Matthews Messenger | May 2021

MAY — 2021

Volume 3 — Issue 5

HISTORIC ROSELAND CEMETERY RESTORATION Town Manager Hazen Blodgett (left), Mayor John Higdon (center) and Parks and Recreation Director Corey King (right) help with the cleanup effort.

Read more on page 3.

In this issue...

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Historic Roseland Cemetery Restoration on page 3.

Keep These Messages On Your Mind Engage and Connect: Follow the Town of Matthews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, NextDoor and sign up to receive notifications.

Visit www.matthewsnc.gov for more info.

Town of Matthews Celebrates Employees of the Quarter on page 4.

MATTHEWSNC.GOV

@TOWNOFMATTHEWS

Budget Process Underway for Next Fiscal Year. Page 5.

@MATTHEWSNC

TOWN OF MATTHEWS

@TOWNOFMATTHEWS

www.matthewsnc.gov

Matthews Messenger | MAY 2021

MANAGER’S MESSAGE The process of preparing next year’s budget is well underway.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult, the Town’s finances remain in good shape.

Creating a budget that balances the needs of the community and the level of service residents desire with competing needs and increased costs is never an easy task. I can assure you we work very hard to be good stewards of your tax dollars. Read more about the budget process on page 5.

We are recognizing some of our outstanding employees in this month’s newsletter. These three individuals have done a fantastic job representing the Town of Matthews. Read about them on page 4.

One person who will help us prepare the budget is our new Finance Director, Teresa Fulk. Teresa began her new position with us just last week. We are so pleased to have her on our team. Read more about her below.

Check out the calendar on page 6 of Matthews events and Board of Commissioners meetings so you can stay involved and engaged in all that Matthews has to offer. We hope you have a great month of May.

Historic Roseland Cemetery is being cleaned up and restored by a group of community volunteers. This is such an important effort, and we are so appreciative of their work.

Read more about this on page 3.

Hazen Blodgett HAZEN BLODGETT MATTHEWS TOWN MANAGER HBLODGETT@MATTHEWSNC.GOV

BECKY HAWKE ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER BHAWKE@MATTHEWSNC.GOV

Matthews Welcomes New Finance Director We are pleased to welcome Teresa Fulk as the new Finance Director for the Town. In this role, Teresa oversees the Town’s Finance Department.

Teresa has worked in finance-related roles for nearly 20 years, the last 12 of which have been in local government. Prior to joining the Town of Matthews staff, Teresa served as the Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director for the Town of Newport, North Carolina. She previously worked as the Accounting Services Supervisor for Carteret County, North Carolina for 10 years.

“We are extremely excited to have Teresa join our team,” said Matthews Town Manager Hazen Blodgett. “She has a stellar track record in local government finance and her wealth of experience and knowledge will be instrumental in helping ensure the Town of Matthews remains on sound financial footing for many years to come.”

To read more about Teresa, click here.

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Matthews Messenger | MAY 2021

HISTORIC ROSELAND CEMETERY RESTORATION Historic Roseland Cemetery, located off on Monroe Road behind the new apartments called The Address, is home to the graves of approximately 75-125 souls, believed to be mostly freed slaves and African Americans.

The cemetery was used for burial until the late 1950’s. It was named a local historic landmark in 2012 by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic

BEFORE

Landmark Commission. Read more here.

The property was purchased from a private owner by Taft Development under the agreement that it will be restored and preserved. The Matthews Historical Foundation, together with Hoke Thompson, has been leading an effort to cleanup and restore the property. The Foundation has also been working to identify those buried at the cemetery.

Since March of this year, a group of volunteers

AFTER

totaling 75 people, led by Thompson, has been working nearly every weekend to clear brush, remove dead trees, and restore the cemetery. The group has removed a total of 7 tons of debris. Several new headstones and artifacts were found during the cleanup.

Once the cleanup is complete, a walking path, fence and signage will be added.

The Matthews Historical Foundation (represented by President Becky Willard and Paula Lester) along with Hoke Thompson provided an update to the Board of Commissioners at their April 26 meeting.

“I want to thank the Matthews Historical Foundation, Hoke Thompson, and all the volunteers who have helped restore the Roseland Cemetery.

I am so glad to see Roseland Cemetery be respected in the manner it should be.”

- Mayor John Higdon

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Matthews Messenger | MAY 2021

TOWN OF MATTHEWS CELEBRATES EMPLOYEES OF THE QUARTER In last month’s Matthews Messenger, we shared with you the Employee of the Year for 2020 – Human Resources Director Tonya McGovern. Tonya was also named an Employee of the Quarter for 2020. This month, we are pleased to announce the Town employees also named Employee of the Quarter in 2020.

BEN CRAWFORD, LIEUTENANT, MATTHEWS FIRE & EMS Ben is a terrific employee and is also willing to go the extra mile to help someone in need – whether that’s on the scene of an accident or standing in line at the grocery store. While standing in line at Aldi, a gentleman with his young son went to pay for their groceries and realized that he had forgotten his wallet. Ben stepped up and paid for their groceries without asking how much the total was.

It was not only a generous act, it also reinforced the “firefighters are your friends” concept that Matthews Fire & EMS teaches students.

CHARLES SMITH, RECREATION PROGRAM MANAGER Charles exemplifies what it means to be a Town of Matthews employee.

He is dedicated to his job, his staff, and to everyone who enters the Crews Recreation Center. He worked countless hours to create an executive plan and operate the supervised virtual learning program. He created a completely new program and had the flexibility to adjust as they went along.

Charles has worked with community partners and the local schools to ensure that the virtual learning experience at Crews is a success.

TIM AYCOCK, PIO, MATTHEWS POLICE Tim is the definition of a team player. He will always step in and help when asked. Tim has developed some exceptional video skills through his role as Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Police Department. Now, he’s putting those skills to work for nearly all Town departments. He takes time out of his busy schedule to help out his colleagues. Tim’s skills shooting and editing video have been a tremendous asset to the Town.

Congratulations to Ben, Charles and Tim! 4

Matthews Messenger | MAY 2021

Budget Process Underway for Next Fiscal Year Like all municipalities in North Carolina, the Town of Matthews must adopt a budget on or before June 30 each year. The budget is a financial plan that outlines expected revenues and proposed expenditures for the coming fiscal year (July 1 thru June 30).

The budget process began earlier this year. Town Manager Hazen Blodgett, the Town’s Budget Officer, works together with Assistant Town Manager Becky Hawke to review budget requests from each Town Department. Working closely with the Finance Director, the budget is then developed and balanced.

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The Town Manager then presents the recommended budget to the Board of Commissioners. Below is the complete Budget Schedule for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.

As always, all of the meetings are open to the public and will be broadcast live on YouTube and Zoom.

Read more about the FY 21-22 budget, and view the Manager’s presentation here: https://www.matthewsnc.gov/newsview.aspx?nid=6576

FY2022 BUDGET

TIMELINE

Mon., May 10, 2021

Town Manager presents the recommended budget to the Board of Commissioners

tues, May 18, 2021

Budget workshop is held to dig deeper into each department’s expenditures

Mon., May 24, 2021

Public hearing is held to gather input from the community

Mon., June 7, 2021

Second budget workshop (if needed)

Mon., June 14, 2021

Budget adoption

Mon., June 28, 2021

Alternative date for budget adoption

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Matthews Messenger | MAY 2021

May 2021 Events Calendar Any questions?

Contact us!

Board of Commissioners Special Meeting at 7:00 pm

Boc Special Meeting at 5:30 pm BOC regular Meeting at 7:00 pm

Matthews Committee on Education Meeting

parks, recreation and cultural resources advisory committee mtg

Outdoor Concert: The Band of Oz

BOC Special Meeting: Budget Workshop at 6:00 pm

Board of Commissioners regular Meeting at 7:00 pm

Transportation Advisory Committee meeting

cultural diversity committee meeting

Milkweed for Monarchs Plant Sale

Outdoor Concert: The Terrence Young Experience

For additional details, please visit: www.matthewsnc.gov/calendar.aspx Town of Matthews Board of Commissioners

Have any questions about the community? Contact us!

Mayor John Higdon mayorhigdon@matthewsnc.gov

Commissioner Jeff Miller jmiller@matthewsnc.gov

TOWN HALL

Mayor Pro Tem Renee Garner rgarner@matthewsnc.gov

Commissioner John Urban jurban@matthewsnc.gov

PHONE

Commissioner Dave Bland dbland@matthewsnc.gov

Commissioner Larry Whitley lwhitley@matthewsnc.gov

E-MAIL

Commissioner Ken McCool kmccool@matthewsnc.gov

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232 Matthews Station St. | Matthews, NC 28105 (704) 847- 4411 matthews@matthewsnc.gov WEB

www.matthewsnc.gov