Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- November 24, 2013

Fake Employment Numbers – And 5 More Massive Economic Lies The Government Is Telling You - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - November 19th, 2013 - According to a whistleblower that has recently come forward, Census employees have been faking and manipulating U.S. employment numbers for years.  In fact, it is being alleged that this manipulation was a significant reason for why the official unemployment rate dipped sharply just before the last presidential election.  What you are about to read is incredibly disturbing.  The numbers that the American people depend upon to make important decisions are being faked.  But should we be surprised by this?  After all, Barack Obama has been caught telling dozens of major lies over the past five years.  At this point it is incredible that there are any Americans that still trust anything that comes out of his mouth.  And of course it is not just Obama that has been lying to us.  Corruption and deception are rampant throughout the entire federal government, and this has been the case for years.  Now that some light is being shed on this, hopefully the American people will respond with overwhelming outrage and disgust.                              The whistleblower that I mentioned above has been speaking to John Crudele of the New York Post.  In his new article entitled "Census ‘faked’ 2012 election jobs report", he says that the huge decline in the unemployment rate in September 2012 was "manipulated"...


“This Is Really A Symbol Of What’s Going On In This Whole Country. We’re Losing Middle-Class Jobs” - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden's - November 21, 2013 - We wish we could say we didn't warn Boeing's machinists about the key trend taking place in the US economy under the Obama "recovery" but unfortunately we did. Three years ago, to be specific, when we wrote: "Charting America's Transformation To A Part-Time Worker Society" and followed it up with "A "Quality Assessment" Of US Jobs Reveals The Ugliest Picture Yet" in which we explained that while the propaganda machine was fixated on numeric, quantitative, job additions every month, what has subversively going on, was the constant deterioration in the quality of jobs - and specifically the declining wages - available to those Americans who had not rotated outside of the labor force permanently (currently at a record 91.5 million). We say "alas" because it once again took several years before our cautions to be felt by the broader population, in this case the Boeing machinist union struggling to extract a wage increase from its employer: Boeing, whose stock keeps hitting new record highs with every passing day.                   The machinists' lament is well-known to virtually everyone who relies on labor instead of capital to exist: pay us more. Bloomberg reports:

“We need to focus on how many jobs there are that give an adult a chance to earn a decent living,” said Gordon Lafer, an associate professor at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center in Eugene. “Too much of the discussion has been about the number of jobs, and that’s obviously important, but there’s also a crisis in the quality of jobs.”

That's ironic: when we said it first three years ago, the mainstream media mocked it. Curious how things change when that hope you once believed in becomes a "zero balance" nightmare at the ATM machine, eh?                       Blame it on the Fed, blame it on globalization, blame it on corporations who have a virtually unlimited labor, cheap and global pool to pick from, but the bottom line is US workers have zero leverage.


Not a genuine housing market recovery - Fox News - David Stockman - Neil Cavuto - November 18, 2013 




The Race to the Bottom - The Hickory Hound - April 29, 2010




Rand Paul: Janet Yellen 'Will Be a Disaster for the Economy' - November 24, 2013

Messages relevant to today - November 23, 2013

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. - attributed to Muhatma Gandhi





The Art of Subtlety - difficult to detect or analyze, often through being delicate or highly refined... not immediately obvious or comprehensible.





John Connally speaks about the intolerance and hatred that lead to President Kennedy's death 5 days before. This interview was given on November 27, 1963. (Link to video)

Gerald Celente: Founder & Director of the Trends Research Institute gives an interview to King World News and a sneak peek into his upcoming Autumn Trends Journal. 
(King World News Interview with Gerald Celente - November 20, 2013)

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of November 19, 2013

I began recording the City Council late last year, because of my desire that the City do it on their own as any modern 21st century community began doing long ago. I had people tell me that they couldn't make it to the meetings, but they would like to see what is going on. I was also told by some council members that my summaries did not truly reflect the record, so having a video/audio recording cannot be misinterpreted.

So below is the City Council meeting. With each agenda item, you can click on the links and it will take you to that specific point in the meeting. You can always drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.

Agenda about the City Council meeting of November 19, 2013 

Highlighted Links below take you straight to that point in the video.




Special Presentations
A. (1:55) Presentation of the Business Well Crafted Award by David Gissy of the Business Development Committee, to Dan Causey, President and Doyle Keever, Vice President of Keever’s Key and Repair Service.                      (From City Action Agenda Minutes) -   Mr. David Gissy of the Business Development Committee discussed the purpose of the Business Development Committee. He gave background information on Keever’s Key and Repair Service, which started in 1920 as Hickory Nut Shop on Union Square. He presented the Business Well Crafted Award to Mr. Dan Causey, President of Keever’s Key and Repair Service.                             Mr. Causey thanked everyone for the recognition and the Committee for recognizing Businesses that have been in business for more than 75 years.                 


B. (14:15) Neighborhood College Class Graduation - (From City Action Agenda Minutes) - Mrs. Dana Kaminske, Communications Specialist spoke briefly about Neighborhood College and asked some of the graduates to the podium to speak.                      Mrs. Erin Jones and Mrs. Alicia Hubbard, both City Employees; Ms. Bonita Hawkins, a new resident of the City; and Ms. Peggy Fullwood, a long time resident of the City, shared their experiences with Neighborhood College.                 Mrs. Kaminske, the Mayor, and City Council presented diplomas to the Neighborhood College Class of 2013: Jeff Bartlett, Bari Cooper, Jerisha Farrer, Peggy Fullwood, Juliet Good, Ardellia Hawkins, Bonita Hawkins, Alicia Hubbard, Erin Jones, William Kanupp, Donald Lewis, Reverend Logan, Phil McCaul, Ken O’Neill, Tracy Ray, John Robson, Rebecca Simpson, and Walter Smith.

Persons Requesting to Be Heard (33:45)
Mr. T. Anthony Spearman addressed Council on a Resolution regarding the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He asked the members of the Hickory Branch of the NAACP to the podium to stand with him. He appealed to Hickory City Council, on behalf of the Hickory Branch NAACP, for support of the Resolution and any other action that would prevent the upset of decades of well established practices that help to make sure that voting is fair, and that Council would stand publicly against any act that appears to abridge voting rights and disproportionately affect the voting ability of any minority by encouraging the Congress of the United States of America to fully restore and reactivate the Voting Rights Act of  1965.

The Hound: Always good to see people stand up for their rights... don't expect any of the requested action from this Council. 

Consent Agenda:  
Item A removed from the Consent Agenda and briefly discussed

A. Approval of Resolution to Surplus Library CD/DVD Display Case and to Donate the Case to the Hickory Music Factory, a Local Non-Profit Organization. -  The Library requests approval to surplus a CD/DVD display case that is no longer in use or needed by the Library and to donate the display case to the Hickory Music Factory, a local non-profit organization. Public Notice advertised on November 8, 2013 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area.

Consent Agenda approved Unanimously.

New Business - Public Hearings
1. (47:20) Rezoning Petition 13-12 for Property Located at 1024 and 1030 4th Street NE, as well as Two Vacant Lots - Presentation by Cal Overby. Video shows the Powerpoint presentation

New Business -  Departmental Reports: Presentation by Warren Wood, Asst City Manager - Video shows the Powerpoint presentation


1. a. (57:10) Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Hickory and Hickory Baseball, Inc. regarding Additional Projects to be Under-taken at L.P. Frans. Stadium. - Staff will outline what these projects are and who has responsibility for them. Additionally, there will be a budget amendment to fund the City’s additional projects in the amount of $391,000.

b. (1:13:05) Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 9.  - To provide funding for additional improvement projects at L.P. Frans Stadium as described in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Hickory and Hickory Baseball, Inc. Therefore a $391,000 appropriation of General Fund balance to the L. P. Frans Stadium Capital Improvements line item is necessary.

The Hound: I appreciate having baseball in Hickory. I think having a sports team is good for the city. I don't know what the profitability picture is for the City or for Don Beaver. I've been to a couple of games in the past few years and the attendance definitely isn't what it used to be.

As part of the agreement with the Crawdads, I would have liked to have seen the city secure a certain number of tickets. These tickets could be given to kids that make good grades so that their families could go enjoy a game. Whay not have a couple of games dedicated and promoted as being kid friendly? Kids go to High School football games on Friday nights. Why not have some Young Fridays and/or Saturdays during the summer while school is out? This would be a whole lot better than kids out cruising all night long on the weekends. Have a concert after the game. End it all around midnight.

The Crawdads wouldn't make money off of such an exchange, but it would help to boost awareness of their product and create some enthusiasm. I remember when that stadium was first built that there were concerts there. I'd like to see some more concerts brought to the venue. Thinking outside the box, I wonder if there could be a way to hold a high school football game there. It certainly would be a bigger venue than Hickory High. You could hold the Hickory vs Newton- Conover or Maiden games there and I believe it most certainly would fill the place. I don't know about sodding the infield portion and the expense of that, but it certainly would be nice to see the venue used for more than it is.

I just think we need to look at all of the possibilities. We also need to look at getting some kind of a Return on Investment from this facility to mitigate some of its costs.

General Comments
(1:17:35) Mayor Wright comments about the election.

John F. Kennedy... a man not saddled by ideology

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was murdered 50 years ago tomorrow. He is looked upon as being a President of distinction and significance even though he served just 1,036 days in office. His death has had a resonance in this country, because he is viewed upon as being struck down in the prime of his life.

Young people related very well with this man. His Presidency was viewed upon as a new era in this country and upon his death we went from an inspirational leader backwards to a hard man, and some would even say a crass man, in Lyndon Johnson who stole hope and ushered in years of fear, control and paranoia that still grip the Presidential office to this day. Six revolutionary seconds in Dallas changed the world forever.

John Kennedy died 966 days before I was born, but he has had a significant impact on my generation -- Generation X. You see we were born into a world of shock. Twenty years after the Greatest World War. Born into a world that could now destroy humankind in hours through the use of Atomic weaponry. We were born amongst the tumult and surrounded by the mayhem of great and significant people being murdered, because "they didn't think right." Think about Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King being murdered, just like JFK, in the prime of their lives.  Think about the lost contributions. Think about how they weren't able to put their own stamp on their own works. Think about what we missed out on.

The public didn't see the Zapruder film until 1975. We see any and every form of video of every situation in life these days. The world now changes so rapidly every day. Many say that the United States lost its innocence after that day in Dallas. I think what they mean to say is that the people lost their naivete after that event and the subsequent events that followed, including the murders, Vietnam, the 1968 Chicago Democrat Convention, and Nixon's Presidency ending in Watergate.

Kennedy wasn't stuck in the old conventions. He wanted to move the country forward. I can't get into all of the non-conventional stances that he took without introducing the controversial subjects surrounding his assassination. No! I do not think that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, if he even fired a shot. Kennedy had made many enemies by standing up to and against the establishment of the time. His assassination brought the establishment back into absolute power and no one has stood against accepted conventions, to the degree that Kennedy did, since that time.

As I wrote nearly five years ago in The Hottest Places in Hell - December 30, 2008:

I watched a documentary about President John F. Kennedy this week. The man was an enigma. He wasn't stuck within a political party mindset. I truly believe that he wanted to represent all of the people and if that meant making controversial decisions, then so be it. That is most assuredly what got him killed. But, he did not live a life in fear.

JFK was a leader, who never stuck his finger in the air to see which way the wind was blowing. He also didn't play the blame game. He was a visionary with a mind set towards accomplishing goals. He realized and communicated time and time again, through words and actions, that those who do not take a stand in life are relegated to a life of insignificance. He road tall and proud on that fateful day in Dallas, because he believed in his cause.

From the JFK Library online: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Dante+Quote.htm

One of President Kennedy's favorite quotations was based upon an interpretation of Dante's Inferno. As Robert Kennedy explained in 1964, "President Kennedy's favorite quote was really from Dante, 'The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality.'" This supposed quotation is not actually in Dante's work, but is based upon a similiar one. In the Inferno, Dante and his guide Virgil, on their way to Hell, pass by a group of dead souls outside the entrance to Hell. These individuals, when alive, remained neutral at a time of great moral decision. Virgil explains to Dante that these souls cannot enter either Heaven or Hell because they did not choose one side or another. They are therefore worse than the greatest sinners in Hell because they are repugnant to both God and Satan alike, and have been left to mourn their fate as insignificant beings neither hailed nor cursed in life or death, endlessly travailing below Heaven but outside of Hell. This scene occurs in the third canto of the Inferno.

In this era of Tumult, does this fit you? For all who espouse themselves to be followers of the Kennedy Ideal, how do you defend your inaction?

There is hope. Today is a new day. You can shed your neutrality today and strive for a life of significance. Ambivalence won't change anything. Contributing to our community can change everything!!!

When I think of Kennedy, I always think about the speech below. This is the John Kennedy that represents me.

A Statistical Analysis of the 2013 Hickory Mayoral Election

Rudy Wright won a fourth term with right at 55% of the vote. His strong showings were in the North Side precincts that we have come to expect to be represented well for the establishment in Hickory Elections. The Mayor got strong showings in Oakwood, Viewmont 1, and the Northwest Precinct. He had solid showings in College Park, Springs, Viewmont 2, and Falling Creek. He carried Mountain View and Sandy Ridge, but these precincts had smaller vote counts.

Dr. Inglefield's solid showings came from the 4th ward precincts in contiguous Hickory. He basically walloped the Mayor in Kenworth, Ridgeview, and Greenmont 577 to 121, which is 82.7% of the vote. He also solidly won Brookford. Highland and St. Stephens were toss-ups and he actually fared pretty well in Falling Creek.

In looking at these results we see momentum with several areas that could start to come into play very soon in local municipal elections. Highland is already a toss-up and will likely flip in the next election. Oakland Heights, Falling Creek, and Sandy Ridge could easily flip away from the status quo candidates. You can see that the blue collar areas of town and the areas further away from the city center are much more likely to vote against the status quo candidate. A little bit better turnout in these elections and the local establishment could get overturned easily.

If we look at this election compared to the referendum, we see that Dr. Inglefield lost about 200 votes somewhere and Mayor Wright gained about 160 somewhere. I don't think that this was a flip. The Mayor has always had a coordinated vote effort involving the people living in the assisted living centers in the community. Some of this also is due to a concerted effort to paint Dr. Inglefield as basically being a Communist -- the McCarthy effect like Harry Hipps pointed to in his comment the other day. I also think that a good many of those people that voted yes on the referendum just didn't show up and some of the people who voted for Mayor Wright hadn't shown up to vote in the referendum.

If this city council doesn't immediately work to move some issues forward for the whole of the city, then the three seats up in two years will be completely up in the air. This divided city is teetering away from the status quo due to the stagnation in the economy and other aspects of quality of life issues. There are some variables that are currently masking some of this to a certain degree, but the reality lies under a very thin skin. North Hickory is tapped out. They can't turn out much more than they have, but there is growth to be had in the disenfranchised areas of Hickory. If there is growth to be had it will come from non-traditional areas. We are going to see some very interesting local politics moving forward. Those who look to control the uncontrollable are losing their grip. They would be much better off if they would move away from the monopoly and the bullying and attempt to work and play nice with others. But as I was listening to someone say the other day, "Southern politics is all about raw power... and raw power is ugly to its core."

I wish we could move away from that, because raw power is destructive and growth comes from being constructive.





The Electoral Reality of Ward 4 in Hickory

A Statistical Analysis of the Hickory Ward 5 Election

A Statistical Analysis of the Hickory Ward 6 Election

Agenda about the City Council meeting of November 19, 2013

 This Agenda is about the Hickory City Council meeting that will take place on the date listed above. 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. You can also look in the upper right hand corner of the front page of the Hickory Hound and (will soon) find the link to the past history of Hickory City Newsletters.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the 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.

City Website has changed - Here is a link to the City of Hickory Document Center

 City Council Agenda - November 19, 2013

Invocation by Rev. Karla Woggon, Rector, Episcopal Church of the Ascension

Special Presentations
A. Presentation of the Business Well Crafted Award by David Gissy of the Business Development Committee, to Dan Causey, President and Doyle Keever, Vice President of Keever’s Key and Repair Service
B. Neighborhood College Class Graduation

Persons Requesting to Be Heard


Consent Agenda:
A. Approval of Resolution to Surplus Library CD/DVD Display Case and to Donate the Case to the Hickory Music Factory, a Local Non-Profit Organization. -  The Library requests approval to surplus a CD/DVD display case that is no longer in use or needed by the Library and to donate the display case to the Hickory Music Factory, a local non-profit organization. Public Notice advertised on November 8, 2013 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area.

B. Approval to Revise the Hickory Public Library’s Meeting and Conference Room Policy. - The information contained in the current Meeting and Conference Room Policy is mostly
valid; however, to avoid confusion and clarify intent, it is necessary to update the language in some areas and to eliminate a rule that no long applies. Staff requests approval of the revisions for the purpose of eliminating, revising or replacing language or rules that are no longer relevant, may be redundant, or no longer reflect the library’s actual practice.

C. Approval of “Food for Fines” Amnesty Week at the Library, December 2 – 14, 2013.  -  Approval of the waiver of overdue fines for library customers who donate canned food items at either Patrick Beaver Memorial Library or Ridgeview Branch Library during the two-week period of December 2-14, 2013. One can or box of food will cancel $1.00 in overdue fines, and donated items will be given to Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry.

D. Approval to Amend Lease Agreement for the Property Located at 304 3rd Street SW, Hickory. - Hickory Police Department requests approval to amend the lease agreement for the property located at 304 3rd Street SW, Hickory, leased to Ronald Andrew Jones and Jennie Nicole Frye. The original lease agreement was approved by City Council on October 1, 2013. After further review of the lease agreement it was noted that several changes were needed. The Agreement is hereby amended by correcting the name of the Landlord from the “City of Hickory Police Department” to the “City of Hickory.” Paragraph 5 of the Lease entitled RENT DUE DATE is hereby amended by deleting the paragraph in its entirety and substituting the following paragraph: RENT DUE DATE: Tenants hereby acknowledged that late payment will cause Landlord to incur costs not contemplated by this Rental Agreement. We allow for a 3 day grace period. In the event rent is not received prior to the 10th of the month, Tenant agrees to pay a $30 late fee. Neither ill health, loss of job, financial emergency or other excuses will be accepted for late payment.

E. Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs. The following requests were considered by the Citizens’ Advisory Committee at their regular meeting on November 7, 2013:
 Bobby & Angela Cowans were approved for recommendation to City Council for firsttime homebuyer’s assistance to purchase a house located at 828 5th Avenue SW, Hickory. They have requested $7,500 for assistance with down payment and closing costs. The First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Loan is zero interest, no payments and repaid upon sale, refinance or payoff of first mortgage.
 Kisha Shuford was approved for recommendation to City Council for first-time homebuyer’s assistance to purchase a house located at 824 5th Avenue SW, Hickory. She has requested $7,500 for assistance with down payment and closing costs. The First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Loan is zero interest, no payments and repaid upon sale, refinance or payoff of first mortgage.
 Habitat for Humanity, 1615 8th Street Drive SE, Hickory, was recommended to subordinate City’s 2nd mortgage to Peoples Bank due to refinance of 1st Mortgage. Applicant was approved, provided that the mortgage loan is no more than what is owed on the property. They are refinancing for a lower interest rate and lower payment. Funds are budgeted for these items through the City of Hickory’s former Rental Rehabilitation Program income received in FY 2012 and/or program income received through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant Program. Each of the following applicants is being recommended for approval for assistance under the City of Hickory’s 2012-2013 Urgent Repair Program. This program provides qualified low income citizens with assistance for emergency-related repairs not to exceed $5,400.
 Phyllis Chester, 1526 20th Street Drive NE, Hickory,
 Edward Cunningham, 61 5th Street SE, Hickory,
 Polly Brotherton, 63 16th Street SE, Hickory,
 Lois Tse, 339 11th Street Place SW, Hickory,
 Timothy Rhodes, 923 South Center Street, Hickory,
The Citizens’ Advisory Committee recommends approval of the aforementioned requests for assistance through the City of Hickory’s housing assistance programs.

F. Approval of a Joint Resolution Approving a Memorandum of Understanding between the Western Piedmont Regional Transit Authority and the City of Hickory. -  City Council previously approved the conveyance of the Piedmont Bus Transfer Station property from the City to the Western Piedmont Regional Transit Authority (WPRTA). The deed was recorded in Deed Book 3199 Page 375 on July 12, 2013 with the Catawba County Register of Deeds. After the deed was recorded, City staff and WPRTA staff were informed that that the parties needed to follow additional procedures with the conveyance in accordance with FTA guidelines. Specifically, FTA would not approve the deed’s reverter clause which states the bus transfer station (the “property”) will revert to the City in the event WPRTA ceased to operate as an entity or if WPRTA ceased using the property as a bus transfer station. Because a portion of the project was funded with federal grant dollars, the FTA has an interest or share in the remaining useful life of the property. This interest would not be automatically extinguished if the property reverted to the City. Instead the value of its share or interest would depreciate over a period of time. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishes that for a period of forty years from the date of completion of the project, the City and WPRTA agree that no transfer or disposition of the property can take place without the approval of the FTA. In the event WPRTA ceases providing public transportation services, WPRTA would need to obtain the FTA’s approval before conveying the property back to the City. The MOU also establishes that the property will be used as a bus transfer station or related ancillary use.

G. Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 8
1. To budget $17,792 of North Carolina League of Municipalities (NCLM) contributions in the NCLM Conference expenditure line item. These funds are to help pay expenses associated with hosting the conference. Contributions include $15,000 from the North Carolina League of Municipalities and $2,792 from the Hickory Metro Convention Center.
2. In FY12-13 the City's "Parking Rental" revenue exceeded budget by $10,952 and the "Parking Fines" revenue exceeded budget by $4,783. This budget amendment moves these excess funds to the "Parking Capital Reserve Fund".
 3. To budget $39,840 of Library Foundation Endowment Funds in the Library’s
operational budget to purchase literacy stations, furniture for the children and teen
area, programs for adult, children and nonfiction books.
4. To transfer $6,150 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to the
project fund for the renovation of the former Ridgeview Public Library for use as a
meeting space and history center. The North Carolina Historic Preservation Fund is
contributing $9,000 and the InterFaith Housing Development Corporation is providing
the $6,000 required match; however the single quote came in $6,150 above the
budget; therefore the overage will be covered with Community Development Block
Grant Funds.

H. Grant Project Ordinance Amendment Number 3.
1. To accept a $6,150 transfer of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and budget in the renovation of the former Ridgeview Public Library project. The North Carolina Historic Preservation Fund is contributing $9,000 and the InterFaith Housing Development Corporation is providing the $6,000 required match toward the project; however the single quote came in $6,150 above the budget. The overage will be covered with Community Development Block Grant Funds; therefore a budget amendment is necessary
.
Informational Item
A. Report of Mayor Wright’s travel to North Carolina League of Municipalities Executive Director Search Committee, Raleigh, North Carolina on November 1, 2013. (Parking Expense - $12; Mileage Reimbursement - $194.36)

New Business - Public Hearings
1. Rezoning Petition 13-12 for Property Located at 1024 and 1030 4th Street NE, as well as Two Vacant Lots. - Petitioner Robert Lee Combs Jr. has petitioned for the rezoning of .51 acres of property located along 4th Street NE. This property includes 1024 and 1030 4th Street NE, as well as two vacant lots. The petition is to rezone the property from High Density Residential – 4 (R-4) to General Business (C-2). This public hearing was advertised on November 8, 2013 and November 15, 2013 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area.


New Business -  Departmental Reports:
1. a. Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Hickory and Hickory Baseball, Inc. regarding Additional Projects to be Under-taken at L.P. Frans. Stadium. - Staff will outline what these projects are and who has responsibility for them. Additionally, there will be a budget amendment to fund the City’s additional projects in the amount of $391,000.
b. Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 9.  - To provide funding for additional improvement projects at L.P. Frans Stadium as described in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Hickory and Hickory Baseball, Inc. Therefore a $391,000 appropriation of General Fund balance to the L. P. Frans Stadium Capital Improvements line item is necessary.

A Statistical Analysis of the Hickory Ward 6 Election

Jill Patton ran unopposed in this race. She received 88% of the vote in her election and 70.61% of all ballots cast in the election.

About a week before election day Mike Huttman decided he was going to run a write-in campaign. Other than friends, most people don't know who Mike Huttman is. The vast majority of people who voted for Mike are people who have had contact with him. He received 330 votes (7% of the votes cast), which is pretty impressive for such a low profile campaign. Besides Mr. Huttman, there were 95 other write-in votes. So in total you see that there were 425 write-in votes in this race, which is 8.9% of all votes cast.

What is very interesting about the voting in this ward is the number of people who did not vote. Over 20% of the people, 982 no-votes, in the at-large election did not vote in this particular election. In Ridgeview over 50% of the people did not vote; in Brookford over 30% of the people did not vote; in College Park, Kenworth, Highland, Longview north and south, and St. Stephens 1 and 2 over 20% of the people did not vote in this election. In every other precinct, except a couple where fewer than ten people voted, there were at least 10% of the people who did not cast a vote in this particular ward election.

The Electoral Reality of Ward 4 in Hickory

A Statistical Analysis of the Hickory Ward 5 Election