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July 18, 2012 = EMILY WEAVER Editor Bessemer City City Council unanimously approved a text amendment to the city's zon- ing laws at its meeting July 9 that will allow sweepstakes cafes to operate within city lim- its on a "limited" basis. The new amendment limits gaming cen- ters to a maximum of 25 machines, sets hours of operation at 6 a.m.-midnight and strictly limits where the facilities can locate. "No electronic gaming operation may be located within 500 linear feet of the parcel line of a house of worship, daycare center, li- brary, public park, elementary, middle or high school," according to the amendment. The text addition also prohibits sweep- stakes facilities from operating within 1,000 feet of each other. "It's very limited. It depends on (where) . The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.net BC amends city laws to allow sweepstakes centers Council approves privilege license fees, including extra tax on some businesses the first.guy (locates). The dominoes will fall from the first permit issued," said city Plan- ning Director Kevin Krouse. The ordinance requires "open" and "un- obstructed access" to facilities during regular hours of operation; prohibits windows or doors from being "covered with signs or coatings.to render them opaque"; and, pro- hibits any "flags, banner signs or flashing lights". The amendment also bans any gaming center from operating on a site with an ABC license. . City Councilman Joe Will made a motion to accept the amendment, changing the max- imum limit on machines from 15 to 20 be- fore Councilman Howard Jones asked for it to be bumped up to 25. "I've been told it takes 25 machines to make a profit," Jones said. "We have to per- mit them, if they're legal." Will asked that the limit on hours of op- eration in the amendment also be changed from "8 a.m. until 10 p.m." to. "6 a.m. until midnight". Will renewed his motion, includ- ing the changes in machine limits and hours of operation; and the amendment passed unanimously. ; At a public hearing during the June 11th council meeting, Don Johnson of 503 W. Gold Street, Kings Mountain, spoke in favor of a zoning text amendment to regulate elec- tronic gaming operations within the city. He had expressed interest of opening a sweep- stakes game center in the Silver Express complex he owns on E. Virginia Avenue. Electronic garhing operators must pay an- nual privilege license fees of $2,500 per busi- ness and $2,500 per machine to operate in Bessemer City. The city has researched and reviewed the business license fees of other cities to "come Page 3A in compliance" and-avoid any possible future civil litigation, said City Manager James Inman. 3 The city council approved a schedule of privilege license fees for businesses operat- ing in the city at its July 9th meeting. The schedule includes an additional tax of $0.15 per every $1,000 earned at: adult establish- ments and cabarets, antique retail shops, bar- bers and beauty salons, instruction centers (i.e., music, voice, fine arts, etc.), machinery establishments, manufacturing plants, mer- cantile stores (not otherwise listed), and pre- cious metal dealerships. The minimum tax to operate a business in Bessemer City is $50 a year. The maximum tax is set at $3,000. The schedule was. approved 5-1, with Councilman Dan Boling opposing. See CHANGE, 7A Contaminants in BC water supply "under control’ EMILY WEAVER Editor BESSEMER CITY - At Besse- mer City's July 9th council meet- ing, Public Works Director and interim Treatment Plant Director Melinda Beard reported the city has had a higher-than-standard level of contaminants in its water supply, but added there was no need for panic. : "Our water system recently vio- lated a drinking water standard. Al- though this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do and what we are doing to correct this situation," she reported to the council in a public notice. "We routinely monitor for the “presence of drinking water con- taminants. The test results we re- ceived in - December for the November, 2011 monitoring show that our system exceeded the stan- dard or maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes (TTHMs),!" she continued. "The standard for TTHMs is 0.080 mil- ligrams per liter. The annual aver- age level of TTHMs for the last 12 months, Aug. 1 through May 31, was 0.088 milligrams per liter." Beard told the council that higher levels in November are re- flecting in the higher annual aver- age. She added that she has not yet heard back on recent levels. "Last time we checked, the water is now in compliance," said * City Manager James Inman. The notice informs citizens that they "do not need to use an alterna- tive water supply", but those with specific health concerns should consult their doctor. "This is not an immediate risk," according to the notice. "However, some people who drink the water containing TTHMs in excess of the maximum contaminant level over many years may experience prob- lems with their liver, kidneys or central nervous system and may have an increased risk of getting cancer." "Due to Bessemer City purchas- ing more water from Kings Moun- tain than we are producing, our clearwell storage is not turning the water over quick enough to stop the formation of disinfection by-prod- ucts, like TTHMs," Beard said, adding that TTHM is a by-product of chlorine. "This along, with the higher than normal temperatures in November, 2011 has created higher AHOY LAND-LUBBERS! Young reenactors enjoyed a dinner party and costume contest at 238 Cherokee Street (before the city's hig Revolutionary 4th) on Tuesday night, July 3. Left to right, around the table, Tayler Walls, 6, winner of the Pirate Costume Contest - Samuel Love, 4, Emilee Love, 13, Heather Love, 12, Lizzie Love, 10, and Jamie Walls, 10. AT RIGHT, Four-year-old Samuel Love won the Pirate Cos- tume Contest July 3 at 238 Cherokee Street. Reenactor Rob Lewis looks on. AT LEFT, Heather Love, 12, tops 10-year-old Lizze Love ata than normal TTHMs. We are still flushing our system on a regular basis to reduce the amount of chlo- rine being used, while still main- taing a safe level for disinfection. We have implemented new proce- ° dures and hope this will enable us to keep our TTHM levels down and are still researching and imple- menting different avenues to take to avoid this problem in the future and are confident the problem is under control." There have been a lot of towns in the state having this problem, Beard added. recent costume contest at 238 Cherokee Street. Photos by EMILY WEAVER Find Leo with this week’s Summer Reading Clue: My how time flies. Can you believe it is already the 5th week of Summer Reading? Leo is on the move again. He is flying \\ on down to the corner of King St. and Cansler. Maybe look- ing for some “true values”? Don't forget to thank the nice folks for keeping an eye on our friend Leo the Lightening bug! 704-739-7496, fax 9: t: end | Smile HOW TOREACHUS| | nos Moun on ee omy sumsay | OneDaySmileDentures July 19 July 20 July 21 July 22 hu : = oo” Contact the Herald by aa aa ui | coming by the office at any gi Shey | | 700 E. Gold St. call So > = 7 -. | Fast & Affordable $285 Full Upper or Lower Dentures - come in Eugene Young Published every Wednesday Periodicals postage at Kings Mountain, NC 28086 USPS 931-040 by Gemini Newspapers, Inc. ‘Postmaster, send address changes to: P. O. 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The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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July 18, 2012, edition 1
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