Legislative Issues/ Economic Outlook Forum - January 20, 2011

Purpose - The long session of the NC Legislature begins on January 26th with a Republican majority for the first time since the 1880’s. The US and world economies have been in a serious recession and the new Republican majority in the house of Representatives will be trying to enact more conservative and pro-business policies to stimulate the economy again.

On the local front, the Economic Development Corporation is marketing this area and successfully targeting Highway 321 as the NC Data Center Corridor. The Chamber stands behind the fact that small business have to be our number one job creator in the future and what are they doing to stimulate not only new entrepreneurs, but helping existing businesses stay in business and be more competitive! This event is about these issues and other economic and political policies and strategies that will have a significant impact on Catawba County’s road to recovery.

Dr. Garrett Hinshaw - President of Catawba Valley Community College - Made the introductions and moderated the event.


Photos copyright: ©2011 Pat Appleson Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Used By Permission

Fox News Interview with Tom Donohoe President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - What Business Wants - Jan 11, 2011 - 4:32 - Chamber of Commerce cautiously optimistic about economy - Video at the Link

Moore Hallmark, Executive Director, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Southeast region - Immediate priorities are regulatory restraint and reform, expanding foreign trade, reducing national spending and debt, and rebuilding America's Economic Foundation. Mr. Hallmark stated how much we need to work on infrastructure.

Lew Ebert, President, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce - Mr. Ebert recognized the state representatives from our area. He addressed the political landscape and challenges facing the State of North Carolina. This is the first time ever that Republicans control both the house and senate in the State.

Mr. Ebert spoke of 4 numbers that describe our economy (34, 300, 300,000, $3.7 billion) 34 years since the State of NC had an unemployment level this high. 300 is the number of net new jobs created since the year 2000; 300,000 is the number of jobs lost in the last 2 years; $3.7 billion is the size of our State's deficit we are facing.... $2.5 billion is how much the State of North Carolina owes to the Federal Government for cost overruns associated with unemployment.

We will face the budget deficit challenges over the next 2 to 4 years. temporary taxes administered two years ago to address the deficit will sunset this year. A goal of the Chamber is to address the State's worker's compensation system. Costs are rising despite the fact that we are one of the safest States to work in. North Carolina's system is one of the few that allow lifetime benefits. Costs have nearly tripled since 1996. The cost of doing business in north Carolina is a priority.

Harry Davis, Professor of Banking at Appalachian State University - Professor Davis went over some excellent information. In previous recessions residential home construction was the engine that drove the recovery, but it does not exist presently. The rates of growth in this "recovery" are half of what they were in past recoveries. Personal debt is improving, but it is still way out of whack. Consumer credit is recovering somewhat. Increased spending is coming out of income, instead of debt.

U.S. Corporations are sitting on more cash than they have had in 50 years. The Bush tax cuts should have been dealt with sooner, because businesses have sat on the sidelines until they were certain what the business climate would be. This year could be the most profitable for S&P companies in History.

The unemployment rate went down from 9.8% to 9.4%, because 265,000 people left the labor force. We need to add 250,000 jobs per month to maintain the rate. In the first year coming out of the 80-82 recession, we added 3 million jobs. In 18 months in this recovery we have added 1.3 million. We have 6 million people who have been out of work for 27 months (long term). The highest that number has ever been previously was 2 million in 2001. Most economists believe it will take 5 to 6 years to recover those jobs. Every time we go through a recovery, it takes longer to get back the jobs.

We have a structural, systemic problem. We have people in jobs, that when they lose them, aren't going to come back. Manufacturing and construction jobs aren't going to come back. As the economy picksup, they are left on the sidelines. These people are going to have to deal with geography and go somewhere where their are jobs. North Carolina lost more jobs in November than any other State in the Union.

Do the States do any better at budgeting than the Federal government? Professor Davis argues that most States don't. he doesn't include NC. He talked about housing and he states that our nation gets it backwards. We have subsidized housing to creaste jobs. We need to subsidize jobs to grow housing. Who is going to buy all of these houses, when the boomers retire. What are we going to do with these houses?

The Boomers are creating a huge change in demographics that will create problem with economic growth because of changes in consumption and savings. The Boomers will be living off of their wealth, while the numbers of people gainfully employed will be decreasing.

The government cannot continue to spend deficits as a percentage of GDP (the total National Economy), we are currently spending 25% of the economy. If this continues, we will run deficits forever. It used to not be as bad, because we owed it to ourselves; now we owe it to Foreign Nations and Foreign interests.

We need policies that promote growth, more free trade, less government and regulation, incentives for business, infrastructure, human capital and worker preparation... We need our children to be educated in jobs that are needed, such as engineering. This is going to be slow progress over the next several years.

Scott Millar, President, Catawba County Economic Development Corporation - North Carolina is facing structural long term challenges. We need business incentives, that is just the reality. Every community is being very aggressive to try to solve these problems.

We have to have product to market in order to attract businesses. Multi-jurisdictional parks to to be ready and accessible for fast moving opportunities. This is what happened with Apple. They are currently working with a group in Claremont. They are also working with others in the county.

The North Carolina Data Center corridor is recognized as a hotspot by national consultants and Scott has heard this from his colleagues. This will afford more opportunities. They are examining related aspects in our local communications industry. We have had a manufacturing advantage in this sector. How do we exploit and synthesize the communication and information industries toward other opportunities. Where is the kernel we can market. We need to quantify the advantages we have over other areas.

The merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy can lead to opportunities for our area. Nuclear and Renewable (alternative) energies can provide opportunities. The Eco-Complex will lead to avenues and opportunities in the near future. The Manufacturing Solutions Center can lead to opportunities in niche manufacturing, which will create jobs on a small, but very important, scale.

They are trying to recruit non-manufacturing service sector jobs, such as Fiserv and Convergis. These jobs are fragile, because of the changing economy and technology and the ways we do business. They are trying to make sure that local existing industries can compete and understand and access existing opportunities. Scott also addressed legislation related to existing industries. He talked about mismatches of priorities for funding of different levels of government and the problem with the current tiering structure format related to economic incentives.


Photos copyright: ©2011 Pat Appleson Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Used By Permission

Danny Hearn, President, Catawba County Chamber of Commerce - Danny talks about individuals who are looking to start up companies, the heart of entrepreneurialism. He introduces Michael Neely, Owner of Blind Squirrel Digital, who also addresses the group.



Photos in video copyright: ©2011 Pat Appleson Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Used By Permission


The hope is to create more small businesses in our area. This is where new job creation is going to come from. Are we making it easy for these businesses to start, grow, and thrive?

Mike Neely goes into his reasons for locating to North Carolina. he has previously worked for EA Sports and several feature film projects. He moved here to improve his family's quality of life. He likes the structure of the cost of business in the area. Currently Blind Squirrel Digital is working on several projects including newly released iPhone games and production of laser multi-touch screens. He speaks of the technological assets that we have in the Greater Hickory Metro.

Danny took the mic back and talked about what he has implemented over the last few years including Brainstorming teams associated with The Chamber's Entrepreneurial Roundtable Group. IBM stated that the number one need to succeed in the future is creativity and innovation. How do we create new ideas? The Chamber has created several mechanisms to create this climate of creativity.

The Edison Project will be a start-up entrepreneurial competition for anyone who has a new business idea that they want to bring to the marketplace. Applications will be approved this week. They will be accepted until May and in July and August the top ten will be announced and in September a major event will be held and these nominees will give 5 minute presentations and one of these nominees will receive $10,000 and thousands of dollars in pro-bono awards (legal, accounting, business management). What you get is not only a winner, but 40 or 50 other good business ideas.



Photos in video copyright: ©2011 Pat Appleson Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Used By Permission

The Future Economy Council is a Think Tank, where we met Michael Neely and Houston Harris. A partnership with the Collaborative labs from St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida will allow an 8 hour simulation process that will work towards creating a Strategic Economic Development Plan for Catawba County on March 11, 2011. The Chambers Annual meeting will include 20 businesses that are a sampling of the technologically innovative companies in our area. We should be proud and spreading the world. We need to find more. What does the logo "Start Something Here" mean? It is a portal site that will be introduced on February 17, 2011 at the Chambers Annual meeting.

The Hound believes the above was a positive event that should inspire the community to get to moving on various initiatives meant to direct the community towards a positive direction in the upcoming year. It was a meaningful event rooted in the realities of today, while creating inspiration for the possibilities of tomorrow.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of January 18, 2011

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 right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.

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 1/18/2010 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:

Please remember that pressing Ctrl and + will magnify the text and page and pressing Ctrl and - will make the text and page smaller. This will help the readability for those with smaller screens and/or eye difficulties.

Invocation by Rev. Minnie Bryant of Mt. Pisgah AME Zion Church

Consent Agenda:

A. Voluntary Contiguous Annexation of the Property of Martha Killian Located at 523 29th Avenue Drive, NW

B. Approval of Audit Contract With Martin Starnes & Associates, PLLC for Fiscal Year End June 30, 2011 in the Amount of $42,000.00 - Martin Starnes & Associates, PLLC has a three (3) year contract with the City to audit their books. Fiscal Year 2011 will be the second year of the contract. This years’ fee of
$42,000.00 is a 2.44% increase from last year’s fee of $41,000.00. Staff recommends approval.

C. Request From Hickory Downtown Development Association for Use of Union Square for 2011 Swinging Under the Stars on May 29, 2011 From 12:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m

D. Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance Through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs - The following applicants are being recommended for approval for assistance under the City’s Housing Rehabilitation Program:
Joyce Brown Amount not to exceed $10,000.00 242 8th Avenue Drive, SW
Sarah Lopes Amount not to exceed $10,000.00 404 3rd Avenue Drive, SE
Funds for the above are budgeted through the City’s former Rental Rehabilitation
Program income received in FY 2009 and/or program income received through the City’s
Community Development Block Grant Program.

Applicant Ruth Morgan of 1483 3rd Street Place, SW is being recommended for approval for assistance under the City’s 2010 Urgent Repair Program for emergency-related repairs not to exceed $5,000.00. Funds are budgeted through the City’s Community Development Department funding received in FY 2010-11.
The Citizens’ Advisory Committee recommends approval of the above applicants.

E. Acceptance of VISION 100 Grant From the North Carolina Division of Aviation to Prepare a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP); a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures Plan (SPCC) and to Assist in Runway Approach Obstruction Removal/Land Acquisition - The City of Hickory has been awarded a VISION 100 Grant from the NC Division of Aviation in the amount of $166,667.00 to prepare a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures Plan mandated by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and NC Division of Aviation. In addition to these plans, the grant includes assistance in the Hickory Regional Airport’s
Runway Approach Obstruction Removal/Land Acquisition Project. The project includes tree removal, possible land acquisition due to the removal of trees, surveying, etc. The federal share of the grant is $150,000.00 with the City’s share being 10% or $16,667.00.

F. Approval to Allocate Funds for Completion of Clement Boulevard Connector Project in the Amount of $430,423.00. - Additional funds are needed to close out the Clement Boulevard Connector Project which is 98% complete and open to the public. The additional costs include work on the US 321 median north of the Clement Blvd. NW intersection, i.e. engineering and construction costs totaling $65,000.00 along with additional construction costs to include required US 321 overlayment by NCDOT, concrete retaining wall revisions, additional traffic control message boards, sewer line relocation, guardrail for railroad gates, landscaping materials and intersection safety bollard materials totaling $365,423.00. A budget amendment is needed in the amount of $430,423.00 due to unanticipated requirements by the NCDOT,
design conflicts and adjustments to unit price quantities.

G. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 13

1. To budget a $444 insurance claim check from Allstate Insurance Company in the Police Departments Maintenance and Repair line item. This payment is for damage sustained to a police vehicle on 11-06-10.

2. To budget a $5,056 insurance claim check from Trident Insurance Company in the Parks and Recreation Departmental Supplies line item. This payment is for the fire loss of appliances in the Henry Fork River Regional Recreation Park picnic shelter.
January 18, 2011 3

3. To transfer $6,826 from the Street Division Right of Way Acquisition line item to the Grace Chapel Rd./321 Connector Project Right of Way Acquisition line item. This is to budget the Right of Way acquisition expenditure in the Multi-Year Grant Project Fund instead of the General Fund.

4. To transfer $115,872 of unspent Capital Reserve Funds from Solid Waste to the Clement Boulevard Project. To transfer an additional $22,283 from the Water and Sewer- Fund Balance Appropriated and $292,268 from General Fund Balance- Appropriated to the Clement Boulevard Project. Costs for this project have exceeded the current funding due to unanticipated requirements from NCDOT, design changes to resolve utility conflicts, and final adjustments to unit price quantities. A total of $430,423 is needed to complete the Clement Boulevard Connector project.

H. Capital Project Ordinance Amendment No. 3
1. To budget a $115,872 transfer of unspent Capital Reserve Funds from Solid Waste in the Clement Boulevard Project. To budget a $22,283 transfer from the Water and Sewer- Fund Balance Appropriated and a $292,268 transfer from General Fund Balance-Appropriated in the Clement Boulevard Project. Costs for this project have exceeded the current funding due to unanticipated requirements from NCDOT, design changes to resolve utility conflicts, and final adjustments to unit price quantities. A total of $430,423 is needed to complete the Clement Boulevard Connector project.

New Business - Public Hearings:
1. Acceptance of Newly Proposed Hickory By Choice 2030 Comprehensive Plan - The Hickory Regional Planning Commission on December 1, 2010 voted unanimously to recommend the acceptance of the newly proposed Hickory By Choice 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Staff recommends acceptance.

a. Approval of Revised City of Hickory’s Land Development Code by Ordinance - The Hickory Regional Planning Commission on December 1, 2010 unanimously voted to recommend approval of the newly revised Land Development Code. The Planning Commission found the Land Development Code to be consistent with the proposed Hickory By Choice 2030. Staff recommends approval.

b. Approval of Revised City of Hickory’s Official Zoning Map by Ordinance - The Hickory Regional Planning Commission on December 1, 2010 unanimously voted to recommend approval of the newly revised Zoning Map. The Planning Commission found the Zoning Map to be consistent with the proposed Hickory By Choice 2030. Staff recommends approval. These public hearings were advertised in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area on January 7 and January 14, 2011.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of January 18, 2011 - Addendum Hickory By Choice 2030

B. New Business - Departmental Reports –
1. Quarterly Financial Report - This year, the city is looking at problems with the general fund. So far with 50% of the year complete, the city has seen 56.38% of its revenues received, and the five-year average shows that 56.31% should have been received. The city feels that the numbers are good news. him him as to the 30 tax revenue comes in November, December, and January. The numbers so far reflect the revenues from the November and December, and once January's revenues come in that war reflect 95% of the monies that the city receive ( from property tax revenue). These numbers reflect less volatility in the revenue streams compared to what the city has seen over the last few years.

On the expenditure side, the five-year average shows that we should be at 48.71%%, but we're running above that and 50.02%. The numbers reflect a couple of projects that the city has going on.

The bottom line on the general fund is that the city has spent $4.28 million more than has been collected. The five-year average shows that the city should have spent right at $4.6 million more than it collected. city is close to where he they should be on these numbers. This is worse most of the city's struggles have been.

The water and sewer fund is the second-biggest fund and it makes up over 25% of the budget. With 50% of the year complete, the five-year average says that we should have received 45.4% of revenues. The city has received 45.2% of revenues. On the expenditure side the five-year average shows that the city should be at about 45.3% expended, but we are above that at 50.8%, because of the money invested in the Northeast waste water treatment plant project. the deficit and are expenditure should clean itself up over the next several months of the fiscal year. Money has been moved out of the water and sewer fund to the Northeast waste water treatment fund and other capital projects. If this is factored out, the numbers are in line.

Revaluation and property tax revenue, in talking to the county, the revaluation process has the initial numbers set for the city flat. Warren states that this is good news, because they believed that there would be a decline.

The concern is that there will be appeals. the volume of the level of appeals is the same as it was four years ago. The bad news is that the value of the appeals is higher. The County cannot give him the number. In Hickory, we are anticipating a loss of $76 million in properties tax base through the appeals (that would mean $380,000 in lost revenue for the city. Based on a $.50 per $1000 tax assessment). This will be built into the budget.

Property tax collections for the first half of the year or $15.7 million compared to $15.1 million for this time last year. Warren believes that this shows the trough of the recession was in 2009-2010. Property tax portion of the budget represents 68% of the total budget. The city continues to struggle with building permit activity over the last several years. When these numbers are doing well, the property tax numbers do well. The last three years have been a struggle. The numbers need to be about 2 to 2 1/2 times what we're seeing. the city is meeting its revenue projections own sales tax revenues. The numbers have not rebounded, but they have stabilized.

2. Approval of 2011 Federal Legislative Agenda - City staff has prepared a Federal Legislative Agenda for 2011 which lists key issues and talking points to discuss with our legislative delegation, which contains the City’s views on potential legislation or initiatives to change current laws along with projects that the City is seeking additional funding for with the help of members of our delegation. The Legislative Agenda is an important communication tool that guides staff and city leaders to successfully deliver the message on key issues. City Council will use this agenda with our Federal delegation in Washington, DC. Staff recommends approval.

a. Approval of Four (4) Goals by the City of Hickory for Submittal to the NCLM Advocacy Agenda for Consideration by the Board and Voting Delegates on January 20, 2011 in Raleigh - For the first time, the NC League of Municipalities (NCLM) is hosting a conference in Raleigh on January 20, 2011 for North Carolina cities to come together to develop a Legislative Agenda of priority items for the NCLM to pursue during the 2011 Long Session General Assembly. The City of Hickory has four (4) goals to submit for consideration that includes opposition to Interbasin Transfers; proposed changes to the economic tier methodology; recommendation of allowing counties to distribute E911 funds to secondary PSAPs and opposition to collective bargaining while strengthening current State law.

Ms. Surratt stated, several of the key issues that would be the focus of the federal legislative agenda for that the city of Hickory. Amongst those was the support of federal infrastructure legislation that uses a fair, fiscally responsible approach to regulations and rule changes. This would support infrastructure financing for transportation, wastewater, water and storm water. The city of Hickory supports the National League of cities in their efforts to seek legislation to provide that the additional funds for municipal and for structure, including long-term permanent sources of dedicated revenue, additional local option revenue sources, and state bond packages for and for structure needs.

The city opposes new EPA ozone standards, and opposes any reduction in ozone standards without the provision of resources that would allow the city and its partners to engage in additional reduction strategies.

During the discussion, Ald. Lail asked if this did not reflect the priorities set with Marlowe, lobbying firm, that were goals that they felt could be more easily achieved during the year. This does not reflect the priorities of the city in regards to transportation. This is not an all encompassing list.

Ald. Lail stated that he had a problem with to of the league of municipalities goals. He does not agree with supporting the expansion of the sales tax to include services or seeking legislation to revise the local transfer tax so that they can be adopted without a referendum. He does not support either one of those and he might be supportive if he gave authority to cities if they so chose to lead the this sales tax, but he reads this to be statewide and he cannot be supportive. He also does not believe that we should support legislation to change the way the local land transfer tax should be adopted. Just in order to make it easier to be adopted. There is a mechanism for counties the citizens to throw that tax in, if they so choose. The Mayor stated that the position on the sales tax is that it should be revenue natural. There is no basis to try and raise taxes to the state of North Carolina. Ald. Lail stated that he supports a motion to instruct the delegate to vote day on those two items. The Council voted unanimously to consent to voting no on those two items.

The Mayor stated that over the next few years he is going to call more people to go to Raleigh. The Mayor made a motion to support the other items on the agenda, which was unanimously consented to and Ald. Lail made a motion to appoint. Mayor Wright as the delegate representing Hickory at this conference, which was unanimously approved.

The Hound believes that the city should support legislation to readdress trade agreements on the federal and state level. That is the 10,000 pound elephant in the room related to our local economic problems. These agreements are not working. I am not against free trade when it is a two way street, but when these rules and regulations of foreign nations are not equal to our own, then we cannot compete and we will continue to see this race to the bottom that is destroying our economy, especially here on the local level.

This is where I have a problem with the Republicans. They seem to have just as much of a problem understanding economics as the other side does. There has to be a level playing field when it comes to foreign trade. That is what has destroyed our manufacturing base and thus the reason why we don't have a growing tax base or revenues to provide the amenities to enhance the quality of life of our local citizens. This has been going on for years, and other than weak attempts to address these concerns, I don't believe our local leaders have truly forced this issue. It's like they have given up. I think it should be the top priority on any agenda. Especially as far as federal legislation

We will never empower ourselves through government handouts and debt. We will only be able to strengthen ourselves by strengthening the foundation and principles of our local economy. What does that more?

The local economy, standard of living, and quality of life can only be improved by the expansion of commerce in the area. What are we doing as part of our local government initiatives to get this back on track?

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of January 18, 2011 - Addendum Hickory By Choice 2030

New Business - Public Hearings:
1. Acceptance of Newly Proposed Hickory By Choice 2030 Comprehensive Plan - The Hickory Regional Planning Commission on December 1, 2010 voted unanimously to recommend the acceptance of the newly proposed Hickory By Choice 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Staff recommends acceptance.

a. Approval of Revised City of Hickory’s Land Development Code by Ordinance - The Hickory Regional Planning Commission on December 1, 2010 unanimously voted to recommend approval of the newly revised Land Development Code. The Planning Commission found the Land Development Code to be consistent with the proposed Hickory By Choice 2030. Staff recommends approval.

b. Approval of Revised City of Hickory’s Official Zoning Map by Ordinance - The Hickory Regional Planning Commission on December 1, 2010 unanimously voted to recommend approval of the newly revised Zoning Map. The Planning Commission found the Zoning Map to be consistent with the proposed Hickory By Choice 2030. Staff recommends approval. These public hearings were advertised in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area on January 7 and January 14, 2011.

The History of Hickory by Choice at the Hickory By Choice 2030 Website:
Draft Copies of the document are available on the Planning Department Homepage.

Hickory By Choice Workshop: 5th meeting (2/9/2010 )
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 4th Meeting
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 3rd Meeting - (Unable to attend this meeting)
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 2nd Meeting
Why the original Hickory By Choice doesn't work
Hickory By Choice 2030 Workshop: 1st Meeting
Studio Cascade awarded contract at November 4, 2008 City Council meeting

The city's planning director Brian Frazier made the presentation and went over a few of the specifics of Hickory by Choice. Summarizing, Hickory by choice was originally adopted by the City Council in 1999, the revision called Hickory by Choice 2030 provides a long range vision and blueprint for growth and development. There are 10 specific elements included and related to the plan, including history, demographics, public utilities, development, housing, Parks and Recreation, etc. In early 2009, the city contracted with "Studio Cascade" to provide plan consulting services and to assist staff in updating the original Hickory by Choice. In February 2009, City Council appointed a 16 member advisory committee to provide input throughout the process. The advisory committee met over a dozen times throughout the process. Staff held six public workshops. In November 2010, City Council held three public workshops.

Staff also made presentations to various boards, commissions, neighborhood associations, and the Chamber of Commerce. The Hickory Regional Planning commission held public hearings on October 27 and December 1, 2010 and voted unanimously to recommend approval of the plan city Council.

The notable changes in the new document will convert the original plan into a truly comprehensive plan. The plan encompasses the realities of existing demographic and economic conditions. It also reduces the size of the planning area to existing annexation boundaries, reduces the number of mixed-use centers from 16 to less than a dozen, and designates a central business district. The plan also forms revitalization areas in distressed parts of the city that will have special enhanced design standards and provide opportunities to target some of the city's grant programs that foster adaptive reuse of the areas. The plan also changes residential density terminology. The current terminology has caused many problems in the administration of Hickory by Choice and the Land Development Code.

The Land Development Code, which is the legal implementation of Hickory by Choice, was adopted by the City Council in 2001. It has been amended 36 times since its initial adoption.

Notable changes to the Land Development Code include the reduction in the overall size of the document. Mr. Frazier states that the new Land Development Code will be more user-friendly. Additional graphics and illustrations should improve the implementation and interpretation of the document by showing examples, which will reduce ambiguity. One of the goals was to eliminate redundancies and inconsistencies within the document. Another goal was the creation of broad use categories to reduced complexity of land-use table.

Other notable changes are the reduction in the number of base zoning districts, utilization of conditional zoning, simplified and more flexible design standards, less onerous redevelopment standards, creation of different standards for centers versus core doors, and simplified design standards.

The reason for different standards for mixed-use centers versus the corridors is that having the same standards created a dumbbell effect between the centers where you cannot tell the difference between the areas between centers and the centers themselves. There is not a sense of place because of this. A prominent example of this is Highway 127 in Viewmont. They have tried to simplify the signage standards and cut down some of the verbiage and add photos.

Ald. Lail stated that there were some issues related to signage that were discussed at workshops that he thought would be discussed tonight as separate items. Mr. Frazier acknowledged that there were some concerns about signs related and went into details related to this. Many of these details were discussed at the last City Council meeting of January 4, 2011. He stated that these issues were still unresolved and open for debate. These issues are reflected. The recommendations of the Planning Commission are reflected in this Hickory by Choice document that has been presented this evening to the City Council.

Attorney Crone asked if there had been any changes between what the Planning Commission recommended in the document that was being presented. Mr. Frazier answered no. A piece of property in the Kool Park area was changed to reflect a change of land-use for that property. Mr. Crone further asked if this wasn't part of the Planning Commissions recommendation and is Mr. Frazier asking the council to approve the LDC that was approved by the Planning Commission soes it reflect that change. Mr. Frazier stated that the Planning Commission made no recommendation and decided to leave it as it was without an official recommendation and allow the Council to decide.

The Mayor asked if anyone would like to speak against the plan.

In speaking in opposition to the plan, citizen Deb McNeur stated that she was very concerned with what she had heard and read, that there is to be a Southern corridor that takes in HWY 321, Robinson Road, and 13th St. Southwest. Several years ago her neighbor had their property rezoned O and I because they teach music lessons and they had enough students that they had to do that. They were told by the Realtor that they could get big money if he would allow them to sell their property. She stated that when she informed the property owner of how the zoning rules really work, that he changed his mind and did not sell the property and he was really upset about the whole ordeal.

In regards to the whole process. She stated that the Realtor had told her that eventually the zoning would change to commercial in that area and they would be developing it. She stated that she was worried when she saw that 13th St. was on the list of the proposed zoning changes. From what she has gathered, if the property is zoned commercial and the property is not developed for a while, then if something happens structurally to the home, she would not be able to replace the damaged home and she could only get the insurance monies that were available. And if the land were chosen to be developed through eminent domain, then she would only get the property value.Her mother has lived and grown up in the neighborhood her entire life and has lived in the present house for 48 years.

Ms. McNeur said she is also concerned for herself, because of the property that is next door and zoned O and I. Her concern is about when such development takes place, where will they live. They could not take the assessment property value and afford to buy another house. She stated that she and her mother are concerned about what world people really live in. It causes them to have a little bit more understanding about why there aren't enough rooftops for a real grocery store, and why they were losing the pools and gymnasium in that area. They wondered why the neighborhood is being eliminated.

Jimmy Davis came to the podium and said he had one question. In this 2030 plan, where is Ridgeview and where are the plans for Ridgeview, because he is concerned with Ridgeview and the historical Black community.

Larry Pope next addressed the Council and stated that he had similar concerns related to what Ms. McNeur had stated. When property goes from residential to commercial, then he knows what happens to the property because his mother's property in his old home on 3rd Ave Southwest went from residential to commercial. They were told and have learned over the years that if anything had happened to the property that they would not be able to rebuild the house. They have another property behind the house, which used to be a rental property, but because of the amount of work that it was going to take to bring the house up, they had a choice, they could use the house for storage or they can spend thousands of dollars and if anything happened to the house, they could not rebuild the house, because the house had been rezoned commercial.

He knows what Ms. McNeur is saying about her mother, because when they (the City) came in on 12th St., between Grandview Elementary and Wendy's and closed off the road, the plans initially were to redevelop the area commercially. His concern is that you start at 13th and 12th make a commercial area and from there where do you go? You go on down 4th St Southwest and make it all commercial. We are realistic and we know, the Ridgeview community knows that Ridgeview is the only thing that stands between Highway 70 and downtown Hickory. As long as that residential community exists, then the city will never be able to develop Highway 70 SW to downtown Hickory. They have cut roads around us and on both sides. When they did 4th st and Built Hwy 127 along 2nd St. Southeast. Let's not take away from historical communities that want to exist and should exist, because the folks that live in that community are proud of the community. Most of the people that live in this area are senior citizens and don't have the money. And yes they are planning a development over in Green Park, but $120,000 is unaffordable to most of the people in this area.

Mr. Frazier answered the issues that had been brought forth from the people above. He stated that they had been in this process for 23 months and he is somewhat at a loss, because this is the first time he has heard these questions posed and he would be more prepared... He stated that they are looking at having Ridgeview and Claremont neighborhood preservation to help the redevelopment of properties and changing the residential setbacks of properties in Ridgeview. They're looking at changing the setback provisions to get some of the infield lots developed. They are not looking to change properties from residential to commercial in the Ridgeview area. Just by cutting down the Land Development Code and the whole simplification effort does a lot for the people of Ridgeview and any other neighborhood community in dealing with the Land Development Code and has office.

As for the question from Ms. McNeur, he is not really sure about what she is talking about. They have not changed the proposed thoroughfare plan. Councilman Meisner can attest, the vast majority of the thoroughfare plan is not funded in the area. What she is talking about has been in the plan in the original HBC plan from 1999. The city is not looking to do any major rezoning in her area.

Ald. Lail asked about owner-occupied housing. The notion that she would not be able to rebuild as an owner in a commercial district... Mr. Frazier interjected that he did not know where that had come from. His understanding is that if it is an act of God, and it has been less than six months, then you can rebuild The Mayor asked if you can upgrade your residence in one of these areas? Mr. Frazier answered that you can up to a certain percentage in terms of square footage. Dave Leonetti interjected that for single-family residential that you can basically do whatever you want as long... you can tear down your house to build a new house. There is an extra exemption to the nonconformity clause and basically all you need to do is conform to the setbacks of existing zoning laws, which are fairly similar and is fairly easy for most properties.

Ald. Meisner added that he and Ald. Lail are both on the NPO and the thoroughfare project is nowhere near being developed and will not be for 25 or 30 years. There is no plan that is near being funded. After Mr. Frazier reiterated that this is all in the plan, but is not looking to be developed, then Ald. Meisner added that the city is not developing property. This is just a rezoning. Private enterprise may develop, but the city has no plans that they will develop property through eminent domain. Attorney Crone asked if the NPO is a State road and the city has no input into whether it would be developed. Ald. Meisner stated that the city does have input about where they want future roads to go, but you put it on a list and the DOT prioritizes.

Ald. Guess stated that he had two questions. Is there anything in any of these plans that speaks to taking anybody's property. Elderly people sometimes are concerned when they hear about changes and they automatically assume that someone is looking to take their property. Mr. Frazier answered no. The Mayor asked if it was illegal to seize property for eminent domain for economic development purposes. Attorney Crone stated that that is a good question, but the short answer is probably not, but the only time you'll be taking someone's property in this situation is if there is a road expanded. Ald. Guess asked if this property were taken by eminent domain, would it be out of the city's hands and Attorney Crone answered yes.

Mr. Meisner stated that eminent domain by the definition is for the public good. If this were done for a private developer, then it would not be for the public good. The Mayor stated that those sorts of taking of property are usually done with the full acquiescence of... the resident is reimbursed to the point that they are happy with it. Attorney Crone stated that if a property owner is not happy with what is offered for the property, then they can contest the value of the property in court. Ald. Guess stated that it is really a moot point, because the city of Hickory is not involved in any of that. Attorney Crone answered by stating that the City of Hickory has no plans to widen that road any of our lifetimes.

Ald. Patton asked about the concern related to damage to the home and being able to rebuild their property. The Mayor stated that they can rebuild or expand or ... Ald. Lail interjected the code allows for that kind of situation.

Ald. Lail stated that continuing the discussion, he would like to bring up the issue of the signs and it is his belief that the LDC as written now is a little too restrictive. In relation to sign heights and areas in relation to high volume roadway situations, road counts from the WPCOG show that (I assume highway 70) has 46,000 cars per day compared to Interstate 40 that has 50,000 cars per day. A 10 foot sign is not appropriate for those kinds of areas. That sign has got to be larger for vehicles to be able to see and make use of it. And that is the point. He doesn't know how to move forward on that and he would like to propose an amendment to the LDC to change that.

He would like to get it out on the table to see if others on the council have similar concerns. The Mayor interjected that there are standards that you can get access to that talk about heights, letter-size, speed limit, lanes of traffic, distance, and all of the variables. There are charts you can look at, but he has not looked at any of the charts. Ald. Meisner asked if they could not take this one little item and study it further. City Manager Berry pontificated about wondering how you could do that, because you have your existing Land Development Code and proposed new development code. And you are talking about a small section of the code and could you pull out those sections and adopt the code. Without those sections, would it affect the proposed code versus the existing code. Attorney Crone affirmed that you could pull out the sign codes and utilize the existing code, but added he would like to hear from the planning department, because he wondered if this would affect the rest of the plan, because of references there.

Ald. Guess asked if you could approve it and amend it later. Atty. Crone answered absolutely. Ald. Guess asked if that would not be the most logical way to do it is to amend it later. Ald. Patton stated that they had discussions at the workshops about signs, and it has come to this point and she agrees with Ald. Guess that this is one of the issues to bring up later.

Ald. Lail reiterated that he believes the sign code in the document is incorrect in his opinion. He doesn't want to be in the position of voting down the code because of that one particular section. He would propose continuing the public hearing and allowing staff to come back to Council and have the vote on the signage issue. They have had a thorough discussion of this issue at the workshop, but they never took a vote and he believes that it might be a good idea to continue some of these public hearings anyway. On the record, they have heard concerns from one citizen anyway, and he is going to ask the clerk to put this in the public record regarding a piece of property. He would rather handle it that way than to go ahead and push it through today and have the whole discussion over again. Ald. Fox asked if he believed that the signage code was too restrictive. He stated the yes the proposed code is to strict. He believes that for a multi-tenant building 150 sq feet is not enough potentially to advertise the tenets of that building, whatever the case may be. The small businesses, potentially will not be able to be seen by the motoring public in some cases. Alder Meisner stated that he does not want to hold up the Land Development Code. He stated that that might be one of the first things that they look at to amend. Ald. Guess and Ald. Patton reiterated their earlier statements about going ahead and passing the document. Ald. Lail stated that he could not support the LDC with the signage codes that were in their.

Ald. Fox asked about the area in West Hickory that encompasses the residential area bordering 321 and 13th. Is this the whole mash rezoning of that area? Dave Leonetti answered that there are no plans and basically the area will be reassigned as a general business district. The residential district will remain residential and they have added a neighborhood preservation overlay to the district that increases the design standards for all types of development that need to happen in that area. The proposed changes to the zoning of the area should not impact the existing area. Ald. Fox stated that that area has been chopped up by roads and she understands the concern and there is a pocket of solid residential in there and the neighborhood group has been able to work with some of the problems and she wants to make certain that that pocket is still zoned residential. If someone chooses to move, then their house still remains residential. Mr. Leonetti stated that area in the next few years will be part of a revitalization plan and that does not mean that that area will be changed from residential.

Mr. Frazier interjected that they are looking at improving the aesthetic character of both the commercial and residential area and there is no plan for any wholesale changes in that neighborhood. There will also be a preservation overlay in that area that has not existed previously. He also added that he would like to see this move forward. Part of the plan is to look at both Hickory by Choice and the Land Development Code plans on an annual basis. And if something comes up before, or if the Council wants to schedule a workshop, then they can certainly do that inside the year to deal with the specific issues. If you take out assigned portion of the Land Development Code, then it becomes extremely difficult to administer the plan because the zoning districts aren't matching up anymore, because there are fewer of them.

Ald. Lail made a proposal that the hearing on Land Development Code be postponed to the next regular meeting of the Hickory City Council and that as part of the staff presentation that they would look at enlarging the sign sizes and heights to levels that are consistent with where we are now in those commercial areas. The motion was voted down 5 to 1. And the LDC was affirmed by the same margin.

Theresa Huggins next addressed the Council and spoke about a piece of property that belongs to her father-in-law that is located in the southeast section of Hickory, that will be affected by the new map, that is located at 39 10th St. SE. . The property is listed well below the price that he bought it for. There have been many people that have been interested in the property, but they have not been able to secure a commercial loan. This process has been going on for a very long time, but until they got a call from another broker interested in the property they did not know that the property was affected by the new maps. This will be changed to a residential property, and in essence, the property that is currently leased will be grandfathered in, but if it is sold, then it will not be allowed to be used as a business, which greatly impacts the value of the property.

The current tenant will be vacating the property in March and that means that any business will not be able to use the property, which greatly impacts the value of the property in a negative manner. Once the building is vacated in March, unless another auto mechanic or something very closely related one comes in and buy the building, then the building is rendered useless. The people on the council are business savvy and have investment properties... she doesn't believe that anyone can argue the negative impact on this property. What happens when no auto mechanic comes forward for this property? Then you have yet another commercial building that is vacant. That is prone to all kinds of activities that can take place, because people know the building is empty. What she is proposing is they leave the current industrial zoning on this building, because they are anticipating two offers on the property this week... And to allow it to exist in its essence, an industrial building and not add to the vacant building issues that we have faced.

Lynn Huggins next addressed the Council about her father Henry Huggins. At present, her father is 89 years old and has cancer. This is his primary source of income. She is at the City Council meeting, representing her father and asking them to reconsider the zoning or delay their decision. They have two potential buyers at this time, and this could devastate that deal.

Ald. Meisner asked Theresa Huggins about the two potential uses and whether they had been cleared with the planning department as to whether they could be used under the existing code as it is being used now? Under existing zoning both offers would operate fine. According to the realtors that she has spoken to.

A map was shown of where the building was located. The building is currently zoned industrial, and is located next to a residential area. The building is currently utilized as an auto mechanic shop. One of the potential clients is looking to continue as an auto mechanic shop, but also include wholesale and retail auto sales. This is not permitted in the industrial zone. Auto repair is fine, but sales are not permitted today. This is the largest property in the area and the residential properties are also designated as industrial. What they have looked at is why the property was ever zoned industrial, because there are houses located in the area. The property would be grandfathered under its current zoning. If there is a six months, where the property is abandoned, then they are looking at the residential zoning.

Ald. Meisner asked if this was a residence? The question was answered that no it is not a residence that it is a nice industrial building. Ald. Meisner stated that he could not understand why they would take an industrial building and zone it residential. The Mayor stated that he did not see how that would negatively impact anyone's property rights by continuing to zone it industrial. It was decided to amend the proposed code to be industrial. This would not be spot zoning, because there are other industrial properties that are attached to it. Plastic Packaging is located just to the west of the property. Anyone buying or selling there would know that the property is there.

The Council consented unanimously to approving the zoning map with amendments, including the Propst property, the Cloninger Mill property, and the Huggins property.

The Hound would like to congratulate Brian Frazier and the planning department for seeing this process through to its culmination. I think that Mr. Frazier has done an excellent job in communicating with the public in relation to this plan. I participated in many of the workshops that were held and can attest to the fact that Mr. Frazier, the Planning Department, and Studio Cascade were very much interested in seeing public participation in this project.

I do believe that the challenge of these documents will not be how they are written, but how they are implemented. I cannot argue with what Ald. Lail had to say in relation to signage. We have seen this issue come up time and time again in many areas throughout the State and across the nation. It relates to those interested only in some sort of aesthetic paradise, where they would wish to pretend that no businesses existed versus those who see nothing wrong with the Las Vegas strip. There has to be some sort of common sense compromise on this issue. Like I stated about this issue in my comments from the last City Council meeting, I don't see the harm of LED signage. So where do you come to a compromise on this issue.

Another issue that I witnessed at this meeting was the concerns of the people that live in the less privileged areas of this community and how this plan will impact them. I think that Mr. Frazier , successfully answered those questions, but I also understand where those concerns come from. Those issues come from the fact that the people that live in those areas usually don't get a seat at the table in the decision-making process. But, I will tell you that in attending at least five of these meetings that were held over the last two years, I did not see many people in attendance from the Ridgeview or West Hickory community. In my opinion, you have to take the available opportunities to speak about your concerns in order for those concerns to be addressed.

That does not mean that I believe that people from the more prosperous sections of our community should be imposing their will on the other sections of the community. I think that everyone in Hickory needs to get together and work together towards fixing the problems that we face. We don't need to draw the lines and fight with each other based upon some mindless ideology. We need to help our neighbor, because when you do that you empower yourself by creating a community with a stronger and firmer foundation.

I would like to finish these comments by giving my endorsement to Brian Frazier and the planning department. It's easy for anyone to see that these guys are completely dedicated to their job. I think they want to make things work around here. Their are always going to be times when people will be at loggerheads with the planning department, because they are in charge of enforcing policy.

This isn't a perfect world and if you look around you'll see that Hickory was put together piecemeal. Sometimes you have to take the square peg and force it into that round hole. In speaking with Mr. Frazier and seeing how he operates, I honestly believe that he will work with you. I also don't believe that Hickory can afford to lose. Mr. Frazier, because I can see that he does have vision and he is aspiring to excellence. We look at the Brownfield projects and his ideas related to revitalization. He gets it and I wish more people in this community got it. So if you get the chance and have the opportunity to work towards a project that will enhance our community, then you should work with Mr. Frazier, because I believe that that is the exact objective that he is focused on -- Enhancing Hickory.

Old Land Use map

New Zoning map

Future Land Use map

The Hound's most impactful articles of 2010

By consensus of the people I have spoken to, along with the hits per article. Below is a list of the several articles that had the greatest impact on its readership. I tried to limit the number to 10, but found it hard to leave some of these out. Let me know what you think:

14) Continuing the Rant - The City of Hickory's Budget - (6/10/2010) - Reading between the lines on the City's Spin.

13) State of North Carolina University System -- We've Got a Problem Here!!! - (9/18/2010) - An article that shows the corruption, perversion, and manipulation of our NC University System in the name Big Time Athletic Dinero.

12) My Goldman-Sachs question at the Town Hall meeting this morning - (1/26/2010) - Taking the time to ask one of the most important questions of our time.

11) Jim Rice - A Man ahead of Time - He wanted to diversify Catawba County Industry in 1977 - (8/13/2010) - An article that shows that taking no action is an action and can lead to negative consequences.

10) Hickory - The lowest well being in the United States of America - (11/1/2010) - An impactful article that leads to many questions about underlying problems, that many are not aware of, that this community faces.

9) The State of Hickory - January 2010 - (1/23/2010) - The article that set (and had an impact on) the agenda for 2010

8) I have a Dream - A 21st Century Hickory - (2/22/2010) - The Google Project - 'nuff said

7) Randolph's Billiards versus the City of Hickory and the Drinking Establishment Ordinance - (4/19/2010) - The article that had the second most personal impact for several local citizens.

6) Hickory City Pools -- Told You So! --- 8) - ( 6/26/2010) - The article that held the most cultural significance and impact in 2010.

5) Making Chicken Salad out of Hickory City Government - (5/9/2010) - Response to comments about Chicken Salad - (5/12/2010) - 2 articles that brought the most dialogue to me from local citizens

4) The Race to the Bottom - (4/29/2010) - Article appeared on Catherine Austin Fitts site - Solari.com

3) Follow the Yellow Brick Road - (5/27/2010) - Follow the Yellow Brick Road (part 2) - How it relates to today - (5/29/2010) - Two articles that have climbed the charts of search engines and show how currency problems from the past relate to today.

2) The VisionAire Vantage - Aerospace Industry beginning a future in Catawba County - (8/13/2010) - An article whose viewership continues to grow larger over time. In my opinion, the most significant Economic Development Project currently taking place in the area!

1) Where are the UNC Board of Governors?!?!? - UNC-Chapel Hill athletic scandal. - (10/1/2010) - The most read, commented on, and e-mail correspondenced letter of 2010.


Below are the three most important City Council Newsletters of the year -
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of December 7, 2010 - Addendum on the Rental Property Task Force Recommendations - (12/8/2010)

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of December 21, 2010 - Addendum to Decommission and Permanently Secure Ivey and Ridgeview Pools - (12/21/2010)

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of July 20, 2010 - Addendum on the Hickory City Pools - (7/21/2010)

Democracy versus Despotism

Watch this video from decades ago (1945) and see what you think. We have lost our principles as a Nation that was the envy of the world. I still believe that we can turn things around, but we cannot do so if the average people in this nation choose to accept this race to the bottom. People have got to quit accepting a Least Common Denominator lifestyle. I choose not to sit in the pot as the temperature continues to climb. And can you not feel the temperature climbing?



Respect, Power, Fairness, Economic Distribution, Freedom of Expression, Free Flow of Information... As the video asks, "What sort of community do we live in?"

What happens in a community is the problem of its citizens; but as communities go, so goes the nation.

-- Thank You Warren Pollock for the heads up on this video.

Lamar Hunt, the AFL, and the example for our community

I want to describe this metaphor that I was thinking about today. In relation to our local economy and what the group that I am part of represents. I believe there are many similarities between the economic culture of the Hickory area and what we saw in the evolution of American professional football over its history.

I especially look back to the days of the 1960s and the tug-of-war that took place between the National Football League and the American Football League. For 10 years during the decade of the 1960s. The American Football League operated in direct competition with the established National Football League. Over time, there have been many new leagues that have formed since the inception of the National Football League in 1920.

Many Americans who have watched the spectacle that professional football has become do not realize how we have gotten to where we are today. As far as the popularity of the sport, most younger Americans have no clue about the context of the development of the premier National Football League. I bet most assume that the way football is today is the way it has always been.

The 1960s was a turbulent decade that ran the gamut of emotions from depression to euphoria. During the decade, the country saw a President and a Presidential candidate(the former President's brother) along with an iconic spiritual and cultural leader assassinated; generations were separated by the feeling and emotions surrounding the Vietnam War; and to close out the decade, America was able to follow the vision of John F. Kennedy and place a man on the moon, eight years after the idea and goal were established and initiated.

In 1959, the National Football League (NFL) had become one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the United States. There were only 12 teams in the NFL at the time. The Chicago Cardinals were for sale during that year and many wealthy men became suitors to buy the franchise. Lamar Hunt, the progeny of the famous Hunt oil family was one of these people who wanted to buy the franchise and relocate it to Dallas, Texas -- his hometown.

Several multimillionaires wanted NFL franchises, but the Commissioner of the National Football League, Bert Bell, did not want to expand the league. When the NFL dismissed the idea of expansion, Lamar Hunt joined forces with some of the other men seeking NFL franchises and created the American Football League (AFL). The NFL initially wasn't against the formation of the AFL in public, but soon the NFL turned towards undermining the fledgling league. The NFL expanded into the Dallas and Minneapolis markets as initial salvos in the battle.

The AFL was downplayed by the NFL as an interior league, although the AFL signed half of the NFL's first round draft picks in 1960. This would soon be the established path of development for all of professional football until the two leagues officially merged in 1966. The AFL's owners were dubbed "the Foolish Club," because of the expensive venture that they had initiated in going up against the established NFL. A bitter battle ensued in the early 1960s over players and ideas of just what American professional football should be.

The AFL struggled to survive during its first few years of existence, and a couple of the franchises had to be relocated. One such team was Lamar Hunt’s franchise "the Dallas Texans," who would become the Kansas City Chiefs. Even with the struggles, the AFL's persistence paid off. No AFL teams ever went defunct. Although some of these franchises have relocated over the subsequent 52 years, each one of the franchises that came into existence in 1959 are still in existence today.

Over time, during the mid-1960s, the AFL became the cool league. The AFL signed a lucrative television contract and continued to seriously compete head-to-head with the National Football League for players. The AFL signed Joe Namath, and his flash and panache created a stir and brought the league the attention and legitimacy that it desired. The two leagues had seen a bidding war over players escalate out of control until it finally necessitated a merger, which took place in 1966.

In a period of less than seven years, a sports league was started from scratch, took on the established league, and came to par with that league. In 1959, there were only 12 top tiered American professional football franchises. By 1969, there were 26 franchises; which starting in 1970 would compete under the umbrella of one league, which would continue to carry on under the title of the National Football League. It is more than apparent that by all accounts these men were successful in their endeavor led by Lamar Hunt.

The NFL ended up adopting many of the ideas of the AFL. Many of the innovations initiated by the AFL, along with the exciting style of play , have made modern football closer to the Lamar Hunt vision of professional football, than what preceded his foray into the sport. The Super Bowl exists today because of Hunt and professional football is played in most parts of the nation and every time zone, because of Hunt’s impact on the game.

Thousands of players, including many of the all-time greats, would've never had the chance to play professional football had we not seen the visionary expansion created by Lamar Hunt and the Foolish Club. What would professional football be today without these pioneers, who decided to challenge the establishment and fight what most people presumed to be a losing battle. Mr. Hunt, and these other men, determined their own success, and all who know and love professional football have benefited from their efforts.

Why did I lay down this history for you. Well, this is more than the inane ramblings of a strange person. This provides the foreknowledge of what a group of people must do to challenge the status quo and an embedded system of the establishment. This is not the only example of significant and positive change in what is accepted. We have seen this many times throughout history, but this is not an every day occurrence. Significant positive changes take significant risks and significant efforts. These men were willing to lose a lot of money, but they weren’t looking towards possible losses. They were looking towards the possibilities of gains and they succeeded in the end.

The people who I am associated with in this community are like those pioneers of the American Football League. We don't want to change the rules. We want to enhance them. We recognize that there is much more untapped talent and ideas that are available in this community. Much of this talent is unrecognized, because it is unconventional. The ideas and the methods that we are utilizing to bring this talent to the fore are completely different from what has occurred in the past.

The establishment is comfortable and they are very resistant to change.The Powers that Be do not understand what we are doing and believe that if we are going to do anything it needs to be funneled through them. One of the reasons that I related the story of the American Football League above is because many of our local community leaders were in their teens or 20s in the 60s when transformative changes such as the American Football League took place. And many of the people in their late 50s to 70 years old were the people who helped popularize the trends that led to significant transformation of the American Society.

Naturally as people get older they become more risk averse , and that is understandable. No one wants to take wild risks. What we want to do is take educated, calculated risks. Truly Transformative changes cannot and will not come without risks and hard work. Today, one of the gentleman , who is a part of the Future Economy Council stated that he liked Hickory and he didn't want it to become like Charlotte. If we were talking about turning Hickory into Charlotte, then he was against any proposed changes. He liked the feel of Hickory and that is the reason why he is here.

I don't think any of us want to lose the charms that do make Hickory special, but Hickory is falling to pieces and is not and never will be what we remembered. I don't think in our lifetimes that Hickory will ever become Charlotte, and I don't think that is what most of the transformative leadership in our community are looking to do. But, I do believe that many of the older citizens in this community are fearful that we want to institute policies that would take us towards unfettered population growth. I can assure you that that isn't our goal. Neither are we trying to structure a managed economy. We are simply trying to find a way to enhance employment capacity and create a more resilient business culture in this community.

I am not speaking for the group, but conveying to you my thoughts about the direction that fellow Master Capacity Builders are looking to establish in our community. We want to create ingredients that allow Hickory to expand the individual success and prosperity of its citizenry. We cannot do that through overbearing control and intolerance towards those who are different than ourselves.

We need to cross pollinate our local cultures and be more accepting of those who are different than ourselves. I know that people become defensive when they are called out about intolerance, but honestly our local social structure needs to take a long hard look at itself. To me, this isn't about race or socioeconomic levels. This is about being a good neighbor and looking out for all of the interests in our community. It is my feeling that when we strengthen individuals in our community, that we strengthen the ecosystem that we live in, and thus we strengthen ourselves.

This community needs to take a long hard look at the cultural norms that have evolved and been instituted up until now. We're doing a lot of things that cause the younger generations to not want to be a part of our community. I can tell you from experience in talking to young people there is not much for them to do around here. This community forces young people into bad situations if they want to have a good time.

There is basically no public entertainment venues available to these young people, so they can go out and socialize at a public establishment. And so many of them, throw parties at their residence. And if they do this, many times their neighbors will call the police about the least little disturbance and the police will come in and then everyone becomes uncomfortable. I am not saying what is right or what is wrong and anyway my days of partying are basically over, but in all my years of life, I know that younger people like to have a good time. And if we are intolerant and overbearing towards that, then isn't it understandable why these young people don't want anything to do with this community and have a bad taste in their mouth about what they have experienced?

Then, I look to the Hispanic populace that has been brought into this community as a cheap source of labor. These people work hard and earn their money, but the "Powers That Be" in this community don't want them out socializing in public. There were two brothers of Hispanic descent that wanted to open a dance club at the entrance of downtown Hickory and our local government did everything to keep this from happening. These two brothers are not illegal immigrants. They are lawfully here and they should have just as much right as anyone to open an establishment.

What the goal should be in this community is to have a relationship with business owners. Up front, bar and restaurant establishment owners need to understand what police officers need from them to keep the community safe. No one should be allowed to serve minors. No one should be over serving someone who is intoxicated. There should be no violence and there should be no drug activity tolerated at any of these establishments. But, if you open an establishment, you should be given the liberty to operate your establishment under the assumption that you have done and are doing nothing wrong. If we look towards areas of business growth in this community, it is restaurants and bars. We cannot afford to run legitimate businesses out of business.

I look to the good works that are being done at the Hispanic and Hmong center at the old Grandview elementary school. These cultures are keeping to themselves. The larger community needs to embrace these ethnic groups and help them and trade with them. I know that the Hmong throw a festival annually at the Caldwell County Fairgrounds in November. I think this event needs to be promoted more. People from all over the country come to this event. Talk about a lost marketing opportunity. We need to understand one another's cultures more in this community, and I think a lot of positives can come from that open mindset.

The economy is not good and that is obvious to most of us in this community. The numbers show that our community is middle to lower middle class and income hasn't grown much at all over the last decade. We need to institute policies that can lift up the lower strata of our socio-economic environment. In order to strengthen our community, we need to cross pollinate and get to know one another and we can benefit from this process and these connections. We need to get out of our comfort zone and expand our horizons, because there's so much to gain from expanding ourselves, our community, and our ecosystem.

What I am getting at is that we are not shackled by the establishment. If we don't like the structure that has been established, then we can change things if we are willing to. If the Powers that Be resist change, then we must follow the path of least resistance and go around them. We only imprison ourselves by surrendering ourselves to those who are subservient to the status quo. Life is changing at a dramatic pace, and we can either sit back and observe as it shoots past us or we can participate in these historical times and create our own destiny.

The Great Reset - A World of Accelerating Change

Two Great Videos by Warren Pollock



In this present crisis government is not the solution to our problem. From time to time society becomes too complex to be managed by self-rule, in this present crisis government contributes to the problem. Our own behavior is derived from our interaction with the outside world around us. We are born into a society in solid state, with most of the things of our society already existing. The things we know become our reality and our behavior through learning fits into that solidified reality. Our behavior becomes a function of our person as it relates to our own environment. We live in a working system that can develop cracks due to false assumption, our learned perception and learning. Rather than acknowledge change we hold strongly onto our own delusions as to the solid state or solidity of our frozen state system. - Warren Pollock



In United States politics, the iron triangle is a term used by political scientists to describe the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy (executive) (sometimes called "government agencies"), and interest groups.

For example, within the federal government the three sides often consist of: various congressional committees, which are responsible for funding government programs and operations and then providing oversight of them; the federal agencies (often Independent agencies), which are responsible for the regulation of those affected industries; and last, the industries themselves, as well as their trade associations and lobbying groups, which benefit, or seek benefit, from these operations and programs. - Warren Pollock

1) Inaction is an Action.
2) In a Forward moving World, Inaction = Slow Reverse.
3) Assumptions based upon antiquated ideas, processes, paradigms, and realities lead to bad decisions.
4) Hope = Empowering others to take action to change your life. Faith = A positive proactive action approach that empowers oneself through spirituality, beliefs, and trust in the action.
5) Isn't it funny how the ignorant tend to complicate matters, while the learned tend to simplify them.