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VOLUME 95, NUMBER 20 THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1982 KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH ig
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Mayor given authority to cut i s work force
BY GARY STEWART
Editor
The City Board of Commis-
sioners Monday night approved
a resolution submitted by the
Cost-Efficiency Committee
which will allow Mayor John
Henry Moss to fire any
employees and take any other
actions he sees fit to enable the
city to operate more efficiently.
The resolution passed by a 4-2
vote with commissioners ‘Nor-
man King and Jim Childers
voting against it. Commissioners
Humes Houston, who made the
motion, Jim Dickey, who
seconded it, Curt Gaffney and
Corbet Nicholson voted in favor
of it.
All of those commissioners ex-
cept Gaffney serve on the Cost-
Efficiency Committee, along
with Mayor Moss. Childers and
King said they both objected to
the motion because they didn’t
feel the city needed a reduction
in the work force and that they
knew nothing of the committee’s
proposal prior to Monday’s
meeting. :
The two also objected, they
said, because the committee,
without authorization of the full
board, hired a personnel consul-
tant to advise the committee and
mayor on which employees they
could dismiss without facing
possible action by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Com-
mission.
They also claimed the Cost-
Efficiency Committee had not
been approved by the board and
that dealing with city personnel
is the responsibility of the Per-
sonnel Committee, and none
other.
Members of the Cost-
Efficiency Committee said the
consultant-Employers E.O. Ser-
vices, Inc. of Charlotte and
Winston-Salem-was hired on the
advice of City Attorney George
Thomasson and it was not their
intent to take away any of the
Personnel Committee’s respon-
sibility.
“As chairman of the Person-
nel Committee, I don’t feel we
are taking any of the Personnel
Committee’s responsibility,”
Houston said. “But because of
the technical aspects of the
reduction of forces, we felt it was
to our advantage to have this ex-
Good Deal!
Company sells property for $28,900,
Buys it back for $13,002
and the Kings Mountain Mirror.
Plonk, the only bidder, paid $13 ,002-two dollars
over the minimum fair market value-and agreed to
bring the building up to City Codes standards
within six months of delivery of deed.
Plonk Brothers sold the property to the Kings
Mountain Redevelopment Commission in 1974 for
$28,900. The city acquired it in 1979 when the
Redevelopment Commission was phased out and all
of its property and debts were taken over by the ci-
ty.
Gene White, Community Development Director
and former Director of the Redevelopment Com-
mission, said the city no longer had any use for the
property and it was expensive to maintain. He said
the original intent was to acquire the property so
West Gold Street could be widened. However, since
that time the city has decided to re-align Gold
Street, using the old Roller Mill property instead.
At the February board meeting, White suggested
~The Kings Mountain Board of Commissioners :
‘Street ‘to Plonk Brothers Department i
The property, known as parcel 3-5, is a store
building previously owned by Plonk Brothers,
which most recently housed Wright’s Barber Shop.
by the buyer.
a certified anprateer valued the property at $13,000
and the City Codes Director inspected the building
and made a list of improvements that must be made
pert knowledge.”
“Why are we using these ser-
vices if they haven’t’ been ap-
proved by the board?” King ask-
ed. “As a respresentative of the
people of the city, I feel like I
have the right to know
beforehand.”
“I'm not questioning the ex-
pertise of these people,” Childers
said. “But where it’s involving
personnel, it should fall under
the personnel policy and the per-
sonnel committee.”
Nicholson told Childers he felt
like the committee “has the
authority” to hire a consultant,
and said he felt that was no
worse than the personnel com-
mittee granting one city
employee a $5,000 a year raise.
“Any time the personnel com-
mittee has brought a recommen-
dation to this board, it has been
laid out in detail,” Childers said.
“This recommendation is not
laid out except in giving the
mayor authority to hire and fire
anyone he wants to. This board
should be shown what reduc-
tions are going to be made.”
King said Mayor Moss cir-
culated a memo several months
that the city either demolish the structure or sell it
with the stipulation that the buyer bring it to cc
Bobi
Commissioner Jim Childers told White Mondor
night that it was his understanding that the market
value had been lowered by $6,000 to cover what it
would have cost the city to tear the building down.
Childers said he felt like, if the building was not
demolished, the minimum market value should
have been $6,000 more, or $19,000.
“When we depended on the appraiser to give a
fair market value, we were talking about a clear
lot,” Childers told White. “At that time, you said
the building wasn’t worth saving.”
nion.”
contacts.
\
“I’m not a certified appraiser,” White said, “but in
this case I think the city made as good a deal as is
appropriate at this time. It’s strictly a matter of opi-
White said he made every effort to recruit as
many bids as possible. The property was advertised
several times in the Herald, White sent letters to all
realtors in town and said he also made telephone
Hee Haw Show For Cancer Fund Drive,
Black American Cancer Screen Saturday
The Hee Haw Gang of
Cleveland County will present a
Junior Hee Haw Show Saturday
at 7:30 p.m. at Brown
Auditorium on the campus of
Shelby High School.
All proceeds will go to the
American Cancer Society’s fund
drive, which is in progress
through August 31. Tickets are
$3 for adults and $1.50 for
students.
The gang will imitate country
music stars such as Charlie
Pride, Johnny Cash and Lulu of
Hee Haw fame. A special treat
will be an appearance by the Oak
Ridge Girls.
] * % ok
A Black American Health
CORRECTION
The Kings Mountain Herald
inadvertently printed the name
of Caveny Fabrics in the
Cleveland County delinquent
tax listings printed in last weeks
edition.
Caveny Fabrics has paid their
taxes and we apologize for this
error.
Funeral Services Held
For Wayne Wells, 88
Wayne Wells, 88, a resident of
Route 4, Wells Road, Kings
Mountain, died Wednesday
night at Kings Mountain
Hospital.
A native of Cleveland Coun-
ty, he was the son of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Aaron Wells. He was a
veteran of World War I, a retired
farmer, and was the oldest
member of Dixon Presbyterian
Church.
Surviving are his wife, Leona
McDaniel Wells; a son, Richard
Carveth Wells of Kings Moun-
tain; two brothers, Hunter Wells
of Kings Mountain and Harley
Wells of Washington, D.C.; one
sister, Mrs. Bryte W. Frances of
Blacksburg, S.C.; three grand-
children and two great-
grandchildren.
Services were conducted
Saturday at 3 p.m. at Dixon
Presbyterian Church by the Rev.
Graham Wood and the Rev.
- Oscar Stalcup Jr. Burial was in
Wellsland Cemetery.
hl fh LC
Screening will be held Saturday
from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the
Cleveland County Health
Department.
Purpose of the screening is to
screen for cancer, high blood
pressure and glaucoma, and to
educate citizens on the seven
warning signals of cancer.
A number of doctors, nurses,
dentists and others have
volunteered their services.
The screening is free and
available to citizens ages 25 and
over.
WAYNE WELLS
td ti yi
ago ordering a “freeze” on hiring
because of the economy, but
King claimed since that time
Moss has hired three employees.
Moss said his memo ordered a
freeze on the hiring of perma-
nent employees. He claimed two
of the three persons hired since
were “seasonal employees” and
the third was a woman who had
recently been laid off and was
promised the “first vacancy”
after she appealed her layoff to
the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission.
As for the naming of the com-
mittee without board approval,
Moss said he usually brings the
appointment of committees
before the board as a matter of
courtesy, but as chief executive
officer of the city, he has com-
plete authority to appoint com-
mittees without the board’s ap-
proval.
- Most of the authority given
Moss in the resolution, the
Mayor said, is already his by vir-
tue of his office. “But it has
always been my intent to share it
with other elected officials,” he
said.
City Attorney George
Thomasson said he recommend-
ed the city hire a consultant
because of the enormous
amount of equal employment
guidelines. Asked if the mayor or
a committee can legally hire so-
meone without the full board’s
approval, he said “legally, they
probably can, but as matter of
courtesy they probably should
bring it before the entire board.”
Mayor Moss, when asked the
hourly rate of the equal employ-
ment consultants and how much
‘they had worked thus far, said
he did not know either, but
would check and notify the
Herald. At presstime Wednes-
day, the paper had not been
notified.
However, one city employee,
who asked not to be identified, .
“said the talk around town was’
that the rate is $75 per hour, plus
expenses, and that the city had
already been billed for $4,500.
The city budgeted $12,500 for
professional services. According
to one commissioner, $24,000
has already been spent but that
item has never been amended.
Moss said he plans two
meetings of the Cost-Efficiency
Committee this week, and he
will seek the advice of the com-
mittee as well as the personnel
consultants in carrying out the
duties of reducing the work
force.
Moss said the committee was
appointed in December and has
been meeting since January.
“We've been studying where
cuts can be made and have been
monitoring the effects of the
economy on the city. This is not
a spur of the moment thing. This
is an ongoing problem on the na-
tional and state level and now it
has come down to Kings Moun-
tain.”
Commissioners Houston and
Dickey are co-chairmen of the
comittee.
“There’s a lot of work invovl-
ed in this,” Moss went on. “We’ll
review all departments.”
REPAIRING ROAD - City workers are pic-
tured above here repairing a pavement on
Fulton Street Tuesday. A resident of the street
appeared before the City Board Monday night
at an assessment hearing and claimed the
pavement had grass growing in it and was
Photo by Gary Stewart
sinking where it had recently been dug up for
a sewage line repair.
Superintendent Ted Huffman said that was
the only complaint from 25 residents in the
area and sent his crew out early Tuesday mor-
ning to correct the problem.
Public Works
Assessments Approved
The City Board of Commis-
sioners Monday night approved
assessments rolls for im-
provements of three strees in the
Ashbrook Park sub-division.
Citizens of Fulton Street,
Brice Street and Sterling Drive
were assessed for recent paving
improvements on their streets.
During a public hearing, J.F.
Chaffee of 315 Fulton Drive,
said he was unhappy with the
work. He said there was grass
growing in the street and that
the road had collapsed where the
city had repaired a sewer line.
. “How can you assess
something that is falling apart?”
he asked.
Thomas Limbaugh, who lives
at the corner of Sterling Drive
and Waco Road, said he con-
firmed Chaffee’s statement, and
added that there was grass grow-
ing in the pavement at the en-
trance to Ashbrook Park.
Clty ace RI 1
Ted Huffman, Pubic Works
Superintendent, said he had
driven the roads prior to the
meeting and had not seen any
grass growing in the pavements,
but promised the men he would
recheck the streets Tuesday
morning. City crews were repair-
ing the street in front of
Chaffee’s home Tuesday morn-
ing.
Five residents of Fulton Street
Extension were assessed
$1,090.05, or $2.15 per foot;
eight residents of Brice Street
were assessed $1,916.32, or
$2.03 per foot; and 12 residents
of Sterling Drive were assessed
$4,058.00, or $2.00 per foot.
In other action Monday, the
board:
*Amended the Community
Development Block Grant’
budget for 1978 to include
$67,600 in increased revenues.
‘Community Development Direc-
tor Gene White said the increase
was due to revenues received
from rental and sale of proper-
ties.
*Approved passing a 5.49
cents per M.C.F. decrease in the
cost of natural gas onto city
customers.
* Authorized Mayor John Henry
Moss to negotiate Recreation
Department concession con-
tracts specificatins with in-
terested parties.
*Received a request from.
Crossroads Music Park for water
and sewer services for a propos-
ed 160 town houses. The request
was forwarded to the Water and
Sewer Committee for review and
recommendation.
*Held a 35-minute executive
session at the request of Com-
missioner Jim Childers. Mayor
Moss said a “personnel matter
was discussed and is continuing
to be reviewed.”
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