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Thursday, January 21, 2016
Groundbreaking held at Harper Park
Stanley to get new gymnasium By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
The Town of Stanley will be getting a new gymnasium at Harper Park on Blacksnake Rd. Groundbreaking for the facility was held last Satuday. State, county, and local officials, as well as a bunch of kids who will no doubt be using the gym, showed up for the ceremony. “This is a very proud day for Stanley,” said mayor Andrew Quigley. The gym that’s being replaced is over 60 years old. It’s called the Kiser Center and is located on East Church St. According to NC State Rep. John Tornett, who was on hand, that structure was
a “New Deal” project from WWII days. “Time took over the old gym,” said Stanley Parks and Recreation director Tug Deason. The new gym will be of metal and brick veneer construction. It will measure 110’x90’ and boast restrooms, a concession stand, an office, and a nice basketball court. “Stanley has over 600 kids in our youth basketball program and the new gym will be a great place for them to play,” said town manager Heath Jenkins. The gym will also be available for other city-related events but not private ones. See GYM page 2
Last Saturday’s groundbreaking for a new gym at Stanley’s Harper Park brought out an enthusiastic crowd of officials and kids. The gym will replace one that is over 60 years old. Photo by Alan Hodge
City of Belmont given good financial audit By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
This design of Mt. Holly gateway sign has been in place for several years. Photos by Alan Hodge
This image shows the general design that the new Mt. Holly gateway signs will likely have when erected later this year.
Mt. Holly to upgrade “gateway” signs By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
The City of Mt. Holly will be getting some nice new “gateway” signs to replace the ones that have been in place for several years. Last week the city council approved a contract with Image 360 for $82,650 for the erection of five new signs along major roadway entrances. The contract includes $1,000 for reloca-
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tion of the existing brick sign on Hwy. 273S for storage and possible future use. The contract also includes a 15% contingency to cover unforeseen situations during construction of the new signs. The contingency can only be used by Image 360 with written instructions from the city’s project manager and any contingency money left over goes back to the city. Image 360 was the low bidder. Sign Connection bid $94,741.31 and Craven Sign Services bid $123,372.00 See SIGNS page 2
The City of Belmont recently received its fiscal audit for the year ending June 30, 2015 and all appeared sound. The audit was performed by Martin Starnes & Associates, CPA, and presented to the city council at its last meeting. General Fund revenues for the city stood at $9,488,175 in 2015 compared to $8,982,688 in 2014. General Fund expenditures in 2015 were $9,423,208 compared to $9,369,492 in 2014. TheFund Balance serves as a measure of the city’s financial resources available. Belmont’s available General Fund Balance in 2014 was $2,825,814. In 2015 it was $3,209,131- an increase of $383,317.
Ad valorem taxes brought $5,627,775 to Belmont’s coffers in 2014. In 2015 the number increased to $5,712,264- a boost of $84,489. Expenditures reported in the audit showed 2013 public safety costs at $3,870,039, 2014 at $3,998,893, and 2015 $4,008,430- a leap of $138,391. Transportation costs includes things such as street repairs and expenditures in that department hit $1,480,085 in 2015 -up $144,622 from 2014 and $294,909 from 2013. General Government expenditures cover items such as adminstrative costs and the city’s own power bill. The audit showed that in 2015 the ticket for those expenses was $1,493,974. Up $259,882 from 2013 and $142,213 from 2014.
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