KM Council to negotiate with Moss Lake residents
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Lake property owners renew leases under protest
Nearly 80 percent or 312 of
the approximately 430 Moss
Lake property owners have exe-
cuted under protest waterfront
leases under the city's new fee
schedule for 1997-98 effective
July 1.
City Attorney Mickey Corry
gave the report at Tuesday's
Cy Council Imesting
Last week city officials re-
turned 70 lease applications
which had been altered by
property owners and extended
the grace period until July 8 for
return of the corrected lease ap-
plications.
Maney said that the city
Council looked at the current
fees structure during recent
budget work sessions and saw
the need to run the city-owned
lake like a business.
He said the additional fees
" would be used for lake upkeep
and maintenance and for
salaries of patrol officers.
Maney said a boat capacity
See Lease, 5-A
City hikes
fees to open,
close graves
Local funeral directors were
notified June 30 by the City of
Kings Mountain that effective
July 1 the city was going up
210 percent on the cost of open-
ing and closing graves at city-
owned Mountain Rest
Cemetery.
For inside-city residents this
is an increase from $125 to $400.
For outside city residents
‘who reside in the Kings
Mountain school district the fee
jumps from $150 to $450.
Mountain Rest Supt. Porus
Bennett defended City
Council's June 24 action on the
cemetery budget for 1997-98
this week because he said the
fees have not gone up since
June 12, 1984.
Bennett said Kings Mountain
is below other cemeteries in
lot d still be-
the only city that does not hire
private contractors for the
work. ml
"We do the job ourselves be-
cause we take pride in our
cemetery and we take the sod
off and put it back on and can
‘keep better control by doing the
job ourselves,” he said.
~ Ronnie Hawkins, manager of
Harris Funeral Home, said the
increased costs will probably
mean that families will have to
go to City Hall to pay the fees
rather than the funeral home
adding the costs to its bills for
service.
Privately-owned Westview
Gardens and Gaston Memorial
Park in Gastonia charge $550 on
weekdays, $595 on Saturday,
$795 on Sunday. and $895 on
holidays for grave opening and
closing. Evergreen Cemetery, al- |
so a private cemetery in
Cramerton, charges $450 for
opening and closing. The City
of Bessemer City utilizes Sisk-
Butler Funeral Home which
-charges $365 for grave opening
and closing. Cherryville's
‘Carpenter's Funeral Home uti-
lizes a private contractor at City
Cemetery which charges $350
See Grave, 5-A
SWINGING HIGH - Eli Capps, 6, swings at the city's walking
track during the July 4th festivities Friday. Chief Bob Hayes, in
background, chats with a local resident.
The sale by the city Tuesday
night of 5.51 acres of land for
$58,000 to Johnson
Development Co. Inc. of
Spartanburg paved the way for
what could be a major private-
ly-owned state-of-the-art indus-
trial park in Kings Mountain.
"We will see Kings Mountain
in a building explosion," was
Kings Mountain Council says no to
Nearly everyone in the
crowded City Hall Council
Chambers stood Tuesday night
to oppose an ordinance amend-
ing a zoning text to permit
EnvironmentalWaste
Reductions Inc. of Atlanta to
bring a medical waste treatment
facility / transfer station to Kings
Mountain.
REV. HAL SCHWANTES
the statement that Councilman
Phil Hager.made in making the
‘motion to okay the sale.
"If you all had been at the
Economic Development meet-
ing earlier today you'd know
what this will mean to Kings
Mountain in jobs," he said.
The park hinges on an invest-
ment of $400,000 by the County
City Council, after a public
hearing which drew comments
from numerous residents, voted
7-0 to deny the request.
Jerry ~~ Burke,
Manager for Environmental
Waste Reductions of Atlanta,
Ga, said the company is looking
at two sites in Kings Mountain:
zoned light industrial that
( Ed. Note - This is the
fourth in a series of weekly ar-
ticles on local leaders in the
August 24-28 at John Gamble
Stadium in Kings Mountain.)
For Rev. Hal Schwantes his
weekly visitation ministry to
keep up with people's needs fits
in well with his job as publicity
chairman for the upcoming Jay
Strack Crusade.
And if he isn't driving his car
he can usually be found riding
his 14-speed bicycle wherever
1 he goes to invite people to at-
:
tend the crusade.
Schwantes’ job is to get the
word out anyway he can. He
not only talks about the crusade
i from his pulpit at Central:
United Methodist Church but
as he visits and sets up inter-
views and advertisements in
the media.
"I like to touch base not only
with the 435 me mbers of my
a
Division:
Jay Strack Crusade to be held -
3
AN
nit
15
fen
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
By 7-0 vote City Council Tuesday authorized
its attorneys and city manager to attempt to ne-
gotiate with Moss Lake property owners to air
differences over increased lake user fees.
"We need to get these things nailed down and
deal with them quickly, this week," said City
Attorney Mickey Corry who said the matters
should be handled officially and not through the
press and conversations.
On Thursday the North Carolina House of
substitute lake bill which, among other things,
gives control of the lake to an authority com-
posed of two members from City Council, one
county commissioner and two members of the
Lake Property Owners Association. The Clary
Bill, if approved by the House, must pass the
Senate to become law.
Corry said he had been contacted by the prop-
erty owners' lawyer and would schedule a meet-
ing within the week. City Manager Jimmy Maney
asked that Council members take turns attending
Representatives will vote on Rep. Debbie Clary's
the official meetings and each serve as a liaison
See Council, 3-A
Six incumbents file for reelection
to KM School Board, City Council |
Six incumbents - five for City Council seats and
one for the Board of Education - filed Monday on
the first day of filing of the political season.
Filing for reelection were Councilmen Phil |
Hager, Ward I; Jerry Mullinax, Ward II; Ralph
Grindstaff, Ward III; Rick Murphrey, Ward V: and
Dean Spears, member at large.
Filing for reelection for the Board of Education
representing the outside district seat was Ronnie
Hawkins, four-time chairman and eight year
member of the board.
Mullinax, who was the first to throw his hat in
the ring Monday morning for another term at
City Hall, praised Kings Mountain citizens as "a
tremendous asset the past two years."
Mullinax said he was proud to help keep
garbage in the back yard, to vote for no tax in-
crease or hike in services and looked forward to
the city continuing projects like a new police de-
partment, buying a new fire truck, beginning op-
eration of a new peak shaving plant, and working
to get Ingles Food Store to locate in Kings
Mountain as well as Bojangles, Holiday Inn
Express, Kingspoint Subdivision, KM Medical
Associates, Senior Adult Apartments on East
King, Summitt Place on Phifer Road and the
‘opportunity to serve on City Council
Murphrey. "This is an honor I take seriously."
Murphrey said Council has worked to position
the city for economic growth, keeping the tax rate
and utility rates low for all citizens and working
to increase revenues and cut expenses internally
before asking citizens for an increase.
"The 1997-98 budget passed last month is a re-
HAWKINS
. MURPHREY
MULLINAX
HAGER
,! said Rick
sult of this philosophy” said Murphrey. "There is
Sale of city land paves way for new industrial park:
Commissioners who have
scheduled a public hearing July
22 to address the expenditures
“for water and sewer service.
The site, near I-85 and 161,
would provide space for ware-
housing and distribution opera-
tions.
At the recent county com-
mission meeting John Barker Jr.
would be suitable for the facili-
ty.
Ye are not in the incinerat-
ing business," he said in re-
sponse to questions.
Responding to question of
odor, he said there was no evi-
dence of strong odor at any of
the other plant locations.
Tim Roberts, 1014 York Road,
congregation but with others in
the community, dropping in for
a cup of coffee or just to chat a
spell," said Schwantes, who has
even been known to serve as
"Mr. Fixit" as a backyard me-
chanic.
Schwantes got his first expe-
rience with publicity for a big
crusade. in Jamestown, New
York 15 years ago when an as-
sociate of Billy Graham ran a
¢rusade in that area.
"We had wide support from
pastors and that's what we're
aiming for in this area as we
contact every church in the
community to help get the
word out for people to come
and to volunteer in every aspect
of the campaign," said
Schwantes. :
Schwantes and his committee
will be putting up billboards,
_ street banners, and signs in
yards and closer to the August
date of the crusade will be set-
ting up interviews for local me-
of John Barker Realty Inc. said
the company. is a developer for
Class A industrial space on
spec. For its investment he said
the county would realize "many
many returns far and beyond
$400,000."
Garrett Scott, director of the
industrial development for
Johnson, was present at
Murphrey also cited new projects such as the
new police station, new fire truck and the new
peak generation plant and he said the city is mak-
ing sure city associate salaries are competitive *
with surrounding cities enabling the city to keep
good employees in all departments and assuring
citizens of the best service.
See Filing, 5-A
SPEARS
no tax or utility increase in the new budget. We
are planning for the future of Rings Mountain by
ia King sure our.
Tuesday night's council meet-
ing.
Scott said the company
prefers to maintain ownership
of its industrial space and enter
into long term leases. Tenants of
Johnson sites include Adidas
and Michelin Tire, he said.
See Industry, 2-A
medical waste facility
said he opposed the type of fa-
cility for Kings Mountain be-
cause of the danger of spills of
waste and possible contamina-
tion.
"What if this was proposed in
your back yard and not mine?"
asked Roberts, who then asked .
everyone in the packed audi-
ence to stand whe were there to
dia with Jay Strack and his cam-
paign workers who will be
coming to town.
"It's very exciting," said
Schwantes who came to Kings
Mountain from Westford
United Methodist Church in
Concord in 1993 and has quick-
ly become active in many com-
munity-wide efforts.
Chairman of the Kings
Mountain Crisis Ministry for
the Kings Mountain Ministerial
Association, he sees the
Crusade as another arm of help
for people in crisis situations.
They find assistance in physical
needs for food, fuel and clothes
at the Center at the Community
Center and also help for spiritu-
al relationships with God
through their associations with
‘the churches and crusade.
Schwantes was called to
preach 25 years ago after chang-
ing his major from education
- to religion at the University of
Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls
oppose the company's plans to
come to Kings Mountain.
Bill Flynn of Shelby, environ-
mental health and safety profes-
sional. who lives in Kings
Mountain, also argued about
potential danger for citizens.
"We don't need to bring trash to
Kings Mountain," he said.
See Waste, 2-A
Rev. Schwantes always on the go
and graduating from Asbury
Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. A na-
tive of Iowa, he met his wife,"
Darlene Ward Schwantes, at
Asbury College.
"We decided we wanted to
come to God's Country, North
Carolina," said Schwantes, who
served 13 years in the Western
New York Conference of the
Methodist Church before join-
ing the Western North Carolina
Conference in 1985.
Recently the local church
honored their pastor and wife
with a trip to the Holy Land as
a gift on their 25th anniversary
in the ministry.
"Darlene and I have never
been to the Holy Land and this
will be a great experience for us
to share with local people,” said
the preacher who also is a
Pheresis donor with the
American Red Cross in
Charlotte. Schwantes has donat-
See Schwantes, 3-A
GRINDSTATFF
2
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