Month: July 2019

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My Favorite Spot in Town: the SALT Block

The SALT Block is my favorite spot in Hickory. I love it so much that I insisted on living close enough to walk, and my boys and I are frequent visitors.

The campus was once Hickory High School, and my father-in-law remembers his days there fondly. Now, it houses some of the most wonderful organizations in Hickory. These include the United Arts Council of Catawba County, The Catawba Science Center, The Hickory Museum of Art, The Western Piedmont Symphony, The Patrick Beaver Memorial Library and the Hickory Choral Society. It also features as a civic hub, offering an auditorium and ample meeting space, as well as a center lawn that is excellent for outdoor events.

If you want to feel the soul of this city, the SALT Block is a wonderful place to look. Stay for the music and the art, or the library, which is large and comprehensive. Be sure to check out the science center and the planetarium, and be sure to touch the sting rays.

I love this town, and this place is the beating heart.

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What Do I Need Donations For, Anyway?

Carmen Eckard needs Cash for her Campaign

I hate asking for money, more than just about anything. As a general rule, I avoid the ask, but in this case, I have to.

Budgets for a campaign run anywhere from nothing to just millions of dollars, but in Hickory, they tend to be between $1,000 and $10,000.

I'm running my campaign the same way that I run my magazine, which is to say, if I can do it myself well, I don't want to pay someone else to do it. This makes my campaign costs leaner than they would otherwise be. Typical costs include a campaign manager, a designer for your site and branding, sign costs, print costs, advertising costs, plus other miscellaneous things.

My campaign won't require some of these things...a manager, for instance, won't really work with me. No sane manager would encourage me to go ahead and be honest and blunt about our problems before I'm elected, but that's what I'm going to do, so I'm doing it without a manager. We did the design of the site and branding ourselves, so there weren't costs there beyond the domain name.

So, we are left with mostly printing costs, which includes signs, brochures, business cards and promotional materials like shirts and stickers. The more money we raise, the more of these things we will order, and the broader our message will be shared. If we raise enough money, we will begin to advertise in local media as well, to be sure our message is heard as loudly as possible.

I do hope you'll consider donating money. I'll use it well, to amplify our reach, so that we can fill the polls with excited voters. Thank you for reading this, and thank you for donating. I'll make you proud.


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Our Anti-Nepotism Policy Needs Work

Anti-Nepotism policies are very important, and most cities have one. We didn't, until 2017, and you can see it here.

In short, the policy, like most city's policy, says that if you have a relative or spouse that works for the city,  you can't work for the city. It also says that if two city workers form a relationship, one of them must quit their job or they will both be removed after 60 days. The point of these laws is to prevent favoritism or situations that threaten the integrity of the job.

Most cities specify that no member of the family of any council member or mayor can work for the city, and they lay that out explicitly. Ours does not. Perhaps that's because at the time it was created, a council member was just starting her second term and her husband has worked for the city for 20 years, now the Senior Civil Engineer for the City of Hickory. Perhaps it was a coincidence.

Either way, this CLEARLY sets the stage for impropriety.

What Does A Senior Civil Engineer Do?  Google says that they design, build, supervise, operate, and maintain construction projects and systems in the public and private sector, including roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and systems for water supply and sewage treatment.

What Does A Council Member Do? They hire and oversee the City Manager. They also set policies that the City Manager must follow.

What Does A City Manager Do? In Hickory, they have near-complete freedom to run the city as they see fit. They hire all department heads and are the supervisor of the senior civil engineer. The City Manager is the person who signs anti-nepotism policies and overseas their content.

There are several ways this could hurt the city of Hickory, and I'm certainly not saying that these people ARE taking advantage of this system, but it is clear they COULD and a system should not allow for that.

Since Civil Engineers are paid much, much more than the part-time salary City Council members receive, a City Manager could have extra sway over the City Council Member married to the Civil Engineer. A threatened loss of a job with high income is certainly a motivator, and a bad City Manager could certainly hold this over the head of a Council Member, and therefore have too much power.

Another way this could hurt the city would be if a bad Council Member provided extra protection to their spouse by threatening the position of his boss, the City Manager. In this case, it isn't unreasonable to think that the Civil Engineer, or any other department head, would have enough extra protection that they didn't feel they needed to do their job as well.

Again, and this is important: I AM NOT SAYING THAT THE CURRENT CITY EMPLOYEES ARE DOING BAD.

I AM saying that this current system allows them to do that bad, and changes are needed. Cities across the country know that department heads shouldn't be married to City Council Members. Let me remind you that if two city employees date, they are both fired, but our city apparently sees no issue with a Council Member being married to the Senior Civil Engineer.

Since infrastructure and sinkholes are one of the biggest problems our city faces, I think that allowing this crossover is dangerous. BUT. Even if it is allowed to stand, the policy needs to be ratified to include City Council members and Mayors. A grandfather clause can be added so that both of these people can keep their jobs, but this isn't a problem we need to repeat in the future, so we need to fix the policy.

We don't have to wait for me to be elected to voice our concerns. You can also email the City Manager here: wwood@hickorync.gov.

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Unaffiliated…What Does That Mean?

I am Unaffiliated, and I will stay that way. This has some people scratching their heads, and even making accusations, so I want to address it.

I am not Unaffiliated because I love both parties so much, and I just can't pick which one I like better.

I am Unaffiliated because I think both parties have deep-seated problems I simply can't overlook, and I find neither to be an acceptable platform. I think both sides go too far with their beliefs, but more importantly, I think both parties and the media put entirely too much focus on pushing Americans to one extreme side.

I believe that America is in the middle, and I'm beginning to be resentful of the push coming from the parties to be as divided as possible.

United we stand. Divided we fall.

The first attributed use of this slogan in modern times is to Founding Father John Dickinson in his pre-Revolutionary War song “The Liberty Song”, first published in the Boston Gazette in July 1768. In the song Dickinson wrote: “Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall!”

In short, this sentiment is as American as apple pie and fireworks on 4th of July.

You will see me speaking out against things the Republican party does. You will see me speaking out against things the Democrat party does. Both on a national and local level. This doesn't mean that I don't like you, a Republican, or you, a Democrat. I see you all as my neighbors, and I feel that as your representative, it would be my duty to represent your beliefs.

I feel that people on both sides fall into the trap of accepting everything on their party's platform without questioning each thing individually. No one is right all the time, and that goes for parties too. I think it's our responsibility to make our own choices on issues, instead of looking to the crowd. I will challenge you to look at policies individually. I will challenge you to push towards the center instead of towards the sides, if you have to push.

So how do I vote?

Well, I've been eligible to vote in 5 Presidential elections, and I voted in all of them. I have voted red. I have voted blue. I have voted green. I truly am Unaffiliated.  I find it terribly easy to see both sides of any situation, and less easy to choose one side. Fortunately many of the issues that are most divisive for us as a nation are not things that we can decide at a local level.

You can count on me to listen to your opinions, and you can know that while doing so, my ears and heart and mind are open. I do not engage in the kind of listening that is really just waiting for you to stop talking so I can give my opinion.  I will listen to you, and my opinions are always open to change, because that's the only logical way to be. No one has all the information about anything, so our minds must be open to learn new information and adjust our beliefs based on it.

A challenge:

The media is driving us apart in a very real and tangible way. I encourage you to choose 2 news sources, each equidistant from the center on opposite sides, and watch them for a week. I've been doing this for years and what I've found is that the bias is ASTOUNDING. Some information is just left out, while other information is spun. Both sides do this. Below, I'm posting a media bias chart to assist you in selecting media sources for this challenge. If you participate, please do let me know your conclusions! And as always, I am open to hearing your opinions.

 

 

 

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Homelessness

This isn't an easy subject to talk about, and it isn't an easy problem to solve. I'd love for you to read this article before we settle in for our chat.

From the article: “NAFTA was the knife that sliced our artery.” That’s the simplest explanation for the storm that hit Hickory: the North American Free Trade Agreement normalized trade relations with China, automation, and America’s transition from manufacturing to the service industry. “Big companies moved straight out of Hickory and went to China,” says Roger Cornett. “Employees meant nothing. Their families were devastated and they lost hope.” Hickory experienced the usual symptoms of desperation and poverty: broken families and drug addiction. But according to Roger, homelessness was the most dire issue because the area frowned on trailer parks and lacked affordable housing options.
There were fewer jobs. New jobs paid less. Laid-off factory workers had few benefits to retire on and North Carolina’s safety net was insufficient. The Salvation Army was overwhelmed (and still is), and with no other place to go the homeless gathered in tent cities in the groves of trees behind the corporations that replaced their livelihood, often camping on private property that big companies either don’t realize they own or choose to look the other way about.

Hickory Homeless

Hickory has a quite large homeless population. Even though our work situation is improving, the homeless problem is not. There are a lot of thoughts about why, but no one has any solid answers.

I think the problem is that everyone is only looking at one side of the problem...they aren't all looking at the same side, but everyone does seem to only see one.

A solution to this problem must be a solution for three groups of people:

  1. The homeless
  2. People that live in Hickory
  3. Business Owners

There are many groups looking to help homeless people, and a whole list can be found on the city's site, here. However, along with the listed resources (which homeless people can't generally access), there is also the video I'll share below, which I find to be borderline offensive...the main point is that you shouldn't give homeless people money, and should give it instead to the organizations. The video seeks to convince you that it's the best way to help a homeless person but I certainly disagree. Every organization has overhead costs and employees to pay, so if you want to give money or clothes to homeless people, I hope you will.

The video is hitting on the idea of toxic charity, or the idea that by giving homeless people things, you are enabling them to stay homeless. I'm not sure how that shores up with compassion, and I think we are called to be compassionate.

Roger Cornett is currently working very stringently with our homeless population, to keep them safe and not frozen in the winter. He faces a lot of opposition because of this idea of toxic charity. But he is a very compassionate person, and he is helping individuals survive.

There is a lot of talk about how the different organizations help homeless people too much, making Hickory an attractive place to be homeless, thus increasing our numbers. This is why I think that the solution must also help regular citizens and business owners. It isn't pleasant to see panhandlers every time you shop, and it certainly isn't pleasant to know there is a tent city set up in the woods behind your business.

I don't know the answer, but I'm really intrigued by this Forbes article, which discusses turning abandoned big-box stores into shelters. I think that if we were to consider this, and moving the services to the same area, it could be beneficial to all three sets of people. It would be expensive, but the city already gives a good bit of money to the different organizations that help homeless people. I think that could be adjusted and grants could be written. At the very least, I would support the city creating an action team and require each organization they fund to be part of it, ensuring that there was ONE goal we were working to.

Do you have ideas? We certainly need to address this problem before it grows more out of control.

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The Bond, Inspiring Spaces

Image from the CIty of Hickory

Of all the topics people bring up when I ask about Hickory, this topic is the most contentious. I find most people fall into one of three camps, which I'll explain, but first, let me lay out what "the bond" is.

WHAT IT IS

The City's website explains it this way: "In early 2012, the City of Hickory recognized that a plan was necessary to economically revitalize the City. The strategy led to the creation of four major projects: Riverwalk, Class A advanced manufacturing park called Trivium Corporate Center (formerly Park 1764), City Walk, and Streetscapes and Gateways. It was apparent that a substantial amount of money would be necessary to fund such an undertaking, which resulted in a $40 million bond referendum that allowed Hickory voters to choose how to move forward. One bond order was for $25 million to cover the costs associated with street and sidewalk improvements, including enhanced streetscapes and pedestrian access. A second bond order was for $15 million and was designated for economic development related costs, which encompasses a broad range of public infrastructure intended to enrich the local economy. In November 2014, the citizens voted in support of both. Below are up to date details on each project and costs, the next steps in the process, and more."

The Hickory Daily Record reported that the bonds passed by an impressive margin: "The $25 million streets and sidewalk bond passed 6,907 to 4,590 (60.08 percent to 39.92 percent). The $15 million economic development bond passed with 6,384 to 5,118 (55.50 percent to 44.50 percent)." The same article also says, "The most immediate result for Hickory residents will be a rise in property taxes. City officials said they planned for the bond referendums to be funded in an 2-cent increments in property taxes through the next seven years. After reaching a projected peak of 58 cents per $100 in property value, taxes will remain at that level for 13 years." The bond referendum had a lot of support from established Hickory leaders and families, and there is more info about that in the same article. It also had a lot of critics, as well as some accusations of wrongdoing and, well, contention.

The main goal of the bond was to raise $40 million of $80 million (the rest to come from grants and investors) to improve Hickory. It's based around several projects:

  1. Citywalk
  2. Riverwalk
  3. Downtown
  4. Streetscapes/Gateways
  5. Trivium Corporate Center

HDR reported on the top choices of Hickory residents for what we should spend this money on. These were the choices:

Top Choices by Survey Respondents

Waterfront Park: 33.3 percent

Union Square Improvements: 25.5 percent

Streetscape and Pedestrian Improvements: 25.5 percent

Splash Pads: 22 percent

Citywide Swimming Pool Facility: 19.6 percent

Below is a City video of the Riverwalk.

 

THE THREE CAMPS

Camp One: People who voted for the bond referendum and are quite happy with the progress and think these changes will be excellent for Hickory.

Camp Two: People who voted for the bond referendum but are unhappy with the progress for any number of reasons.

Camp Three: People who didn't vote for the bond and are unhappy with all of it.

 

My goal in running for Council is to speak for you, the citizens, so I'd really like to know which camp you are in.

I don't feel the need to elaborate on Camp One. They are happy and things are progressing nicely for them, so my voice isn't needed here.

Sadly, the ship has already sailed for Camp Three people. I, as a lone councilwoman, would not be able to undo the bond or cancel the projects, so, while I'm interested to hear this perspective, I don't think I can be very helpful here.

So, for the rest of this post, I'm going to concentrate on Camp Two. This is a group of people who care enough about Hickory to vote, and care enough about our future that they saw an investment was needed. But they are unhappy about the progress for any number of reasons. I don't think that I can cover every single thing that people have expressed to me, so I'll offer an abridged list of paraphrased complaints:

  • "Why in the world is this taking so long? It's been 5 years and all we have is a leaf sculpture and an under-construction downtown."
  • "Why are we spending all of this money on decorations when our streets and sewers are crumbling and we have one of the worst homeless problems in the nation, per capita?"
  • "The improvements are helping the people who don't need help, while the poor parts of town struggle harder than ever."
  • "How many improvements does Union Square need?"
  • "We already have parks that people don't even use."
  • "Why are all the contracts going to one place?"
  • "Why do the wayfaring signs direct visitors to places that don't exist yet? Doesn't this defeat the purpose of the signs?"

And I have to say, I don't know the answers to these questions, but I intend to keep asking them.

Do tell me which camp you are in. I want to know your thoughts.

 

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Trees, Trees, Trees

Looking up at the green tops of trees. Italy

You really can't separate Hickory from its trees. Our very name is a tree, and we are known worldwide for beautiful furniture crafted from wood. Tree leaves are a prominent part of our logo, and our previous logo also featured a tree. I've been talking with a lot of locals and the topic of trees comes up so often.

Most recently, people are upset about the loss of trees downtown. This is temporary, and while I understand the frustration that they were cut down right at the beginning of summer, and now Downtown is unshaded during the hottest time of the year, I also understand that the city will be planting more trees that match the work they are doing on the Square. I'm willing to be patient, and I hope you are too...the project should be completed in time for Octoberfest.

I live in the Claremont neighborhood of Hickory, and I am enamored with the trees the city planted years ago that line 127 as it cuts through the neighborhood. So I started looking and I've found that the city leadership DOES value trees, and have since Hickory was incorporated.

 

Since 2005, we've been classified as a Tree City USA, which is a program created by the Arbor Day Foundation to encourage stewardship of trees. To qualify, a city has to implement 4 things:

  1. Tree Board or Department
  2. Community Tree Ordinance
  3. Comprehensive Community Forestry Program
  4. Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation

I'm also intrigued by the Treasured Trees program, which allows citizens to nominate important trees which then have some protection. I'm reminded of the well-loved tree that stood on the grounds of the old St. Stephens Elementary School. The sadness the commuity felt when it was cut down was palpable. I think this program can help us avoid losses like that in the future, and if you know of threes that would qualify, you should nominate them!

We also have the Ivey Arboretum which is a lovely tribute to forestry and science. Over 400 species are grown and labeled on the three-acre park near the heart of Downtown. It's a lovely place for a walk and citizens have been gathering there since the early 19th century. In fact, there was a spring at the base of a tree that inspired people to come from miles away to drink. This continued for quite a while, establishing the spot as an important piece of Hickory. However, the water was tested and found to contain lead and arsenic, and the practice was immediately discontinued. A well drilled across the track caused the spring to dry up, but the spot was maintained as a park from that point.

 

If you love trees, Hickory is a wonderful place to be, and I think this is one thing the city is doing RIGHT. I applaud their work keeping Hickory green and beautiful.

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Hickory Beach

beach

Imagine this:

It's a blistering hot day in the middle of summer, and your kids want to go swimming. There aren't any public pools in Hickory, and I doubt there will be without a 100% turnover in city leadership, so you can either pay to go to a pool, or you can go to Lake Hickory, touted as one of the best things about Hickory. Except, of course, you can't swim there. Not unless you own property or you own a boat and you take the boat somewhere on the lake and just jump in. So, what? You drive to Lake James? It's a good option, but a long drive. Soon you'll be able to go to Lake Norman at Sherrill Ford's new park, but not yet, and that's going to put you in your car for a while too.

But what if you COULD swim in Hickory? What if we looked at creating a swimming beach area at one of the many parks on the lake? Inspiring Spaces/Bond money is already earmarked to work on these parks for the Riverwalk. Why could we not also come away from this bond project with a beach? It would solve the problem of no public pools AND it would make people care more about the quality of our water. People drive to Lake James from all around, and they would do the same for us.

We call our lake a "full recreational lake" but if the public can't safely swim in it, is that true? I don't think so.

We should make the lake accessible to ALL Hickory residents, not just the ones with boats and extra money. It's the fair thing to do, and it will increase tourism.

 

What do you think?

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Gerrymandering

ger·ry·man·der
/ˈjerēˌmandər/
verb
gerund or present participle: gerrymandering
  1. manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.
    • achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.
      "a total freedom to gerrymander the results they want"
Origin
         
Early 19th century: from the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts + salamander, from the supposed similarity between a salamander and the shape of a new voting district on a map drawn when he was in office (1812), the creation of which was felt to favor his party; the map (with claws, wings, and fangs added) was published in the Boston Weekly Messenger, with the title The Gerry-Mander and is shown above.

Even NC House Republicans have commented on how gerrymandered our city is. I don't know that it is, but it looks odd.

The Supreme Court declined to step in regarding gerrymandering on a state level (https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article231403213.html) so I don't see any cavalry coming to save us.

Why is the map like this? There are a lot of thoughts from a lot of people, but most seem to settle on this fact: It concentrates the majority of African Americans into one Ward.  I don't know if that is why it looks like this. It could be something much more innocent, regarding the way the city grew, or something of that nature. I'm finding it very hard to get an answer.

I'm told the city has an outside source redistrict after ever census, and there is a new one in 2020. I haven't been able to verify this.

What do you think?

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Hickory 101

The government system of Hickory is perhaps not what many people expect. I've noticed that many people think the mayor is the person who is responsible for the running of the city, but that isn't so. Many people also don't know which ward they live in, or when they can vote. I'm here to clear these things up for you.

We have a council/manager system of government.  Hickory was one of the first cities to implement this system, in 1913. In fact, we were the first in North Carolina, and the second in the nation. It was a close vote, with an astounding 97% voter turnout.  Some critics say that because we adopted this system so early, it lacks the modifications that have made it successful in other places, and that the system needs to be looked at.

Our system involves 6 council members, one from each ward, and a mayor. This governing body is responsible for hiring the city manager, and for voting on budgets and policy. Most of the details of the governance of Hickory, including the hiring of all department heads, falls to the city manager. The City has provided a powerpoint you can find here.

Basically, a council/manager system puts the power of running the city in the hands of a city manager. This certainly has advantages, as a trained city manager has more experience with the details involved than a mayor, who is elected and not necessarily accustomed to the scope of the job. Another advantage is that the city is more stable during election seasons. However, there are also clear disadvantages. The clearest of these is that the power is in the hands of someone that wasn't elected. It also makes it confusing for citizens to know who to come to with problems. Lastly, when improperly balanced, the system can lead to bad relations. Take, for instance, the issue of whether the mayor should have an office in City Hall. This was put up to vote, and was one of the few issues the council did not agree on. In the end, the mayor didn't get an office, which definitely speaks to the balance of power between hired people and elected people in Hickory.

I am certainly interested in hearing your thoughts about the system in place.

Another part of the system is the wards and our at-large voting system. There are 6 wards in Hickory. You can see them below, or click HERE for a larger image.

If you live in Ward One or Three, you will have a primary in October. I do hope those of you in Ward One will vote for me. Everyone who lives in the city limits gets to vote for the Council seats for Wards One, Two and Three.  That's because we have an at-large voting system, which means that each person in the city can vote for a person to represent each ward. I personally believe this system should be looked at, as it has effectively served the purpose of suppressing minority representation. That said, this is the system we are living with, so I do hope that you will all vote for me on November 5, no matter which ward you live in.

As always, please know that I want to know your thoughts! Your opinions are informing my opinions and I know we are all trying to work towards a better Hickory.