developer Satisfaction Survey. Budget $11,000 from Catawba County in the Public Utilities budget for the materials purchased to extend approximately 1,020 LF of waterline along Frye Ave. Appropriate $20,000 of Water and Sewer Fund Balance to the Sludge Composting Facility. Appropriate & Transfer $1,983,452 of General Fund to the Clement Boulevard Capital Project (City Council Meeting 09-02-08). Appropriate $462,768 from the General Fund and transfer to the Stormwater Fund . Appropriate & Transfer $76,850 of Capital Reserve-Parking Fund to the General Fund-Traffic Professional Services line item. This appropriation is needed to pay Frazier Associates $73,850 for designing and planning a coordinated Wayfinding sign system and Graphic Brand for the City of Hickory.Miscellaneous expenses for incidentals will be budgeted at $3,000 for the duration of the project. The design phase of this project is anticipated to take 7-8 months with a cap of 12 months beginning in February 2009.

New Business - Public Hearings
Approve Submittal of Neighborhood Stabilization Program Grant Application to the North Carolina Department of Community Assistance - The application will be submitted in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the City’s Community Development Department focusing on local governments facing problems related to housing foreclosure and abandonment. Revitalization of the 8th Avenue Drive, SW area will be the main focus. The U.S., Department of Housing and Urban Development has made funds available under Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The City is eligible to apply for $2 million to $5 million. These funds can be used to acquire land and property, demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties, provide down payment and closing cost assistance to low to moderate income homebuyers and create land banks. Catawba County has been identified as one of twelve counties across the state with the highest rate of foreclosures. The grant application guidelines state that applicants must target areas of high poverty, which would be southeast and southwest Hickory. The City of Hickory submitted a letter of intent to apply for the funds in November 2008.

The Hound has Confidence when he sees that Todd Hefner and the Habitat for Humanity have come up with a plan. It is good to see the positive scale that was drawn up in this situation. The Budget for this project is $3.863 million. The Habitat is looking for a Multi-Use property where the Hickory Motel is located with office spaces and possibly retail stores.

Something has needed to be done about the negative decline that has been going on in that area for 20 years. Mr. Hefner said that this plan included the possibility of 12 houses and a new headquarters for the Habitat for Humanity. Mrs. Fox spoke about the issues of that area including the old Kroger shopping center down to the Sky City area.

Let's up the property values in this area and maybe the slumlords will decide that it is best to sell. I know that Mr. Agapian had to be bought out of blighted properties in Greensboro. The Mayor stated that he believes that the City always gets a really good "Bang for the Buck" when the Habitat for Humanity is involved. I believe most of us support that statement.

New Business - Departmental Reports
1. Approve Contract With Frazier Associates for Professional Services for the Wayfinding and Branding Project not to Exceed $73,850.00 - This contract for professional services is to provide assistance in designing and planning a coordinated wayfinding sign system and graphic brand for the City of Hickory. Wayfinding was discussed during the February 2008 City Council Planning Retreat and a Request for Proposals (RFP) was presented to Council at the October 7, 2008 City Council meeting whereby Council directed staff to move forward with firm selection. Frazier Associates is a full-service architecture and planning firm based in Staunton, VA and has expertise in community wayfinding signage and branding. The project is estimated to take seven to eight months with a cap of twelve months beginning in February 2009. The contract is based upon services outlined in the RFP using the means and methods outlined in the Consultant’s proposal. The consultant will work closely with staff to organize and work with a community stakeholder group as well as conduct interviews with other community stakeholders. The project will be paid for from the City parking fund.

Mr. Lail believes that this idea is excellent, but he had questions about the cost of the contract with Frazier and he also wondered aloud about the possibilities of finding a local firm to do this. Ms. Hoyle had questions about the timing of this expenditure during these uncertain economic times. Mr. Meisner asked if there was any way to pare this plan down. The Mayor, Mrs. Fox, and Mrs. Patton seemed to feel that it was time to move forward on this issue, because of aesthetics, mapping, and long-range planning. The deciding vote was 4-3 with the Mayor, Fox, Patton, and Seaver For and Lail, Hoyle, and Meisner against.

The Hounds Take: I am 50-50 on this issue at the current time. I think that this needs to be done, but wonder about the timing during current circumstances. I can understand where both sides are coming from. It is hard to justify an expenditure, like this, at this point in time; but we really do need to work on the "Brand Identity" of this town. Go ahead and get this study done so that we can have a system and then we need to incrementally put it in place.

The major expense is going to be sign implementation. I also wondered, like Brad, whether it was smart to move ahead when the issue of Hickory by Choice is being readdressed by Studio Cascade during the same time frame. But, as Harry Hipps pointed out to me, "This stage is about art. It is about creating a logo. Studio Cascade's plan will come into play during the implementation phase when the signs are actually being placed. That has nothing to do with what the signs look like."

2. Quarterly Financial Report - Warren Wood went over the numbers. The City has $49.2 milion invested. Interest on investments is down significantly, but revenues from investments should come pretty close to projections. The Budget is $3.6 million "to the good."

Retail sales strength shows a 20% increase in Sales Tax from year-to-year (for the first 5 months of the fiscal year), but Novembers numbers were down. He believes numbers show our retail numbers have been excellent compared to the state. Hotel/Motel occupancy shows a decline and soft market. Mick Berry stated that we have been exceeding projections on events and event revenue so far this year. Going forward through this year it will be hard to project.

Mr. Wood showed residential property building is down. Commercial building is down around 40%. 2011-2012, the city will have to look at Property Tax re-evaluation. Mr Wood stated that the unemployment in the Hickory area is 7.9%, the same as the state's number, and lower than the Metro area number of 10.2%. He is wary that the state may come looking for money from the City of Hickory.

The Hound Can See that the city is doing a good job in keeping up with finances. It has to be hard keeping a good grasp on projections in this recessionary economic environment. One has to commend our city for doing an excellent job of conservative financing during these trying economic times.

I disagree with the "City Proper" Unemployment numbers. First, there is no true way to calculate that number since people in the city, work outside of the city and people outside of the city, work in the city. Please define these parameters. Second, that would mean that we would have to be around 2.5% better than the rest of Catawba County's rate, since the rate for the whole county is 9.7%. This city accounts for more than 25% of the county's population. As you can see that "Hickory Proper" guesstimate is a bit dubious to say the least. I truly believe that our city officials are out of touch on this issue. Maybe that's an Ego issue, but it is certainly nothing to brush off or make light about.

3. Approval of the 2009 Legislative Agenda for the City of Hickory - Request for consideration and support of State and Federal Legislative issues as outlined in the proposed 2009 Legislative Agenda for the City of Hickory. The Agenda explains how the City views potential legislation or initiatives to change current laws and also provides a listing of projects that the City is seeking additional funding for with the help of members of our delegation.

Ms. Surratt addressed the issues on the table: Which are three water and sewer projects, including the NorthEast water treatment facility; The Grace Chapel Extension: a Water pump issue; Meter Reading Radio System; Clement Center Blvd Extension; Solid Waste Management; Elevated storage off of Cloninger Mill Rd.; New Urban Traffic Signal System and Software. Unanimous Approval

Cloninger Mill Park - 2nd meeting - 2 Proposals - 1/15/2009

You can go back and read my excerpts from the first meeting that was held September 24, 2008 here (1st Cloninger Mill Park Meeting):

Mack McLeod of Parks and Recreation and Derek Williams and Jeff Ashbaugh of Site Solutions were once again present at this meeting. Mr. McLeod opened the meeting giving a topical overview of what had been laid out at the last meeting before handing the podium over to Mr. Williams.

Mr. Williams explained that there were 2 concepts. Both concepts value the trees on the 63 1/2 acre property. He stated that these trees are a true resource and provide a natural habitat for the wildlife in the area. Both plans tried to take advantage of the available sewer and electricity.

The trails for the Park will have to accommodate the natural stream and low lying area that run through the center of the property. The Hydrological features are part of the beauty of the property, but they represent flags to stay out of that area. There can be pedestrian bridges built as part of the trails. The creek naturally divides the site into an eastern and western area.

As far as the issues raised at the last meeting, they were addressed by Mr. Williams. Security will be handled by police patrols. The Police will drive through the parking lots and they will do bike patrols on the trails if there are signs that illegal activity may be taking place. A Park watch (such as a Neighborhood watch) may be formed. Site Solutions wants to maintain a natural buffer between the Park and Residential Developments in the area. Playgrounds, Parking Lots, and Picnic areas will be a 275 feet minimum from any residences. Trails will be 100 to 200 feet away from any residences. As far as the issue of Traffic Lights on Cloninger Mill Road, the Department of Transportation does not require one. The cost of one will be $140,000, which includes a $20,000 assessment from the NCDOT and $120,000 for the light itself.

Jeff Ashbaugh addressed the group next. He further went over the passive nature of the designs and what activities the park will probably encompass. It looks like the Park will include a Walking Trail on the East side of the Property, a Mountain Bike Trail on the west side of the property, 2 picnic areas consisting of 6 tables at each site, Exercise Stations, boardwalks, frisbee golf, and a scenic overlook at the north of the property viewing Lake Hickory.

The parking area on the west side of the property is pretty much settled on as being off of Cloninger Mill road, near the set aside commercial property. The issue comes with the east side parking access which will either be off of 43rd avenue or 9th street.

Here is the Picture as I remember the schematics: Cloninger Mill Park Pic

Many of the Neighborhood Residents don't want any parking access on the East side of the property. I would say that 75% of them made that clear, but the majority of those would accept the 9th street location if they had to make a decision. Many didn't care about the parking on the east side, but they would like to see the issue of more parking at the commercial site addressed. The vocal group, included one man with a British accent who repeated himself at least six times about the nature of the roads and the fact that people that don't live in that neighborhood would have a tough time navigating the roads.

A few people harped and bemoaned the fact that there will be a piece of commercial property attached to the land. This group included The City's Resident Curmudgeon Steve Ivester and his wife. They believe that there should be no commercial property attached to the land. As he put it, "In 100 years people will look back and ask why anyone attached a piece of commercial property to this land?"

The Hound can sympathize to a certain degree with the people that live in this neighborhood. Yes, it is going to change their neighborhoods to a certain degree, but I believe that it will be good change.

Please don't put your stock in with Steve Ivestor. He is against everything and doesn't care whether it is good for your neighborhood or not. He is against any and all progress. This park will increase the value of your homes. It will increase the security of your neighborhood. It will give you a place to walk your dog. It will give your children a safe place to play. It will help your health by giving you a place to exercise. It will turn a roughshod piece of land into a safe, well developed, scenic asset to your neighborhood. It will give you a true since of community.

For that gift to your neighborhood, all you have to do is accept that there will be a commercial piece of property on the opposite side of the property. That land, when it is sold, will be worth a few million dollars. That money will go to help develop this property and, as Mr. McLeod stated, another park in Hickory.

You should also allow parking spaces on the East end. Let's get real, the road isn't the obstacle course the British man made it out to be and your children are most likely not going to be playing in the streets any longer, if there is park access now available. The city will also accommodate your needs as far as traffic calming measures go, if the east access is allowed.

If you have speeders in that area now, then it isn't because of outsiders. It is because people in your area are racing up and down the roads. It sounds more like the naysayers don't want to have the intrusion down 9th st, because they don't want to slow down. That is truly sad.

The bottom line is that it sounds like you want the city to build a park where only your neighborhood gets access from the east side. You want city taxpayers to foot the whole bill for the park, because that is what would be necessary if the commercial property can't be sold. That isn't fair to city taxpayers, because the whole city will be expected to pay for this park, the park belongs to all of the people of Hickory, and you want access limited to the very people that the park belongs to. That just sounds very selfish to me and that "not in my backyard" mentality is what has our local economy on the verge of a full-fledged depression.

Hickory Hound Facebook Group

Let's Grow This Thing!!! - Go to Facebook

Check out this interesting article from HickoryHumans about a possible expansion at CVCC to accommodate a Center for Emerging Manufacturing Solutions (HickoryHumans article).

If focused properly, I truly believe that this will be an excellent investment for our community. Along with the engineering center we may see some real progress toward innovation being made in this area.

To the right, under the main information links, I have created a new link to New Science Magazine (newscientist.com). I think there are a lot of interesting articles and ideas in this magazine that are at the forefront of the future. This community is going to have to start thinking outside of the box and move toward new technologies, if we are ever going to get back ahead of the economic curve.

Wall Street Journal : Unemployment, Blog, & Quote

Article about Hickory's Unemployment, The Hickory Hound, and Quotes including Mine. Please Read. (28,548 jobs lost in the Unifour from June 2000 thru November 2008 & 7,568 jobs lost from January 2008 thru November 2008)

WSJ Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123153289645569033.html

Workforce Stats in Excel Format:
http://hickoryhound.googlegroups.com

People can help improve economic outlook

(Published in the Hickory Daily Record on January 10, 2009)

The employment situation in our area is bad and getting worse. We know about the financial crisis, and sadly many working people will suffer from years of poor management by government and business leaders.

As a citizen who tries to be responsible, I have communicated with national and local leaders about economic and regulatory issues, but I think we also have to look honestly at ourselves and what we can do to make our local situation better.

First, we need to watch our personal debt. The average household now has $9,000 in short-term debt, and this is a weight around our families' necks. If you still have your job, paying down debt would be a great investment.

Second, we should try to give a little more to our churches and civic organizations that help people who need it. The need will grow, and we need to step up our help to our neighbors.

Third, we need to think about our schools' drop-out rates and education in general.

When our economic development and government leaders pitch our area to businesses that may be interested in locating here, the quality of our workforce is a big issue. In the short term, if you are unemployed it may not be your top priority, but in the long haul it's crucial that we try to upgrade education and vocational training.

Let's pray that this recession will end soon.

Harry Hipps

A STEP ON THE PATH TO ????

The announcement that Hickory has landed another call center is good news in a dismal economy. As we all know, the macroeconomic picture isn't pretty and unemployment is rising in our area as it is in most areas. My sense is that the recession will be longer and more painful than most pundits predict. We should prepare for a worse case scenario. But, nevertheless, this call center will provide jobs for a good number of our neighbors and we should be thankful for them.

Since this is the second call center that will locate here and there haven't been many other companies coming here (except for the often touted MDI and Target) I would like to make a couple of observations:

First, we need to rejoice for the good news and double down on efforts to attract more. We still have a lot of ground to make up both in terms of the number of jobs and the pay scales. In the whole Unifour area, since the furniture and textile bust, we have lost around 24000 jobs. Many of these jobs paid $15 to $18 dollars an hour. The jobs at the call center will pay pretty well but certainly not what we lost. We have to get what we can but at some point we need to land industries that pay the fat checks .

Secondly, while the call centers are good news it does not create a "Hickory Brand". And we don't want to be the Bangalore, India of the US (should we call ourselves Hickolore or Bangalickory?) In the former economy, we were known internationally for furniture and textiles. This was our "brand name" if you will. Now, I am all in favor of a diversified economic base but we need a focus for Hickory. What will we be known for? The county has made some strides in biodiesel. Charlotte is trying to lure energy companies such as solar panel manufacturers and nuclear plant technology. Kannapolis has the biotech operations that David Murdock is creating. And Hickory will have ????????????

Double-H Believes : Hickory is a center of retail sales (drawing from a 6 county area) and we have a vibrant restaurant scene. If people are coming to shop and eat, why do we not have more entertainment businesses?

Manufacturing is not dead. Burke county has attracted a specialty battery company, there are medical devices, medical textiles, military textiles that camouflage soldiers, etc. We need to get industry leaders and partner with them to get ahead of the curve on some of these and locate them here to use the talent base and assets we have here to build our brand. The call center is good news. Now let's get some momentum.