(April 14, 2021 Issue)

During the March 30 City Council meeting several items were approved under the consent agenda. Among those items are several budget amendments and public hearings were scheduled. All items noted were unanimously approved by city council. Absent from the meeting was Councilman Dave Allen. The budget amendments approved include:
▪ A budget amendment to transfer funds among departments to cover General Fund payroll and benefit costs at the departmental level for the remainder of the fiscal year. *Note: There is no increase to the overall budget, and it is projected that there will be more than enough payroll budgeted in total for the General Fund. This is necessary due to variances in projected OT, employees (Public Works) transferring between departments since adoption of the original budget, temporary labor requirements, etc. Council approval is required given that we are transferring monies between departments/functions.
▪ A budget amendment to transfer Streetscape Budget, which was approved last month, from the General Fund to a newly proposed Capital Project Fund. This prevents the necessity for reappropriating unspent funds at year end in next year’s General Fund Budget, as a project ordinance is valid until action is taken to formally close it. Council approval is required as we are transferring budget between funds.
   Adopt a Capital Project Ordinance for Streetscape to move previously approved budget to a project fund. This prevents the necessity of having to reappropriate the amounts in next year’s General Fund Budget.
▪ A budget amendment in the amount of $1.5M to the General Capital Reserve Fund Ordinance. This fund was established to accumulate resources for capital related activities, then transferred to other funds to finance the capital. In order to move monies into this fund, amounts must be budgeted as transfers in other existing funds. In order to spend these funds, capital must be approved/budgeted in other funds. There is currently no remaining budget in this fund - $500,000 is the amount to be transferred to fund Streetscape, which will exhaust the funds current budget, thus the need to amend the ordinance. Council approval is required to amend a project ordinance.
▪ A budget amendment in the amount of $250,000 to move resources from the Medical Self-Insurance Fund to the Worker’s Comp Self-Insurance Fund. The Medical Fund received transfers of excess resources from the Worker’s Comp Fund in past periods and is now in a position to “reimburse” the Worker’s Comp Fund. The City is partially self-insured for both functions, but they are accounted for in separate funds.
   Mayor Neisler was authorized to execute a Lake Use Agreement with the 2021 Thursday Night Bass Tournament, a non-profit organization to allow “Thursday Night Bass Tournaments” from 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. at Moss Lake beginning April 1, 2021, then every Thursday night until October 14, 2021. A final “Fish Off” will be scheduled for a later date on a Saturday in October 2021. This is a recommendation from the Moss Lake Commission.
Four Public Hearings were scheduled for Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. to:
• Consider a Resolution to delay the November 2021 City of Kings Mountain Municipal Election until March 2022.
• Consider a Zoning Text Amendment to add Section 6.16 (4) Kings Mountain Protection, Preservation and Enhancement District (KMPPED) beginning at Page 53-R.1, a vacant properties/building registration process.
• Consider an Ordinance to create the City of Kings Mountain’s Mural Ordinance.
• Consider amendments to the City of Kings Mountain Zoning Ordinance - Case No. Z-24-3-21 as follows:
Article VII – Table of Permitted and Conditional Uses. Section 7.4 Table of Permitted and Conditional Uses (See Table) Add on Page 61 and change the table of permitted and conditional uses as follows:
• Change Automobile Parking (commercial) from a conditional use permit (C) to a Permitted by Right use (X*) in the G-B zoning district and add as a note on the bottom of Page 61 (X*) “when such facilities are physically connected to Catawba Indian Nation Trust Property.”
Add to the list of height limitations exceptions in the Zoning Ordinance – Section 4.8 Height Limitations Exceptions
• Add the following language after the word hospital, “Automobile Park (commercial) including elevator shafts when such facilities are physically connected to Catawba Indian Nation Trust Property.”
   Additionally, city council decided to:
▪ Award a bid in the amount of $889,432 to WESCO Distribution for the Delivery No. 5 MVA Substation Power Transformers. The Capital Project Ordinance for the Delivery 5 project was approved at the regular Council Meeting of January 26, 2021.
▪ Award a Contract for System Development Fee Study for Water Sewer Department to Willdan based on the rating evaluation. This is a recommendation from the Water Department and from Purchasing.
▪ Authorize a Capital Project Ordinance for the Beason Creek Lift Station. The developer agreement was previously approved by Council, and the developer fee in the amount of $1,200,000 was paid to the City in early March. This project is required to be completed within 14 months. Since the project will overlap into the next fiscal year and the fact that these are restricted funds, it is best practice to adopt a project ordinance.
▪ Adopt a Resolution directing the City Clerk to investigate a Voluntary Non-Contiguous Annexation Petition received under N.C.G.S. § 160A58.1 from R. Dean Harrell and Colton Harrell being located in Cleveland County containing 60.91 acres, for property that R. Dean Harrell owns located between Crocker Road and Kings Mountain Boulevard.
 

(April 14, 2021 Issue)

Please take
community
satisfaction survey 

The Cleveland County Health Department needs your help in assessing community satisfaction with our services and operation. If you have received any service from or participated in any events/programs sponsored by the Cleveland County Health Department in 2021, please answer a few questions in our Community Satisfaction Survey.
Services and events/programs may include, but are not limited to, our clinic services, dental services, eye exams, pharmacy, health education information and presentations, coalitions, and COVID-19 services such as testing, contact tracing, and vaccinations.
You have the opportunity to respond until May 3. All responses are anonymous. You may access the survey by visiting: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CCPHSurvey2021
Your input is vital as we strive to meet the public health needs of the residents of Cleveland County. The Cleveland County Health Department thanks you in advance for your participation.

Compact allows Class III gaming at Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain 

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved the Catawba Nation’s Tribal-State Compact with the State of North Carolina, allowing the state to share in revenues generated by the new Two Kings Casino Resort
The Catawba can now conduct Class III gaming, including operating slot machines and table games, at the casino being developed at a site in the City of Kings Mountain in Cleveland County, about 45 minutes from downtown Charlotte.
The approval of the compact was communicated to Catawba Chief Bill Harris in a March 19 letter from Darryl LaCounte, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and takes effect when the notice of the approval is published in the Federal Register. A similar letter is also being sent to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, LaCounte’s letter noted.
“We completed our review of the Compact and conclude that it does not violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), and any provision of the Federal law that does not relate to jurisdiction over gaming on Indian lands, or the trust obligations of the United States to Indians,” LaCounte wrote. “Therefore, pursuant to my delegated authority and Section 11 of IGRA, I approve the Compact.”
The Catawba Compact was approved by Gov. Cooper, as well as North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Attorney General Josh Stein, in mid-January, and underwent a 45-day review by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“This is great news for the Catawba Nation, the State of North Carolina and the Kings Mountain region, and I’d like to thank the Bureau of Indian Affairs for its work in reviewing our Compact,” Harris said. “Our focus now is developing the casino to bring economic benefits and thousands of jobs to the citizens of North Carolina.”
In March 2020, the U.S. Department of the Interior, following a thorough, years-long review, took 17 acres of land into trust status in Cleveland County, North Carolina, for the Catawba Nation. The action recognized the Catawba Nation’s historical and ancestral ties to its aboriginal lands throughout North Carolina, as evidenced by names such as Catawba County and Catawba College, as well as in the six counties, including Cleveland County, specifically identified by Congress as part of the Catawba’s service area. The compact with North Carolina acknowledges this connection to North Carolina as well.
In addition to creating revenue for the State of North Carolina, the casino will help support an education fund that will benefit environmental conservation, provide educational support for members of federal and state-recognized tribes, support local communities on economic development initiatives and foster employment opportunities on or near Catawba lands.
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(March 17, 2021 Issue)

On Monday, March 15, at approximately 06:56 am, Cleveland County Communications dispatched Oak Grove Fire Department and Cleveland County EMS to a vehicle accident on US 74 Bypass in the east bound lanes.
Arriving first responders found a vehicle on the side of the US 74 East Bypass off ramp to Oak Grove Road. Upon investigating further, the owner of the vehicle, Roger Wesley Lineberger, 67, of Matthews, NC was found unresponsive underneath the back tires of the vehicle.
Immediate first aid was given but the subject, succumbed to injuries that he had sustained. A full investigation of the scene was completed by the Kings Mountain Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit with the assistance of the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
At this time, no indications of foul play were found regarding this incident. The investigation is still be conducted and if anyone has information pertaining to the investigation, they are asked to contact Sgt. KL Hamrick with the Kings Mountain Police Department at 704-734-0444.

Sidney Brown of Kings Mountain could not believe it when he won the lottery at a convenience store in town. Some tears, some dancing, and some celebration broke out as he reacted to the win.
"I lost it,” he said. “I started crying immediately, running around the store, breakdancing, whatever you want to call it, I was doing it. All I could think about was that I could do everything I finally wanted to do.”
The celebration broke out after Brown purchased his winning $25 Extreme Cash ticket from the Tobacco Barn on North Cleveland Avenue in Kings Mountain.
   “I’ve just been crying and thanking God,” he said. “I’m truly blessed and it’s still not real to me.”
He claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $70,757.
   “I’ve wanted to get me a house, and buy a little piece of land,” said Brown. “I want to invest. I want to give back to the church that my family grew up in. Just take care of my closest family and friends that always looked out for me ever since I was young.”

(March 10, 2021 Issue)

Governor Roy Cooper today issued an Executive Order that the Department of Commerce will increase efforts to help North Carolinians who file for unemployment benefits return to work.
Executive Order 200 establishes a flexible work search requirement for all new claimants who apply for unemployment benefits on or after March 14, 2021. With the recent end of the Extended Benefits program for state unemployment under federal law, this step will ensure that out of work North Carolinians can access job seeking assistance available through NCWorks and other state-sponsored job search programs.
   The Order directs the Department of Commerce to interpret work search laws flexibly to account for burdens posed by COVID-19 that could affect a job seeker’s ability to satisfy search requirements. The department is also directed to establish a broad set of reemployment activities that qualify for a claimant’s job search.
“More jobs are being created as we begin to emerge from the pandemic, and people who are out of work need help getting them. Unemployment payments have been critical for families and we want them to have jobs before the payments end,” said Governor Cooper.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than $10 billion in unemployment benefits has been disbursed to North Carolinians through multiple state and federal benefit programs, despite the state providing among the fewest weeks of state benefits in the country.
In his COVID relief budget announced in February, Governor Cooper proposed expanding state unemployment benefits, which are still among the lowest in the country. Since the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance is high and the ongoing need of North Carolinians out of work due to the pandemic is so great, he proposed that the maximum duration of benefits be increased to 26 weeks and the maximum benefit be increased from $350 to $500 per week.
For assistance searching for work in North Carolina, job seekers can contact NCWorks for remote services at NCWorks.gov or call 1-855-NCWORKS.

(March 3, 2021 Issue)

The City of Kings Mountain’s Codes and Public Works Departments are teaming up for another spring cleanup April 5 – 9. The city is offering a free pickup service for yard trash, junk, and litter. Items must be placed in the front yard next to the curb. The normal fee of $20 per truckload for collecting yard items will be waived during that week.
The intent of this project is to remove litter and junk that has accumulated on the exterior of properties, excluding items such as furniture, mattresses, batteries, electronic equipment, or paint cans. Do no not bring items from inside the house or other buildings to be collected. If you do place unapproved items, the standard $20 fee per truckload will be required to be paid prior to removal by the city.
Plan now to take advantage of the free service and to do your part to clean up the city. For questions on approved items, or to schedule a pickup for unapproved items, call 704-734-0735.

(March 3, 2021 Issue)


By Loretta Cozart

City Council unanimously approved a budget amendment in the amount of $1.5M for the Phase II Streetscape project which should be completed by August. Funds for the project are being taken from General Fund ($500,000), Capital Reserve Fund ($500,000), and Electric Fund ($500,000).
“We’ve never had a full-blown Streetscape study and project during my 32-year tenure with the City of Kings Mountain,” said City Manager Marilyn Sellers. “This will be done with no rate increase, tax increase, or borrowing money from a financial institution.”
“I’d like to add that I feel we have gone beyond with funding and projects downtown with the city stepping up to the plate, and that I hope this will bring an enthusiasm and desire from the private sector to make the improvements necessary to fill the empty buildings in the downtown and achieve our ultimate goal. That goal is 100% occupancy downtown,” Sellers said.
Other budget amendments approved during the meeting include:
• A budget amendment in the amount of $24,000 to budget receipt of grant funding from Firehouse Subs Foundation to purchase AED’s (defibrillators) for Police cars. The grant requires no match, so the equipment is fully financed by the grant.
• A budget amendment in the amount of $150,000 to budget expenditures for HVAC repairs/upgrades necessary at City Hall. The project is necessary due to the fact the current software controlling the thermostats is no longer supported. Also, issues with the air handler need to be addressed due to inadequate, or in some cases excessive, heating and cooling in certain areas of the building.
• A budget amendment in the amount of $175,000 to budget expenditures for roof replacements/repairs at the YMCA and Police Departments. Both roofs currently leak and require imminent
repair  and or  replacement given current age and condition, staff recommendation is replacement.
   Three Public Hearings were scheduled for the next city council meeting on March 30:
• to consider a City of Kings Mountain Economic Development Financial Incentive Policy, as well as a proposed Text Amendment to the Downtown Development Incentives Grant Policy for the City of Kings Mountain, North Carolina as Amended February 24, 2015, increasing the amount awarded from $750.00 to $2,000.00.
•  regarding the trash transfer station in operation at the Public Works Facility.
• to consider a rezoning application from R.D. Harrell Company to rezone property located in Cleveland County and consisting of 56.95 acres, more or less, owned by R.D. Harrell and Petitioner R.D. Harrell Company with road access on Kings Mountain Boulevard, Crocker Road, and located North of Margrace Road. Property being further Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 44 Page 74 known as Parcel Numbers 11081, 55635, 11082, 72747, 13810, and 62514 from R-10 to Conditional District R6 PUD – Case No. Z-14-1-21.
   City council also adopted three resolution:
• granting Eddie & Victoria Byars relief from Section 2.8 Special Provisions for Family Subdivision, Subsection 3 of the Subdivision Ordinance for the City of Kings Mountain to allow for an easement that is greater than the 500 feet maximum for a 5.00-acre tract (Parent Tract 11014) off of Phifer Farm Road.
• authorizing the donation of a 1984 Chevrolet Truck to the Blacksburg Volunteer Fire Department.
• to formally adopt the Cleveland Gaston Lincoln Regional Mitigation Plan and agree to take such other official action as may be reasonable and necessary to carry out the proposed action plan.
Both the Mayor and Mike Butler, chairman of the TDA, were authorized to enter into an Audit Contract with Martin Starnes and Associates for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 as required by the Local Government Commission.
City council awarded bid in the amount of f $144,000 to Carolina Air Solutions for Air Handling Units and Control Panels for City Hall air conditioning unit.
   Two appointments and reappointments to the Boards and Commissions were approved:
• Lew Dellinger – Appointed to the ABC Board for a 3-year term expiring 1/31/2024.
• Marian Denise Edwards – Appointed to the Main Street Advisory Board to fill a vacant seat expiring on 6/30/2023.
   City Council also approved adding the Main Street Advisory Board to the Policy for City Council Appointments to Authorities, Boards, Commissions, and Committees. This was inadvertently omitted when the policy was written.
   A Public Hearing was held to consider a request from Larry D. Carroll for a Voluntary Contiguous Annexation Petition for property located at 2108 Vestibule Church Road. Staff recommended continuing the Public Hearing for several reasons including lack of plat map. City council approved of the continuation until March 30 at 6 pm.
   During the regular meeting, city council unanimously approved an ordinance to demolish and remove a dilapidated dwelling and accessory buildings located at 123 McGinnis Street, due to the determination that it is not fit for human habitation. According to Codes Director Clint Houser, “This dwelling does not meet the minimum standards as outlined in the City of Kings Mountain Housing Code.”
   City council also approved a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Kings Mountain and the NC Department of Commerce for the purposes of a complimentary review of ordinance changes in the Kings Mountain Downtown Protection, Preservation & Enhancement District.
   Kendig Keast Collaborative presented an update regarding the Unified Development Ordinance and presented their timeline. City council discussed future Council Work Sessions and times for public input. Mayor Neisler commented that he had reached out to House Speaker Tim Moore to discuss the possibility of pushing the deadline back to December due to challenges related to COVID-19.
   City Council entered into close session to consult with City Attorney regarding potential claims to be filed on behalf of the City regarding violations of the Community Appearance Ordinance and junk car violations. No action was taken.