KM High presents
¥ Annie Get Your Gun'
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Barnes Auditorium
VOL. 106 NO. 10
i
~ GEORGE WOOD
Grover sets public hearing
on proposed land use plan:
Grover cop votes
on vacation plan
Grover town attorney Mickey
Corry cited conflict of interest
‘Monday night after Councilman
a Grover policeman,
police and ‘other employees: cur-
rently have 12 paid holidays, 45
sick days and vacation days.
Mayor pro tem Sandra Ellis ar-
gued that the town can't afford to
be as generous as in years past and
that after six months an employee
could earn one week's vacation and
after three years of employment
two weeks of vacation with no ac-
cumulation. Other board members
agreed.
Mayor Ronald Queen said he
was not concerned about employ-
ees abusing the sick day policy and
Commissioner Noel Spivey asked
what did it matter if sick days were
accumulated. But, Councilman
Jack Herndon said Sides, out on
that amount in the last several
months."
Sides made the motion that the
sick day policy remain as is, one
day a month and ne more than 45
days accumulated, but the attorney
called his hand and told the board
to take another vote.
Sides did not ask to be excused
from the vote but passed a letter
from the North Carolina League of
Municipalities which he said al-
lowed him to voice his opinion on
the issue. :
See Conflict, 12-A
-. Tommy K
leave recently, had used up "twice|:
GROVER - Citizens will have a
chance to tell Grover leaders what
they think of a proposed land-use
plan during a public hearing
Monday, March 21, at 7 p.m. at
Town Hall.
Max Rollins, chairman of plan-
ning and zoning, said that the pub-
lic hearing comes a little
Davd Chadwick, Robert Roper and
Jack Herndon to develop the town's
first zoning plan.
"We had a good foundation to
start with by working with county
planner Bill McCarter and his
staff," said Rollins, who foresees
the zoning map should draw much
interest but little controversy.
"No one is really restricted and
zoning protects property," said
Rollins. :
Council got the ball rolling on
zoning in the fall of 1993 when
they discoveredsthey had an ordi-
nance against mobile homes that
was unenforceable. The Mayor
said that neither he nor Council re-
alized that no construction of any
kind could be regulated without a
zoning ordinance in place.
Since that time the new plan-
ning/zoning board has worked dili-
gently, using zoning maps and or-
dinances from the county and
towns surrounding Grover to come
up with a land use plan for the
town.
The big map is color coded to
show the areas, such as restricted
residential use, residential manu-
factured homes and parks, uptown
business district, manufacturing
and warehousing, heavy industrial,
See Zoning, 12-A
er six. <f
Thursday, March 10, 1994
Taking $68,000 position
in Cleveland, Tennessee
Kings Mountain City Manager George Wood, 42,
resigned Monday, effective March 21, to accept a simi-
lar position with the City of Cleveland, Tennessee.
Wood will be Cleveland's first City Manager in the
Manager/Council form of government, leading that
Tennessee city through a transition period from
Mayor/Council form of government as he did Kings
Mountain six years ago. )
"My family and I have mixed emotions about leav-
ing a place we love but this is a career move that I
can't pass up," said Wood, who was hired at annual
salary of $68,000 plus travel allowance.
Cleveland has a population of 32,400, over three
times the size of Kings Mountain, and the city's budget
is a whopping $70-$80 million ‘compared to Kings
Mountain city's budget of $19 million.
Wood tendered his letter of resignation to Mayor
Scott Neisler and the City Council Monday after earli-
er in the day formally accepting the position offered
by Tennessee's mayor and seven board members. He
See Wood, 12-A
Hy
Kings Mountain, NC 28086 « 50¢
George Wood resigns
City employees shocked with Monday's announcement
at City Hall. Only then can we
move forward."
City Department heads and City
Council members expressed shock
this week with the announcement
from City Manager George Wood
that he is resigning.
Although several alluded to re-
cent tensions with Council mem-
bers may have played a part in his
decision to apply for a new job, all
said they felt Wood would give the
same devotion to his new job as he
has in Kings Mountain for six
years as the top administrator in
city government.
Devastation was the word used
by Chief of Police Warren Goforth
after hearing the news at the 4:30
p.m. called meeting of all depart-
ment heads Monday.
"We all knew that the profes-
sional person that he is would
make him attractive to big cities,"
said Goforth. "His professionalism
in this city will be greatly missed.
He's led Kings Mountain into the
21st Century and his shoes will be
hard to fill."
"I'm very saddened that the city
has lost such a professional," said
City Councilwoman Norma
Bridges. "We have to pick up the
pieces and. go on as professionals
to pick his successor."
Bridges, former mayor pro tem,
is the only present member of the
seven member board who served
on the selection committee that
hired George Wood May 9, 1988
during the administration of Kyle
Smith.
Bridges said that the present
Council has to understand that "our
job is policy making and let the
city manager run the every day job
Rosencrans said he was disappoint-
ed that Wood was leaving Kings
Mountain. "The chemistry of the
staff will suffer but its an excellent
opportunity for him."
Thornburg said he had seen many
changes in government for our bet-
terment during Wood's tenure. "I
enjoyed working with him and
wish him well."
said Kings Mountain is better for
having Wood as a leader for six
years at the helm of city govern-
ment. "I hate to see him go," said
Hager, "because Kings Mountain
has lost a precious jewel."
Finance Director Jeff
Aging Director Monty
Ward 1 Councilman Phil Hager
See Shock, 12-A
REFRESHMENT TIME - City Clerk Marilyn Sellers, Mayor Scott Neisler and Mrs. Neisler and Ruby
Alexander chat at the refreshment table in the City Hall lobby Tuesday. The Cleveland County Chamber,
which also includes Kings Mountain's branch office, held a get-to-gether to celebrate the merger of the
two organizations. The City Hall may be the new home of the Kings Mountain branch pending approval
of City Council.
Kings Mountain Jayce
Three Kings Mountain men -
Jim Tate, Larry Hamrick Jr. and
David Dellinger - are in process of
rechartering the Kings Mountain
Jaycees, a leadership training orga-
nization for young people between
the ages of 21 and 40.
The Jaycees, an equal opportuni-
ty organization, offers training in
the fields of individual develop-
ment, community development and
management developinent.
The Kings Mountain Jaycees
will be affiliated with the North
Carolina Jaycees, the United States
Jaycees and the International
Ihe followin zomnp distnets are hereby established
RR-20 Restricted Residential
R -20 Residential
RA1-20 Residential Manufactured Homes & Parks
Nek Neighborhood Business
G-B Geueral Business
L-1 Light lsdustnal Dastrict
H-1 Heavy Industnal Distinct
I
OBO
Aris
\ \
[LN 5
> ~ Soith Cap irh 7
>
\
PROPOSED
(> A ZONING MAP
GROVER, N.C.
Jaycee Organization.
Mary Schott, the first female
President of the North Carolina
Jaycees, will be in Kings Mountain
March 21 to help with chapter or-
ganization and chartering.
Statewide, the Jaycees are best
known for North Carolina Jaycee
Burn Center, the North Carolina
Jaycee Boys Home, the North
Carolina Jaycee Girls Home, the
Hugh O'Brien Youth Campaign,
fundraising for muscular dystro-
phy, the March of Dimes Walk
America, Cystic Fibrosis and
es to reorganize
fundraising for the Duke Cancer
Center.
Locally, the Jaycees have been
involved in former years in the
Halloween Haunted House, the
Distinguished Service Awards ban-
quet, Youth Little League, Youth
basketball, Boy Scouts, Toys for
Tots and other local charities.
The Jaycees were founded by
Henry Guisenberg in St. Louis,
Mo. in the early 1940's. In the
1940's the organization was known
as the Junior Chamber of
Commerce and was designed at
See Jaycees, 14-A
Special
meeting
Tuesday
Kings Mountain City Council
has called a special meeting
Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. to name an
interim
Mayor Scott Neisler said each
of the seven board members will
have input into the decision and
will nominate a person to fill the
vacancy.
"I'm saddened that George is
leaving us because he is super to
work with and he has done a lot of
good things for Kings Mountain
during six years of service," said
Neisler.
Wood is leaving the city March
21 to take the position of City
Manager of Cleveland, Tennessee,
a city three times the size of Kings
Mountain. He will be that city's
first City Manager in the
Manager/Council form of govern-
ment.
The Mayor said Council will
begin immediately placing adver-
tisements in various publications
for a City Manager and will then
begin the screening and interview-
ing process similar to six years ago
when it hired Kings Mountain's
first City Manager under the new
City Manager/Council form of
government.
The Interim Manager can't be a
member of Council nor can the
Mayor serve in that position.
Neisler would not speculate on
whom the Council would choose
for Wood's successor. Whoever is
hired will lead the Council in the
See Meeting, 12-A
Wood to make recommendation
on city's dwindling fund balance
City Manager George Wood said he will recomend
to City Council that it underspend this year's budget
and leave $150,000 in the 1994-95 budget to increase
the dwindling fund balance.
Wood said that some lease purchases will be paid
off this year and more money will be freed up for the
fund balance.
Wood said the city has notified State Treasurer
Harlan E. Boyles how its plans to up the reserves’ that
could be used for unexpected emergencies and unex-
pected expenditures or for financial opportunities that
unexpectedly arise.
Craig M. Barfield, Director, Fiscal Management
Section, suggested in a letter February 22, 1994 to
Mayor Scott Neisler that the city's current budget ordi-
nance be analyzed immediately to determine areas in
which revenues can be increased and/or expenditures
expenditures,
cash flow problems can be possible. Fund balance
available should never be less than eight percent of to-
tal general fund expenditures or one month's average
wrote Barfield, of the State Local
Government Finance Division
Government Commission,
and the Local
"Local governments need to maintain adequate
Barfield
amounts of fund balances to finance their operations
during periods of declining revenue," said Barfield.
said the city violated G.S.143-64.31 in
failing to comply with certain purchasing and contract-
ing laws of the state and encouraged members of the
can be reduced to begin building general fund rev-
enues. The statewide average fund balance available
for comparably-sized municipalities with electric
funds is 27.02 percent of the total general fund expen-
ditures, he said.
As of June 30, 1993, the amount of fund balance
available was $54,655 or 1.12 percent of total general
fund expenditures. The city's fund balance available
decreased from 2.75 percent on June 30, 1992.
"The city finds itself in a position where serious
city's governing board to familiarize themselves with
these North Carolina General statutes. Barfield re-
minded that the North Carolina Department of State
Treasurer Policies Manual contains a section on pur-
chasing that should provide useful guidance to the city.
Barfield asked the city to give a written statement of
how it plans to resolve the problem areas and address
the financial weakness of the city's general funds and
electric and gas funds, which show that current liabili-
ables.
ties exceed liquid assets, cash, investments and receiv-
The staff of the Local Government Commission re-
cently analyzed the city's audited financial statements
for the year ending June 30, 1993