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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The State of Hickory, North Carolina 2009

On July 15, 2007, I was honored to contribute a Guest Commentary that was printed in the Hickory Daily Record (HDR). The article entitled "An All-American City deserves first-class leadership" is the lead entry of this blog and I am grateful to the Hickory Daily Record for basically allowing me to give a State of Hickory address at that time.

I still believe every word that I wrote in that letter to this day. 18 months later, we are still nowhere near righting the wrongs that were discussed. The hangover from the fiber-optic, furniture, and textile busts are obviously still haunting our community. The standard of living is getting worse in our community and we are enduring the brunt of the current recession, because we have not addressed the serious, underlying issues that we have faced during this decade. Eighteen months later, how much of a difference has that All-American City designation made?

Was I wrong? After the article, I heard certain people say that the
All-American City designation was going to entice businesses to come to our area. Since that initial article, we have continued our downward slide losing nearly 10,000 jobs in the Unifour area and nearly 4,000 jobs in Catawba County. I know that I am beating a dead horse. My Grandmother calls me a gadfly, but I have only posed these questions to wake people up to the fact that the status quo was and is unacceptable.

I wrote a follow-up article to the HDR that was never published, but I believe that it was just as important as the first article. I believe it was never published, because the HDR was given some heat, because of the first article. The following week (7/22/2007) we were blessed with an article telling us how Hickory's job picture was on the upswing and Commscope was rehiring all of these new workers. How's that working out now?



My second article was entitled Building the Bridge to Hickory’s Future. This article points to the fact that we have never had a cohesive strategy when it comes to economic development.

1) Our area has been inundated by Temporary Work Agencies over the last decade. Whether you feel these enterprises are building blocks of community development or not, it is a fact that they enable corporations to not pay full scale wages and benefits to the workforce. Over the last few years, many people went back to the companies they were originally working for and worked as temps through companies such as Adecco and Manpower. Many of these people worked (or have worked) for over a year without receiving full-time status. Should our Economic Development Leaders be prostituting our citizens like this, when they are supposed to be the representatives of those citizens' interests? What kind of security has that brought people?

2) We have seen city leaders devote themselves to issues that did not enhance the public's interest. These social issues took away their focus from the most important issue that our city has faced over the last 8 years. That issue is Jobs.

We are losing many of our best and brightest young people in this area, because of the lack of opportunity. I have seen it first hand. My cousins Jessica and Stephan Moore have told me if there was opportunity in this community, then they would be here. They are both Dean's List students. Jessica just graduated from NC State and Stephan graduated last year from UTI and is working in Memphis, Tennessee. I can name countless people under 30 years old that are no longer here, because of the lack of opportunity. What does this say about the longterm viability of our community?

It is no secret that we have seen a major influx of retirees, in this area, over this past decade. Right now, I feel that we have assimilated these people well; but as we see our city's younger demographic dwindle and the older demographic expand, we are going to see a tight squeeze on our local area's governmental budgets. The elderly are on fixed incomes. No matter how much money they have in the bank, they always must think about the possibility of catastrophic health care issues. While the elderly consume a disproportionate amount of public services, they don't stimulate the private economy by purchasing commercial goods and services at the rate that younger generations do.

We cannot afford to turn this area into a retirement village. We must create opportunities for younger generations so that we can level the demographic anomaly that we could soon be facing. Look at the issues that South Florida is facing because of the current Real Estate Crisis. Much of this is due to the fact that the demographics in that region are out of kilter. With so many 30 year olds and younger moving away from our area and more and more retirees moving in, we are seeing the shrinkage of a viable housing market. We could soon find ourselves in a similar situation as that of South Florida.

What would happen to our housing market if the 65+ age bracket becomes 25%+ of our population by 2025? Who are the elderly going to sell their houses to, if the best and brightest young people move away? People working in Fast Food restaurants and Retail Stores have a hard time when it comes to housing affordability. Many Retirees use the appraisal value of their home for reverse mortgages to subsidize their retirement. The value of their houses are going to fall if we don't have a robust and viable local economy. The consequence will be less money to live on in their golden years.

You can see the perilous situation that our community now finds itself in. Our Economic Decision Makers have not made good long-term decisions. Certain leaders have pushed this notion of bringing in more geriatric care centers and marketing our community to retirees. That might be alright as part of a total comprehensive strategy, but folks we cannot afford for that to be "The Strategy."

The strategy has to be jobs. We have been behind the curve for eight years on the jobs issue. We have lost over 28,000 jobs in the Hickory Metro area. Yes, some of that can be laid at the feet of Raleigh and Washington, but our city is far from powerless and we are far from blameless.

The lack of power that we have is a mindset. There has never been any determination to make things any better around here. We have taken for granted that Raleigh and Washington are going to work us over because we are Republicans. I don't buy that, because I have looked at other Republican areas (such as Texas, Utah, and Tennessee) and seen them thrive.

This recession is reshuffling the Economic Deck of Cards in this country and throughout the world. We can stand at Washington's Pork Barrel Trough and beg for some scraps or we can try to get all of the Pork recipients to spend money on Hickory's economy by figuring out what the 21st century market needs. To do this we must begin implementing some sound policies and strategies. People must understand that nostalgia, complacency, and stubborness have caused this city to fall behind.

We must have leadership that is selfless, willing to step outside of the box, willing to take calculated risks, and willing to take the heat for failure. We can't get stuck in a losing effort, because of pride. If it's obvious that Plan A isn't working, then it is time to move on to the next strategy. By doing this, we will eventually find success. We must have decision makers that don't live in denial and don't have issues about accountability. The citizens need, and deserve, to know the direction this city is headed in. Apathy is grown from the seeds of disenfranchisement. We need more participation. Our city will not suffer if we fail. Our city will suffer if we do not try.

May God Bless Us

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Light Rail to Charlotte: One Investment Worth Making

An excellent article appeared in today's Charlotte Observer. The article entitled, High-speed train to Atlanta? Speed drives the vision, raised many valid points about the rail route that runs between Charlotte and Atlanta.

You can read the article yourself to get a full understanding, but a few points are: 1)
The only present Amtrak route to Atlanta leaves Charlotte at 2:45 a.m and arrives 5.5 hours later. 2) The top speed for the Charlotte-Atlanta route today is 79 mph, but the average speed is much lower, making the train noncompetitive -- a car trip takes 4 hours (1.5 hours less than by train).

Regional authorities want to update this route. They are currently only in planning stages, but the proposed goal is to get a route that averages 90 mph and would take between 3 hours, 31 minutes and 3 hours, 51 minutes to travel from Charlotte to Atlanta.

One of my visions of Hickory is to move back toward passenger rail service. I remember my grandfather (Leroy Shell) taking me when I was 9 years old in 1975 to see the last passenger train pass through Hickory. He used to work at the Hickory Railroad Station, the now rotting building, as a switch operator in the late 1940s up until around 1960. I never understood how big of a deal it was to lose that service at that time, but today I do.

I have seen the way that Charlotte's light rail system has taken off. Granted, it was doing much better over last summer when gas surpassed the $4 barrier. But, we all know that the price of gas will once again rise to those levels in the future; since global demand will not go away, we aren't moving towards increasing production, future alternatives are going to take time to come to fruition, and various other consequential factors.

I would like to see our regional transportation authority move toward creating a light rail line to Charlotte from the Hickory area. We all realize that this will not happen overnight, but I would like to see a study established on the basis of a 20 year plan. Hickory would be the hub of regional operations of this Western-Central North Carolina Light Rail Operation.

There have been other studies done before that haven't quite gotten off of the ground, such as the Report on Western North Carolina Rail Operations and Station Right-of-Way Acquisition released in 2002. I don't diminish the merits of this proposal at all. This plan is more Commercial in nature. A Light Rail plan would help Hickory embrace and develop its geographical relationship with Charlotte. I believe that these two plans can be integrated in some way.

The reintegration of webs of Light Rail Service connected to Commercial Rail Service would move us away from the automobile and towards fully integrated public transportation. Yes, this would take away individual independence as far as the relationship between transportation and time, but it will also take away individual responsibility. You won't have to control your own travel. You will just hop on that Light Rail Service that will take you to the Major hub in Charlotte and from there you will be able to travel pretty much anywhere in Continental America.

I have often dreamed about a day when I could drive (or ride a bus) to the local rail station, hop on a train, sit and relax, and ride to Wilmington. A few stops or a changeover doesn't change my desire for this day to be realized.

I know that this is just a dream at this point, but fruit bearing projects do begin with a dream. Is this project realistic and attainable? Most certainly. Most of the rail lines already exist. A few new connectors will need to be developed. Maybe instead of laying down more asphalt, the state and federal governments could see the worthiness of laying some rails instead.

The key is that this would be an excellent investment. As Charlotte's Metropolitan boundaries expand, they move closer and closer to Hickory's Metropolitan boundaries. Charlotte's larger population base is naturally going to wield more and more influence in this region. We cannot and should not shrink from that influence. We should take advantage of that influence and use it towards Hickory's benefit and enhancement.

The local governmental leaders and citizen's of our area are going to have to start looking towards this area as a region instead of as a collection of medium and small sized city's. We wield much more influence in Raleigh and in Washington when we point to the fact that we are from a metropolitan area that has a population of 400,000 people; instead of talking about Hickory's 40,000, Morganton's 17,000, Newton's 13,000, Lenoir's 18,000, or Conover's 7,000. Regional focus has accomplished a few goals, such as bringing attention toward the Water Transfer Issue. We must start coordinating our efforts more thoroughly when we head to the Capitals looking for capital.

The citizens of this area are going to have to understand that low taxes does not equal zero taxes. I am a conservative, but when I see the opportunity to make a fruitful investment, I am going to go for it. When benefits outweigh the risk of costs, then it is our obligation as a community to move forward toward such investments. Cheap begets Cheap. Our standard of living in this area has fallen behind, because of a lack of investment in this community. We cannot afford to let our community age and crumble. We must make investments toward growth or there will be none. It is our responsibilty and it is our obligation to move forward to the future.

There are other projects in this area that also deem worthiness. The Brownfield Projects come to mind. Besides taxes, there are other ways to raise these investment dollars. Local community bonds, styled after Liberty Bonds, could be sold to local citizens. Paying a little higher rate of interest on bonds issued locally might instill a sense of pride. It might also help garner more support and interest for these infrastructure projects.

I do not pretend to have all of the answers. I am sure that most of you can find some issues to play Devil's advocate about when it comes to these statements I have made here. I know something needs to be done to move this city forward. I feel that this belief that I have "that Light Rail to Charlotte would be an excellent investment" moves this community forward in a positive direction and it meets all of the Criteria and Objectives of the Hickory Hound.

I can understand everyone worrying about the burdens of today, but we cannot afford to become so wrapped up in the misery of today that we throw away the promise of tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

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

Thursday, January 15, 2009

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.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

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