Charlie Martin

There were some bright spots in the Municipal elections yesterday. 

Two new people were elected to council — Martha Stowe and Ron Foulk. One incumbent, Charlie Flowers returned to office.

Congratulations to the new and returning council members. However, the dynamic does not change al that much.

Becky Burch was replaced by an ally in Ron Foulk. His positions on growth management  are still fuzzy and we wonder if his job responsibilities may interfer with his ability to be an effective member of council. He is a vert smart and articulate administrator and that pleases all of us, because he will take the time to read and research issues that come before council – not blindly vote as directed by others. As a community, we encourage you to watch Mr. Foulk carefully on issues such as city personnel and public safety, strategic planning, view points on annexation-related services and timelines. A person can do a lot of damage in 4 years.

Charlie Flowers’ support has diminished in this election, earning only 556 votes this time around. The overall turnout and number of candidates certainly contributed to the number. We hope that he would have promised to stay awake through the council meetings and work sessions in return for his re-election bid, but he didn’t offer that to the voters. It is difficult to see if he will still carry his chip on the shoulder towards newcomers to the community or if he will embrace the positives that come with planned growth and management.

The new triumvirate will line up with Flowers, Foulk, and Martin setting the tone and quite possibly fighting the manager’s and mayor’s overall strategic comprehensive growth agenda. Basically, this election result guarantees that we will see at least two more years of personal agendas over what is best for the community.

Martha Stowe brings a good mind and energy to the council. We hope that she will remain even-handed in this public role. She is certainly articulate and will speak her mind.

All are supporters of parks and recreation plans. That is a good thing. With the approval of the Bond, the Parks and Recreation Department can seriously begin work on their master plan of 2003.

We certainly expect that Mr. Dixon and his 100-year family legacy will be back for either another run for council or to challenge as Mayor. That will bear watching the next two years.

Again, we will support — and watch carefully — as the new council members are seated and begin their term. 

from the Tuesday Gazette:Belmont Councilman Irl Dixon said the city should consider increasing fines for water violations, if a higher level of water conservation becomes necessary.And that time could come as soon as next month, City Manager Barry Webb told City Council at its meeting Monday.Webb said Duke Energy told members of the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group at a meeting Friday that recent rain improved storage in the basin slightly. But, if the area doesn’t get more rain soon, Stage IV water restrictions could be imposed by mid-December or early January, he said.

That’s It ? , that’s all the Observer could write?             

They are not “open”, they are contested.

Is this all that we are going to get from the City Council candidates this year?

You have to buy a copy of the Thursday (10/18)Observer to get more information. To be fair, there is a bit more information from the generic questionaire that was sent to all the candidates.

 Becky Burch: “…she would encourage the development of one shuttered textile mill to be converted into a nursing home…”  and this helps the tax rate how?

“Burch said council members have the authority to ask developers to leave room for these areas, she said. They haven’t made that request yet though, she said.”  WHY haven’t the council members made those requests – YET ?

We are not making this up – these are quotes from the Charlotte Observer.

  Irl Dixon: “While some candidates say they are concerned about high property taxes, Dixon said the tax rate dropped last year and he expects it to do the same in the future because of the development of high-end, waterfront homes”.

Does this give credence to the term “economic-genocide” that East-enders and South Point residents are concerned about? Push out the existing homes to build McMansions along the lake, reducing visibility and accessibility. This is a concern here in this community.

  Charlie Flowers:  “If re-elected, Flowers said he will push for businesses to fill the now empty textile mills”.

Too Late Charlie !  Most of the mills have been torn down or are in the planning stages to be torn down. We cite the examples of the Belmont Hosiery plant – now, called Belmont Reserve. We cite the Imperial Mill – now vacant, and its mill village called Hawthorne. We cite the Acme – now the space for development. This site even had a viable park area that the city acutally refused to use (Woodlawn) in the late 1990’s. How about what once was the Belmont Dyers, now torn down with development plans for high-end housing. Even the cotton warehouse that Stowe Mills used over on Eagle Road (a perfectly good pre-cast concrete structure) was torn down to make way for the clear-cutting that is now known as Eagle Village. Not even going to discuss in any detail the tearing down of the Eagle Mill for $500,000 unsold homes across from Belmont Central.

  Ron Foulk: “…61-year-old political newcomer said council members have budget responsibility…”.

He’s not a newcomer — he has run for City council in at least 2 other elections. He also opposed the Amity Acres annexation into the city in the 1990’s. How can you trust someone who will be opposed to future annexations.

  Curtis Gaston: “He would favor a building moratorium, especially on large subdivisions.”

Once again, the Pittenger/Duke(Crescent) property is already under design – that’s over 1,000 acres of voluntarily annexed land. The city has had jurisdictional control for over ten years on this property and until it was sold to State Senator Pittenger, nothing was done to guide its development direction.  Young Mr. Gaston needs to be more involved. He has promise but will he be committed in the long run?

 Martha Stowe: “…It [the land use plan] doesn’t prohibit developers, it just makes sure you’re working in tandem with developers,” she said. “As much development as we’re seeing in Belmont we’re going to have to do something other than what we have done…”

So, what are your plans and ideas?

Richard Turner:  “…The recent land-use plan lacks teeth, Turner said, and developers have been able to build as they wanted using conditional zoning. He said the city needs a public facilities ordinance that wouldn’t allow growth beyond the city’s ability to service it…”

Dennis Boyce: “Did not respond”

We hope the BannerNews and the Gazette will expand these questions.

We find it amazing that wherever you see a Burch sign in a yard, there is a Flowers sign right next to it. If it looks like a ticket (signs), sounds like a ticket (identical votes on all issues before council), it’s probably a ticket. Vote for one, get 2.  And we thought that the politics in Belmont was “non-partisan”.