Lr
June 29, 2000
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain City Council
Tuesday night amended its
code of ordinances to provide
changes necessary to move to
curbside garbage collection.
City Manager Jimmy Maney
said containers are on order and
the new collection system will
begin taking effect as early as
July 10. All of the 4,000 contain-
ers will not arrive at the same
time, he said, but service would
begin for each household the
week following the delivery of
its container. All containers
should be in place during the
week of July 17.
~ The new ordinance includes a
broad description of the
garbage, trash, debris and junk
items that will be accepted by
the city, and penalties for viola-
tions.
Maney said city staff will per-
sonally deliver the containers
and a packet of general infor-
mation about rollout collection
and pickup schedules, which
will also include a copy of the
amended ordinance.
Each packet will also contain
samples of two tags the city will
use to ensure a successful curb-
side collection program. A'red
tag entitled “Sorry” will tell res-
idents why their garbage wasn’t
GAS
From 1A
at current prices rather than 89
cents per gallon.”
Though drive-offs are not as
common in Kings Mountain as
they are in places like Chicago,
Dover and her employees are
still exercising increased cau-
tion.
“If we don’t know the person
who wants to fill their car up,
we make them pay before we
turn on the pumps,” Dover
said.
Punishment for stealing gaso-
line up to $100 worth is a
misdemeanor in North Carolina
but can result in up to 120 days
in jail for repeat offenders. It’s
also a misdemeanor itt \ Sotith
Carolina, but the fine j jumps to
$500, 30 days in jail, and possi-
ble suspension of the offender’s
driving license.
Questions about the high
price of gas abound. The new
jump at the pump is blamed on
refinery capacity problems,
tight inventories, and stricter
environmental regulations. The
rising price of crude oil is also a
factor. Prices for black gold re-
cently hit a 10-year high at $34
a barrel. This was up from the
$10 a barrel price in 1998. The
Oil Producing and Exporting
Countries (OPEC) cartel decid-
ed recently on a moderate in-
crease in production with-a tar-
get price of $25 per barrel. Hope
is that with increased produc-
tion by OPEC, pricés could be-
gin to drop in a few weeks.
New regulations by the
Environmental Protection
Agency have also had a hand in
higher gas prices. On June 1, the
EPA required cities with the
worst ozone pollution to begin
using a reformulated gasoline
that costs moire to produce.
Even though the reformulated
gas is only supposed to cost five
cents more per gallon, refiners
say blending problems-have re-
sulted in higher production
costs.
picked up on a particular date;
and a yellow tag entitled
“Please Help Us” will tell cus-
tomers how to correct certain
problems.
Maney said collection dates
will be Monday through
Thursday - one day per week at
each residence. When holidays
fall on Monday, schedules will
be moved up one day with cus-
tomers receiving pickup the day
following their usual service.
When holidays fall on week-
days, those customers’ pickup
will be the following day.
Thanksgiving and Christmas
pickup schedules will be posted
in local newspapers.
Yard waste will not be collect-
ed during holiday weeks.
Many items that customers
have been illegally placing at
curbside over the years will no
longer be accepted by the city.
Large, bulky appliances will be
picked up at curbside provided
prior arrangements are made
with the sanitation department.
A list of all items that will be
collected as well as those that
will not be accepted are includ-
ed in the ordinance that will be
given to each customer.
Roll-out containers must be
placed at the curb no later than
7:30 a.m. on the day of pickup;
and must be removed from the
curb by midnight of the same
day.
The ordinance includes spe-
cial pickup provisions for the
“physically and elderly” dis-
abled who cannot roll their con- -
tainers to curbside. However, a
doctor’s verification is required
and the requests will be moni-
tored by city staff.
Maney said the city will be le-
nient the first “couple months”
to iron out any problems, but
will not allow the new system
to be abused.
“If a person can cut grass or
wash cars, etc., he can take the
container to the curb,” he said.
The Kings Mountain Herald
Council approves curbside collection policy
“We do not want any citizen
that is physically or elderly dis-
abled to have a problem getting
their container to the curb, and
we'll work with them.”
In a related matter Tuesday,
Council approved the purchase
of an automated refuse collec-
tion truck (mechanical arm
truck) at a cost of $145,315.
After the initial cost of going
to curbside collection, the sys-
tem is projected to save about
$180,000 a year, it was pointed
out in the recent budget work
sessions.
Maney said with the present
backyard collection system, the
city must operate three crews of
a driver and two garbage
- pullers, or nine people. With an-
nexation effective next week,
the old system would have re-
quired an additional crew, or a
total of 12 sanitation employees.
Public Works Director Jackie
Barnette said by going to curb-
side pickup, one crew will be
eliminated immediately; and.
when a second automated col-
lection truck'is purchased (pos-
sibly in a year) the only persons
going into yards to pickup
. garbage will be for the special
requests (elderly and physically
handicapped).
In other action, Council:
HB Was asked by Ellis Noell,
president of the Kings
Mountain Business and
Professional Association, to
look into the possibility of pur-
chasing the lot at the corner of
East Gold and Cherokee Street
for a greenway to connect City
Hall and Patriots Park. =
HB Was asked individually -
not as a board - to financially
support the parents group
“Save Our Schools” in its law-
suit against the Cleveland
County Commissioners’ school
merger plan.
HM Adopted an ordinance to
WATER
From 1A
City, officials feel’ Sritpiing
will go as expected, but they ar
waiting until after the July dh
holiday to begin the tie-in ef-
fort, just in case there is a prob-
lem and parts have to be se-
cured.
“We're on schedule,” noted
City Manager Jimmy Maney.
“Everything should go accord-
ing to plan and it should be in
place by the weekend. By the
following Monday the tank
should be cleared and indus-
tries ready to start back up.”
When the water is shut off at
-6 o'clock Wednesday morning,
the city will have 7 million gal-
lons stored at its tank at Public
Works. With all area industries
shut down for the holiday, that
should be plenty of water for
residential use under normal
circumstances. The city is ask-
ing residents to be conservative
in case an emergency arises.
The contractor, Crowder
Construction of Charlotte, has
been busy for months laying the
new pipe and preparing for tak-
ing the line under Muddy Fork
Creek. The old line, which was
constructed in the late 1960s, in-
cludes a 90-degree bend at
Muddy Fork, and that has been
the source of most of the line's
breaks over the past several
years. The bend will be elimi-
e718 Holes \_
ee Pro Shop
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OWEST PRICES AROUND
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nated by the new line.
Engineer Al Moretz of
Moretz Engineering, said water
iis’ pumped:through the line at
up to 180 pounds of pressure
" per square inch, and ‘that bend
has taken the brunt of the water
pressure over the years. A re-
cent water line analysis re-
vealed that rest of the 24” inch
line should serve the city well
for another 15 to 20 years if
properly maintained.
The city’s long-range goal is
to replace a section of approxi-
mately 3,000 feet each year for
the next 10 years, thus creating
a 36” main line to town and
having the old 24” line as a
back-up.
The city is planning to re-
place a section near the Public
Works Department during the
next fiscal year. Maney said
bids should be awarded in
September and construction
could begin in mid-October.
The project will cost about
$400,000.
“Eventually we will tie-in
with the line coming from the
Water Plant,” he said.
When completed, Moretz
said the new line would allow
Kings Mountain to triple its wa-
ter capacity if it expands its wa-
ter plant.
“If we need to expand the
water plant within some time
frame, you couldn't get water to
town with a 24-inch line,” he
said.
June Senior Special
ER EH)
Fees and Cart
GOLF COURSE
601 High Shoals Rd.
OPEN 7 DAYS
922-4208
GROUPS
WELCOME
amend capital projects funds for
the swimming pool, law en-
forcement building and
Davidson and Jake Early park
improvements.
BM Adopted an ordinance
amending the fiscal year 1999-
2000 budget for operating and
capital expenses.
MI Set a public hearing for
July 27 to amend the zoning or-
dinance to make video game ar-
cades a conditional use with
special requirements.
M Set a public hearing for
July 25 to receive input on a re-
quest from James Carroll to re-
zone property located at 605
North Piedmont Avenue from
Residential R-8 to General
Business.
HM Approved a resolution di-
recting the City Clerk to investi-
gate a voluntary contiguous an-
nexation petition from MPB
Development.
B Set a public hearing for
August 29 regarding the
Planning and Zoning Board's
recommendation for zoning of
portions of the 2000-G annexa-
tion area.
M Set a public hearing for
August 29 for a public hearing
regarding an ordinance expand-
ing the city’s extraterritorial
planning jurisdiction to two
miles in the Highway 29 corri-
dor industrial area (Area III).
BM Amended the March 28 in-
centive grant agreement with
Commonwealth Industries to
change location from 707
Broadview Drive to the Johnson
Development building on I-85;
and also authorized assignment
by Commonwealth of the incen-
tive grant agreement to
Aluminum Tube Enterprises,
LLC.
MW Approved a budget
amendment authorizing the
- Electric Dept. to carry forward
funds from fiscal year ‘99-00 in-
to fiscal year ‘00-01 for a street
sweeper in the amount of
$117,205.
BW Approved a budget
amendment authorizing the
sanitation department to carry
forward funds from fiscal year
‘99-00 budget into fiscal year
00-01 budget for a down pay-
ment on the lease purchase of
an automated sanitation truck
in the amount of $25,000.
BM Heard a report from
Recreation Director Tripp Hord
on the July 4 celebration set for
Tuesday from 3-9:30 p.m. on the
Deal Street ball fields behind
the YMCA. All activities are
free except for the swimming
pool events. There is a $2 ad-
mission fee to the pool.
BM Heard an update on codes
enforcement on King Street
from Codes Director Holly
Galloway. Galloway said some
properties which have been
cleaned up may be on the mar-
ket soon, and that another
building which was recently va-
cated cannot be occupied again
until it is brought up to codes.
Hl Set a public hearing for
July 25 on a Community
Appearance Standards
Ordinance. Galloway said the
ordinance draft is designed to
provide a minimum appearance
Frage sa
standard for the city and its ET].
She said Council will decide
whether the official ordinance
will include the ETJ
BM Approved an ordinance
amending the zoning map to re-
zone property in the Mountain
and Gold Street areas from
Residential R-6, Residential R-8,
and G-B to RS-6, RS-8 and O.
8 Approved rezoning prop-
erty owned by Dr. and Mrs.
George Plonk (Old Home Place
Road) from H-I and R-10 to
Conditional Use R-20.
Bl Authorized the demolition
of houses located at 402 and 404
North Battleground Avenue.
Bl Adopted Cleveland
County’s 10-year updated solid
waste management plan.
B@ Adopted an ordinance
levying a tax on gross receipts
derived from retail short-term
lease or rental of motor vehi-
cles.
B Appointed Tom Wright,
Mike Bolt, Ken Davis, Raeford
White, John Bumgardner and
Roger Goins to one-year terms
on the John H. Moss Lake
Advisory Committee.
B Heard an update on street
paving projects from City
Manager Jimmy Maney and
Public Works Director Jackie
Barnette.
Kings Mountain Weather Report
(Compiled by Kenneth Kitzmiller)
June 21-27
Total precipitation 15
Max. one day .15 (26th)
Year to date 23.98
Low temp. 64 (22nd)
High temp. 95 (21st)
Avg. temp. 81.4
Year Ago
89
50 (25th)
20.38
63 (22nd)
88 (26th)
75.1
Najla Ahmed, MD
Board Certified in Pediatrics
Announcing the opening of
103 West King Street
Kings Mountain, NC
734-1662
Opening Tuesday
August 1, 2000
Now accepting patients newborn to 18
July Sale.
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> Great Deals on Pre-Owned 6500 C-4 and 5500 C-4 Ambassadeur
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Sale Ends July 31, 2000