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Kings Mountain, NC
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TAY UVPAA VY rrteaeaad
Volume 125 © Issue 22 Wednesday, May 29, 2013 ¢ 75¢
Sports... 1C
Police say ‘no bomb’ 6A
Water-sewer rate hike expected in July
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
#8
The typical water-sewer
customer of the city who
uses 5,000 gallons of water
per month will see an in-
crease of $3.49 per month
(12 cents a day) in the pro-
posed 2013-2014 city
budget.
Nothing is passed- and
won’t be until after a public
hearing June 18 — but the
2013-2014 city draft recom-
mended budget of $35.2 mil-
lion by City Manager
Marilyn Sellers is on the
table.
Water-sewer rates will go
up 7 % percent for all water-
sewer customers of the city,
KMHS to hold
baccalaureate
Sunday, June 2
Graduation set for June 8
Commencement exer-
cises for 261 Kings Moun-
tain High School seniors will
begin Sunday, June 2, with
baccalaureate services at B.
N. Barnes Auditorium at 7
p.m., and end on Saturday,
June 8, with graduation ex-
ercises at 9 a.m. in John
Gamble Stadium.
Rev. Doug Allen, pastor
of Penley’s Chapel Church,
will deliver the sermon and
seven members of the grad-
uating class will participate
in the worship service.
Matthew Shepard,
Jonathan Clark, Justin Chap-
man, Hannah Wyte, Wil
Sellers, Tyerah Blake and
Wyneisha Bell will offer
prayers and read scriptures,
Seniors in the Kings
Mountain High School Cho-
rus will present special
music.
Kings Mountain Ministe-
rial Association sponsors the
baccalaureate: worship serv-
ice each year.
Community
BreaRfast today
The Kings Mountain
State of Community Break-
fast will be held today
(Wednesday) at 7:30 a.m. at
the H. Lawrence Patrick
Senior Life & Conference
Center.
Representatives of the
city and county will give up-
dates on “the state of the
community” including proj-
ects underway by the City of
Kings Mountain, Cleveland
County, and school system.
Reservations for the meal
should be made with Shirley
Brutko at the local Chamber
of Commerce.
Water-sewer rates
could rise in Grover
ELIZABETH STEWART
. lib.kmherald@gmail.com
GROVER - A typical
water/sewer customer cur-
rently pays $63.54 monthly
for 5,000 gallons of water
and residents using 2,000
gallons of water pay a com-
°
bined water/sewer rate of
$42.66 a month.
“I’m not comfortable if
our bills go up,” said coun-
cilman Bill Willis, as the
board heard a presentation of
user costs that could go up
60-80 percent as they
See GROVER, 5A
Rotary seeking nominations
Nominations for Kings
Mountain Rotary Club Citi-
zen of the Year are being in-
vited from the public
through June 10.
The award will be pre-
sented at the June 27 meet-
ing of the civic club at noon
at the Patrick Senior Center.
8798525700200
Nominations may not be
for Rotary = members,
Lovelace said, and should be
forwarded to her at 300 W.
Mountain Street or on the
website @www.ibankat
fnb.com 2
The Kings Mountain res-
ident who “has set a standard
of extraordinary “service
above self” and community
involvement, thereby im-
proving the quality of life for
all citizens in the Kings
Mountain area” is criteria for
the prestigious award.
residential, commercial, in-
dustrial, on July 1.
The new rate is proposed
for the next three years to .
help the city pay for water
system improvements for
which the city is borrowing
$33,849,600 from a state re-
volving fund with pay back
over 20 years with no inter-
est.
As a part of the applica-
tion for funding of the proj-
ect, Sellers said that the N.
C. Local Government Com-
mission required that a new
rate study be completed.
Richard M. McClung, Util- -
ity Advisors Network, told
city council at last Wednes-
day’s marathon work session
that the increase is necessary
for the capital improvements
project.
“Each enterprise fund
(each department) must
stand on its own for new
debt required for a major
project,” said Sellers.
The existing, combined
water/sewer rate for an in-
side-city residential cus-
tomer with a % inch water
line meter using 5,000 gal-
. lons of service per month is
$46.18. The new rate will be
$49.67. Neighboring utility
systems are approximately
18 percent higher. Shelby’s
combined rate is $53.36, the
town of Dallas $58.60.
The only other increase
that may come to citizens is
See RATE HIKE, 5A
New memorials unveiled at Park
«+ ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald @gmail.com
Memorial Day I honored
a soldier I never met.
John Carson (Skip) Stew-
art, son of the late H. K. and
Anne Stewart of Kings
Mountain, was missing in
action during World War II.
“Skip” sent a Christmas
card and picture to his uncle,
George Stewart, from the
Philippines and that was the
last time my parents heard
from him.
In 2000 I visited the
Philippines as representative
of the American Legion
Auxiliary and I saw his
name. on-the memorial wall
that listed John C. Stewart of
North Carolina as missing in
action.
Skip’s nephew, Tony
Stewart, was reminiscing at
Dixon Presbyterian Church
Memorial Day/ Homecom-
ing Sunday that his father, L.
H. (Bud) Stewart, had told
him many things about his
uncle and passed down to
Tony the Purple Heart. Bud
served in the military too and
came home. His brother did
not.
Two granite markers. un-
veiled and dedicated Mon-
day morning in impressive
ceremonies at the Patriots
Park wall lists the names of
39 local men — 31 who were
killed in action during World
War II and eight who died in
battle in Korea — soldiers,
sailors and marines. Other
soldiers who died in Vietnam
are also memorialized on the
monument and that service
of remembrance was held
last Veterans Day.
Memorial Day is a day
See MEMORIAL DAY, 5A
Council reviews proposed city budget
z= ELIZABETH STEWART
i lib.kmherald@gmail. com
Kings Mountain City
Council took a first look at
the proposed $35,245,871
city budget for 2013-2014 —
a 1% increase from last year
— last Wednesday during an
over three hour workshop at
the H. Lawrence" Patrick
Senior Life & Conference
Center.
“Our water problems did-
n’t happen overnight, we lost
industry,” said councilman
Howard Shipp, responding
to one of the main subjects
of the evening — fixing
water/sewer infrastructure.
The city has 110 miles of
water lines to maintain and
116 miles of sewer lines. A
Duke Energy increase to the
city raises operating expense
of the water plant and waste-
water treatment plant 10 per-
cent.
Bessemer City is the No.
1 water user of 10 and
STEAG Energy is the largest
sewer user of 10, City Man-
ager Sellers said in her pres-
entation. Patrick Yarn is the
No. 1 user of electricity of 10
and Firestone is the No. 1
user of 10 of natural gas.
Sellers said the city has
seen a 25% growth in water
and sewer.
Water Supt. Dennis
Wells said he anticipates the
city can be ready to start
making major improvements
by July 1 pending receipt of
funds the city is borrowing —
a grand total of $33 million.
Council discussed putting
new roofs on city hall, the
garage and library, the pur-
chase of three police cars, a
vehicle for special events, a
dishwasher for the Senior
Center, portable stage for
special events, drainage up-
grades at New Camp Road,
and bathrooms for the city’s
playground, with the bath-
room work to be done in-
house. Powell Bill funds are
expected to pay for a
$100,000 tractor.
Council expects to ap-
prove Phase II, Fiber Ring
Installation, $50,000, Elec-
tric System mapping, $23,
000, natural gas system ex-
pansion and updating maps,
expenditures totaling
$345,150 from the general
fund; $53,500 from water
and sewer; $283,000 from
electric fund; and $177,150
from natural gas fund, addi-
tionally a total of $1.2 mil-
lion in installment purchase
payments in 2013-2014. Fu-
ture years’ debt in install-
ment purchases is expected
to total $4.7 million, includ-
ing the beginning payment
Mayor Rick Murphrey an City Manager Marilyn Sellers look
over budget figures for the upcoming fiscal year 2013-2014
in Sellers’ office at City Hail.
of the $33 million loan for
the water projects.
Council commended the
staff who met for months
with the city manager on line
items and in making cuts in
each department.
Cardboard containers will
soon be a new addition to the
city’s recycling program.
“It’s paying for itself but no
- big moneymaker,” seid Sell-
ers.
A total of 4,107 Solon
report recycling 26 pounds
of recyclables, said Sellers.
Sellers said the city had
been receiving a credit of
Photo by LIB STEWART
$62 for each ton of recy-
clables taken to the landfill
but beginning in May the
credit was dropped to $31
and there will no longer be a
credit offered after April
2014.
The city’s debt is low -
$1.2 million in 2013-14 as it
operates four utilities, elec-
tric, water, sewer, and gas,’
says the mayor.
The city will end the year
with 29 or 30% of the gen-
eral operating fund in fund
balance. The city brings in
$3.1 million in taxes each
year.
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