The View From The Cheap Seats

Last Monday, Bob Carruth was elected Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. He has the second-longest continuous tenure on the board behind Coy Privette. That being said, he doesn't need my advice, he didn't ask for it, but he's getting it anyway.

Yep, we need lower taxes; and when I mean "we" I mean those of us who still have most of our taxpaying left to do (age 40 and under). The previous leadership showed that lowering taxes today is pretty easy. All you have to do is pass a resolution.

However, doing so while throwing fiscal discipline to the wind is not just unwise; but it is unfair to younger taxpayers that have to shoulder an unfair level of debt and whose hands are tied when we have Capital improvements to build. So, the board under the Freeman, Suggs, Freeman, and Fennel majority actually increased my taxes with their borrow and spend approach while the to a capital account at the last meeting lowered my taxes by offsetting future borrowing. Please keep up the good work by doing a little less of the former and a little more of the latter.

This is not an easy task; because it requires forethought, planning, leadership and constant vigilance for new ideas and practices to make government more efficient. Which brings me to my next suggestion.
Your critics have a tremendous amount of free time and energy.

As the Board's new leader, you should set up a Committee which serves at the pleasure of the BOC, to work with County Management which will identify inefficiencies in county government and compose practical and detailed plans to alleviate the inefficiencies. Of course, I would strongly suggest putting Harold Smith on the Committee as he has already at minimum wage to help John Day balance the budget. There are others who never seem to be without an opinion at all of the apparently recent failings of the Board of Commissioners.

It would be a sign of leadership if you could channel all of their bloviations into something productive.
In my research on the , I was astonished to find out how much had already been decided about the jail before you had made it into the majority at the end of last year. You would think from the recent behavior of Coy Privette's that you, Former Chair Carpenter, and Joni Juba thought this new jail up all on your own.

I think it would be a great exercise at the next workshop to go through each of his decisions over the past five years on the board and give him the chance to reconsider them. It would be fair and I'm sure that Coy wouldn't mind explaining what he was thinking back then.
For future projects, you should get better project planning out of the staff than the previous boards did.

I never once saw a Gantt chart detailing what would happen when with this jail; but that may have been a political calculation. At any rate, future capital projects will span the terms of plenty of board members, making the Chair and each Board member more accountable fo the decisions made would go a long way to avoiding fiascos like the Jail Debacle of 2005.
Harry Truman was famous for the making it clear where accountability resided in his office.

Previous leadership seemed to enjoy blaming the County Attorney or the County Manager that they hired for whatever went wrong. Harold Smith suggests that City and County managers use to manipulate elected officials. It would go a long way to delineate differences in leadership styles if you would own the decisions made by the BOC under your leadership and that of the past buck-passers.

The local news doesn't do a good job of explaining the challenges and decisions made by local government. They seem to enjoy rousing public meetings and officials losing their cool; but we rarely get a glimpse into the earlier planning stages. For example, The Independent Tribune completely feel down on the job of informing residents of Downtown Concord of the scope and size of the Jail project.

This information was public knowledge and the papers didn't report on it well enough. Unless it's Aunt Millie's church bake sale or someone yelling a lot at a public meeting - the papers don't seem to want to report it. You should work with the County manager to get more outlets for information besides sections of the paper nobody reads and cable channels that nobody watches.

At last week's Board of Commissioners meeting, intended to curb illegal immigration. He got the language of the resolution from to the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners by . According to the Cabarrus Neighbors article, the resolution would direct County staff to do the following:

• Participate in a program that denies local and state benefits to illegal immigrants.

• Identify the status of clients of nonprofit organizations before funding the agencies.
• Have the county attorney identify and research ways to enhance the enforcement of immigration laws in the county.
• Require all local employers to work with the U.

  S. Department of Homeland Security's newly created program designed to prevent illegal aliens from getting jobs.

On the surface, this seems like common sense.

If these immigrants are "illegal" and are, by definition, breaking the law - then it makes no sense to aid that behavior. However, a close look at each one of these points would lead one to consider the possibility that these aren't motivated by a desire to fix gaps in a Byzantine and ineffective immigration system; but rather that this resolution was crafted to draw a few votes in the upcoming Republican Primary from the fear of many in Cabarrus County of the growing influence of Latinos in our community.
"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" - Matthew 25:40
I'm going to start with the second bullet in the Cabarrus Neighbors' summary of this resolution.

However, I'm going to approach this a little differently than I have in the past. Usually, I bring up omitted facts, logical fallacies, or differing political philosophies. I'm going to look at that second bullet as a church-going Christian.

When I read that second bullet I see this: "If you have a ministry that ever does anything for someone who might have been an undocumented worker - you can forget about working with the County" One of the more interesting ideas from the Bush Administration was the idea of faith-based initiatives. The idea was to have government, at all levels, increasingly work with religious organization to deliver services to their communities. Many times, churches can coordinate and deliver relief and development within neighborhoods much more effectively than even the best local government.

One of the concerns brought up by the people on the "faith side" was that they could be subjected to the shackles of bloated bureaucracy or the whims of campaigning politicians. It looks like if this resolution gets passed - that is a valid concern in Cabarrus County.
Most ministries I've been involved with will follow the teachings of Jesus in spite of what "the world" tells them.

I don't think too many church or para-church ministries would deny help to another human being based on a change in County policy. However, it brings up a few questions about the thinking behind this decision:

• If this issue is that the County isn't offering services to undocumented workers and their families because they are "illegal" - will Cabarrus County eliminate services to other criminals? Will it pull funding for drug rehabilitation?

  Will it not give money to a ministry that ministers to prisoners?

• What about programs that try to help people become citizens? What will it do about English-As-Second language programs?

  Will it deny funding to an organization that offers legal aid to illegal immigrants?

Of course, I don't think that government - at any level - should be doing many of these things directly. These are functions that are best served by communities via caring individuals and non-profit organizations.

What I do have a problem with is a government that refuses to work with an organization that refuses to discriminate. While Coy Privette may try to make it county policy to use skin color to determine if someone receives services, it is wrong to ask local ministries to do that same. Which brings me to my next point.

Let's say that you're "in charge". So much so that you can build an impermeable wall with state-of-the-art security along our borders making unauthorized crossing nearly impossible. However, as is the case when one is "in charge", you have the resources to build a wall at one border - either Mexico or Canada.

If you decision on popular opinion - you'll pick Mexico. If you base your opinion on security data - you'll pick Canada.
While the 9/11 terrorists used legal loopholes in our own immigration laws , there were others that have been picked up at the border .

Canada has a diverse population and rather lax immigration policies which make it a likely conduit for future terrorists to enter the country. There would be one major problem to tightening up the border with Canada - it would be terrible for the US economy to slow trade with our largest trade partner.
Of course, then we start getting closer to the real issue.

"They" don't pay any taxes...

which is . "They" use up all of our services..

.which is also untrue. Generally, "they" are referred to as "Mexicans" - even though they aren't all from Mexico.

However, there are a growing number of people who don't care to see them taking up an increasingly permanent role in our community. The of a drunk-driving illegal immigrant driving 100 MPH the wrong way down I-85 didn't help matters. Mixture of carnage, wanton violation of immigration laws, and the early end of a promising young life made perfect fodder for those calling for their own version of "immigration reform" which usually involves a big wall and a return ticket home for anyone who was born south of the Rio Grande.

The first and third points in Coy's proposal play on those fears.
Rare is the immigrant who thinks that the border shouldn't have been closed right behind them. The vast majority of us came over on a boat, plane, etc.

As for the others, as irony would have it, it's hard to find a Native American that is a virulently anti-immigrant - they lost that battle a while ago. The vast majority of anti-immigrant sentiment comes from people whose ancestors arrived in this country before it really had an immigration policy. Which has its roots in .

Having said all of that, let me make something clear - I am NOT labeling anyone on the Board of Commissioners as a racist. I do not know any of them well enough to make a charge as serious as racism. What I will say is that the intent of this resolution is to play on the ignorance and fears of those voters who are racist, which is still deplorable.

The main job of our elected officials is to make sure that government keeps functioning smoothly and efficiently - the trash gets picked up, thieves get caught, and roads get built. However, at every level, elected officials should cause a community to meet challenges and look beyond this generation to the next. The people we elect should have the character and desire to challenge all of us to look beyond our fears and not to be consumed by them.

Just in time for the 2006 Primary season, Harold Smith presents us with 2 more issues to be the topics du jour before Republicans and Independents go to the polls to select the Republican nominees for Cabarrus County Commission.

The County Jail and John Day:

December 11, 2005: Who Was Negligent in Jail Project?

Who is responsible?

John Day? Turner Construction? Or Fletcher Hartsell?

The county has spent $4.6 million todate on the jail project before the required zoning was granted for the jail.

What developer would spend $4.

6 million on a project before receiving the required zoning? None.

Was it negligence in spending $4.

6 million on the jail project before the required zoning?

Who is responsible?

John Day?

A professional manager in private business would be fired for such negligence.

Turner Construction? They should have known better.

And where was the county attorney, Fletcher Hartsell?

Who will be held accountable?

Harold Smith

Root Cause Analysis

I work in an industry where affixing blame is an interesting process.

If a piece of equipment breaks, it seems only logical to blame the last person who last touched it. At many facilities, this blame game keeps people on their toes and risk-averse. However, when you work in an industry where the failure of critical components could result in massive loss of life and property - the way one looks at failure is completely different.

There's a process called "root cause" analysis. The details are complicated; but it works by interrogating like a 4-year-old..

.keep asking "why" until the fix is obvious.

In this case, the question to ask to get to the root of the problem is "Why haven't we got zoning 6 1/2 years after the problem was initially identified?

". From there, it's pretty easy to figure out.

According to the in the Charlotte Observer, on Feb 20, 1999 then-Sheriff Robert Canaday reported that the jail was chronically overcrowded.

The County Commission leapt into action and two-and-a-half years later asked that a $70,000 study be performed. They did not review a study, they did not even start it - they had only appropriated money to study this problem. Nearly two years after that, Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners approves request for architectural firms to design a new jail and justice facility.

So four-and-a-half years after the problem had been identified is facility design becoming a reality, not location; but a design. The problem was bad in 1999 and it was worse in 2003; and it borders on illegal now in 2005. Just as an exercise, take those three dates: 1999, 2003, and 2005 - now look at who was on the board, who was the sheriff, and who was County Manager during that time.

The County Manager was different - Frank Clifton in 1999, John Day in 2003 and 2005. The Sheriff was different - Robert Canaday in 1999, Brad Riley in 2003 and 2005. The board is interesting, only Coy Privette and Carolyn Carpenter were on the board at those three points in time.

However, Carolyn Carpenter was defeated in a primary in 2000, only to return in 2002. Coy Privette is the only name to span those dates in time contiguously. It might be good to take a look at his behavior through this process.

Jail Project History
In 1999, the Commission consisted of Arne Fennel, Coy Privette, Sue Casper, Carolyn Carpenter, and Jeff Barnhardt. This issue of the jail was initially brought up this year. Cabarrus County was undergoing a shift after the failure of a school funding referendum in 1998 and the rise of the Cabarrus Taxpayers Association during that same time - putting Coy Privette in office in 1998.

This marked the ascension of Arne Fennel to the post of Chair and signaled a shift in voter sentiment in Cabarrus County. Maybe it was a misunderstanding of the situation or the fact that it would be a difficult political situation in an election where several of the incumbents were targets of the powerful CTA; but there seemed to be little done about the jail situation by this board. A search of the meeting minutes in 2000 (1999 is not available) yields no discussion of adding on to the existing jail capacity.

• The first time the jail comes up in the agenda is in spring of 2001, when a study was performed to look at needs over the next 15 years. By this time, Jeff Barnhardt and Carolyn Carpenter are off the board and CTA-backed candidates are fully in control of the County Commission. The study concluded in that additional construction was needed and that the best option would be to expand the existing facility at its current location.

  There was no objection to that idea on the record. Also, that study concluded that the facility would have to be six to seven stories in height or could be shorter; but take up much downtown real estate. Once again, no objection.

  The end of the story here is that they would "look into it later"

• The issue doesn't come up again until when budget discussions come up again. Two options are given by then-County Manager Frank Clifton: expand the current facility in Downtown Concord, or move the complex to another location. Nothing is said on the record.

• In , a resolution from The Residents of Historic Concord is presented to the board urging the board to consider Downtown Concord as the location for the jail and to keep the design faithful to the character of Downtown Concord. During the response time, none of the Commissioners were on record mentioning that this facility would be stories upon stories high; but they did take the time to defend some pet projects.
• In , the board made their first comments on the record on the jail matter identifying the jail as a long term goal.

• At the meeting, a report was received that directed staff to work with the Sheriff's Department and to keep the Jail on "Old Business"
• At the meeting, the following happened:

  The main goal: design a site that will serve for 50 years and allow for phased construction of the necessary facilities.

  Three candidate sites were identified: Downtown Concord, Brown Mill, and the old Fairgrounds site near US29.

  A number of groups representing Downtown Concord pushed to have the Courthouse and/or jail located in Downtown Concord.

• In , the Board of Commissioners unamiously approved that $500,000 be provided to Ware Bosnall for architectural services for the jail.
• In , the Sheriff, after repeated reports of increasing jail overcrowding, stresses that the board must implement "stopgap" measures in advance of any construction underscoring the immediance of the situation.
• On , the board held a work-session for the jail project.

  Not much got accomplished. As was the leadership style of the board under CTA-backed candidates they urged the Sheriff to find other measures - including using mobile units to house prisoners. One interesting fact did come up - the project number of beds needed in a jail in 2030 was 590.

  In 2003, the average number was 213. Also, four sites in Downtown Concord were evaluated. This is important too; because they weren't looking "somewhere out in the county"

• March 9, 2004 - 50 people attend an open house for the Justice Facility selection process.

  More than 70% of them select the Corban and Church Street site for the project. The 600 bed number was established at this time.

• - During informal public comments, the Concord Downtown Development corporation entered a resolution agreeing to the proposed site (Corban and Church Street intersection) and commending the Board of Commissioners for working closely with "stakeholders"
• - a motion unanimously carried which selected the Corban and Church Street intersect as the site of interest.

  The County Manager was to report on "all possible" options with that site.

• - This is important. The board voted 4-1, on a motion made by Coy Privette, to approve the construction of a $57 million dollar jail at the intersection of Corban and Church Street.

  Then-Commissioner Suggs voted against it citing that steel prices were at an all-time high and would be coming down in the future. He favored construction in two discrete phases. After more than two years of studies, open houses, proclamations, and meetings - not one commissioner: not Coy Privette, not Richard Suggs, not Carolyn Carpenter, not Robert Freeman, and not Bob Carruth- objected to the site, scope, or size of the jail project.

• Now begins Coy's obstruction campaign. Why would he start it now? Well, about this time, his ally on the board, Richard Suggs, was soundly defeated in the 2004 Republican Primary.

  At the meeting he stated that he didn't see the need for a construction manager since the architect, Ware Bosnall, would be overseeing the construction.

• - On a motion made by Coy Privette, the board unamiously approves the contract with Ware Bosnall architects for Basic Service. Price: $2,934,500.

  00.

At the end of 2004, Joni Juba has taken Richard Suggs' old seat. The board is now no longer in the control of CTA-backed commissioners - they are now in the minority.

It's important to establish the following before we move on:

• Scope - Each Board member agreed to a long term site (30-50 years) for construction. They were all presented repeatedly with information that to fill need needs for the next 50 years about 1,000 beds would be necessary - with about 600 being filled in the next 30 years. This was established and repeated in all of the design presentations.

  These presentations were made in public meetings. All the designs, from the beginning, were multi-story.

• Location - County staff, city officials, and neighborhood groups were all informed of the goals and scope of the project.

  If you follow any of the links that I have here - you can tell that this is all public information. Not one commissioner went on the record opposing the site. As a matter of fact, at the July 14, 2004 meeting then-Commissioner Richard Suggs stated that the City of Concord should pay for part of the jail because the County had agreed to put it there!

  I would love to have seen what the various factions in Downtown Concord would have said to that this year.

• Urgency of Need - The Board of Commissioners requested and received monthly updates from the Sheriff on jail capacity and inmate levels. In January 2003, the average jail population was 199 inmates - by October the number was 217.

  That's about 10% in less than a year. The situation was not improving with time, and the county was quickly running out of options.

• Cost - The previous board approved a nearly $60 million cost for the jail.

  The previous board approved $3.4 million in spending for the architect alone before land had been bought, Turner Construction had been considered, or Joni Juba had been sworn in. As far as someone getting fired, the previous board had several construction professionals on it.

  They all knew that in order to get zoning, there has to be a plan. If someone knows how to get a zoning board to agree to change zoning and grant permits before land has been purchased and plans have been drawn up, than that someone should replace John Day. However, that person could probably make more money selling perpetual motion machines or raising unicorns.

Now it starts getting interesting. Keep in mind that before this, Coy had basically gone along with whatever the Chairman wanted to do and didn't object to what County staff was advising. He made most of the motions to spend money and hire contractors, in addition to voting for all of them.

Let's see if he stays true to this when he's in the minority.

• - The Board unamiously approves consideration of a temporary jail site (including one that at that meeting had been citied to having flooding problems) and the addition of more deputies.
• - The Board considers two sites for a temporary jail - one at Industrial Court and one at the Arena and Events Center.

  Yes, at the new fairgrounds. The Deputy County Manager had presented the Board with a petition from residents in the proposed area around Industrial Court opposing the temporary jail. Coy brings up the idea of house arrest.

  Captain Paul Hunt stated that none of the inmates would be eligible for house arrest.

• - To bring some light to idea of house arrest, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. Erwin Spainhour, Chief District Court Judge William G.

  Hamby, Jr., District Court Judges Michael G. Knox and Martin B.

  McGee, and District Attorney Roxann L. Vaneekhoven objected to the use of house arrest on several logistical grounds. Captain Paul Hunt noted that only 2 of the 220 inmates would qualify for house arrest under the following standards: Bond under $10K, no felony charges, probation violations, failures to appear, etc.

  So, enhancing house arrest options isn't going to make much of a difference in the jail overcrowding situation.

• Even though it was established that house arrest wasn't going to make much of a difference, that doesn't stop Coy from bringing it up again at the meeting. The new Chairperson Carpenter authorized Coy Privette to investigate the costs associated with the house arrest program.

  At this meeting, the new Board of Commissioner makes their first design input. After a open house where three options were presented for the design the facility, a "mill" design was chosen by the participants. The Board of Commissioners unamiously approved this.

• At a work session, information was provided about a pre-trial release program now in use in Rowan County. After reviewing it, Captain Paul Hunt stated that only 5 or 6 inmates would be eligible in Cabarrus County; because Cabarrus County already implements many of the same practices as Rowan County does.
• On , a work session was held to explore the differences between the Rowan County pre-trial release program and what Cabarrus County does.

  Here's the main difference - if you can't afford to make bail in Rowan County - the county may pick up the tab. That wasn't a mistake, Coy Privette's answer to the jail overcrowding is that the taxpayers pay the bond of someone who is part of the pretrial release program. In spite of how crazy that sounds, Coy pushed and the compromise was made to have Coy sit on a committee of him and people who understood the law and how such a plan would be implemented.

• During the meeting, Sheriff Riley reminded the board that an Electronic House Arrest program and Pre-Trial release had already been considered; but they were not found to be effective...

  in 2001. Coy was on the board back in 2001..

  .why didn't he just look at his old notes? Well, maybe he misread them; because for a third time Coy Privette brought up the pre-trial release program - even though in the earlier meeting the Board of Commissioners agreed to table the issue until the recommendation came back from the committee.

  Doesn't it seem sort of strange that Coy didn't push this idea back when he was in the majority?

• - A special meeting is held to discuss the temporary jail situation. The decision was made to condemn property near the proposed jail site Downtown and to add a 96-bed jail annex, and to take off the table any considerations of a temporary jail site.

• - John Day mentions that he had met with the Residents of Historic Concord regarding the preservation of the old Tribune building.
• - The Board of Commissioners votes to condemn the properties near the jail site for the new jail annex. This was agree upon unanimously.

• - The BOC meets again - Coy Privette criticizes the whole CM at-risk option bringing as example several projects that he says were handled incorrectly because of the CM at-risk option. The political motivations behind his objections are detailed in "Speculation #2" section of the post I made in August. Oh yeah, I almost forgot - Coy seconds and votes on the motion to approve more than $1.

  9 million in land acquisition costs for the jail.

• - County Manager John Day debunks every one of the examples Coy Privette brought up criticizing the CM at-risk contracting option.
• - He had no problem approving millions of dollars in architectural fees and giving Ware Bosnall whatever they said they needed; but when it came to hiring Turner as the Construction Manager - he objected.

  He objected on the grounds that other firms weren't considered - even though an RFP had been sent out, three firms had expressed interest, and a committee (including Joni Juba) had made its recommendation.

Of course, we all know how it went down from there. Harold Smith's so-called Juba Scandal, the various groups who represent the residents of downtown Concord were "shocked, absolutely shocked" to find out that the County was building a jail in their community.

For those who stumbled on this post here are the links to other "View From the Cheap Seats" posts on this matter:
Of course, the most recent development - after all of the delays and vacillating - John Harkins, the state jail inspector arrived at the last Board of Commissioners meeting stating that something had to be done or the State was going to take action. The Board made the decision to enter into an agreement with Alamance County to export 40 inmates requiring a budget amendment of $370,000. It was the last chance before the State took action.

The vote was 4-1 with Coy Privette voting against the measure. He felt as though, and you won't believe this, that the prisoner transfer was unnecessary because the County had not duplicated Rowan County's early release program. Even though it was established earlier this year that it wouldn't be effective.

Bottom Line: If anyone has been " " with this Jail project - it has been Coy Privette. His latest action tells this voter than my safety is less important to him than his reelection.

Agree with him or not - is one of the most influential thinkers of our time, and the most famous living economist.

He's only one of three economists I could name off the top of my head: (Adam Smith and J.M. Keynes being the other two) He's credited for quotes like "There's no such thing as a free lunch", "Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned", and " .

It would be wise for Harold Smith to think about that last quote of Mr. Friedman's given the sentiment of Harold's last e-mail alert - sent Wednesday:

Kannapolis City Annexing!

Why is Kannapolis City Annexating Land in Odell Community?

"Why does Kannapolis City want to provide water and sewer into Odell Community? The Water and Sewer Fund is already $42 million in Debt. Last year a special report to Kannapolis City Council reported over $13 million needed to repair old water and sewer lines in Kannapolis.

"

After that, he quotes from the Kannapolis Citizen. It's important to read the article, go ahead, click on it. It'll bring up a new window.

The gist of the article is this. Two separate property owners, Food Lion and Shiloh Farms, have requested voluntary annexation into Kannapolis. Here's the catch, these two entities are smack in the middle of the "Odell Community" - which wishes to incorporate to avoid - according to one Odell resident - being part of the "undesirable address" that is Kannapolis, NC.

The Kannapolis City Council voted 6-1 to approve a resolution of intent to grant the property owners request. The dissenting vote was Richard Anderson. What was the reason for his dissent?

According to the article, he wanted to wait until the General Assembly gives their answer on whether or not Odell can incorporate. He "doesn't understand what the hurry is" and wonders "what the devil are we [The City of Kannapolis] are going to do with them [the two properties]"

I would like this post to be a little more interactive than usual. Consider these questions.

1. If Kannapolis is so undesirable and awfully run with a crushing tax burden, why would two commercial properties (which pay much more than their fair share of taxes) want to rush to be part of such a fiasco?
2. If there were a city which were run as badly as Harold Smith claims Kannapolis is, why would you endanger the opportunity to be governed by the enlightened leadership of the soon-to-be-incorporated Odell, NC?
3. Why would Richard Anderson be going out of his way to deny two property owners who will be paying rather healthy tax bills and paying large water and sewer rates?

The City of Kannapolis isn't annexing for their own sake, they are being asked by property owners to do it. The answer is quite obvious when you look at it on its face - Food Lion and Shiloh Farms are, in a sense, "voting against" Odell, NC.
This is quite interesting.

Because Harold has posted numerous articles about how annexation will cost the City of Kannapolis so much. The Odell Community has rallied around the banner of "Don't Tread On Me". Harold even made a , that God would keep the Kannapolis City Council from "encroaching" on the community.

People usually don't want to get annexed because their taxes go up. Instead of paying County taxes only, you get the opportunity to pay City and County taxes. Of course, cities are designed to offer services to a higher-density population than counties are, which justifies, in theory, the need for the higher taxes.

The explanation is simple. The land owners realized that they weren't going to be just paying county taxes anymore. Odell would incorporate and start levying their city taxes or Kannapolis would continue their annexation pattern and the land owners would get to pay taxes to Oak Ave.

What is funny in all of this is that the land owners are going out of their way to state they want to be in Kannapolis - even though the rate that would be levied is higher. There's only one explanation for that decision - these business owners don't trust the potential government of Odell, NC to be as efficient as Kannapolis, NC.
This brings up something that Harold Smith and the local media haven't considered - maybe the people making the push to incorporate to Odell, NC do not represent the majority of that community.

It's obvious from this example that the incorporation group doesn't represent "all" of the community.
At the end of the day, people should be able to decide how they are governed. People should be able to freely develop and enhance their property.

Government should work for the people - not the other way around. People who claim to adhere to this philosophy should not claim divine guidance; but deal with the facts - or at least the writing on the wall.

Update: For the full summary of the "Juba Scandal" - click .

You ever get to the end of a weekend and ask yourself, "Where did that go?". Well, mine, on this blog, was spent responding to rumors and baseless accusations at people who really don't deserve it.

One issue that was brought up was that I challenged a commenter over being able to read Joni Juba's Blackberry. However, there are those who mocked me by insisting that I was wrong in challenging the assertion that those in the room who knew what Joni Juba was doing with her Blackberry that she was using it to "send secret messages to Bob Carruth".

I was not at the meeting on October 28 - my employment isn't flexible enough to afford me the luxury of making every midday hearing of the Commissioners.

I do know that meetings were held in the multi-purpose room and in the Commissioners Meeting room. What I did not know was when this "secret transmission" took place.

Well, from others that were a little closer to the situation - here's their account.

Joni Juba's Blackberry went off because of an incoming message. She read it under the table and showed Bob Carruth the message out of amusement. Before I show this message - I would like you to weigh the importance of this message against some current issues.

• In 1996, the county passed bonds for the construction of new schools under the agreement that there would be a plan to fund the construction of new schools without borrowing money, and by working to control growth. Nearly ten years and $200 million in debt later, the county is only in the beginning stages of proactively managing funding of the construction of new schools and controlling growth around adequate school facilities.
• Instead of addressing the established need for additional capacity in the jail facility, the previous leadership decided to build an arena in a remote area of the county with no plan to make the facility fiscally self-sustaining.

  It is now a financial burden to the community.

• One of the largest research facilities in the South will be built in Kannapolis over the next couple of years. What discussion has taken place over this.

So, in light of that, none of the "Joni is an idiot" gang brought up any of this. They just wanted to point out how they could divine what was on her Blackberry and then have me call a construction site to fact check an impertinent claim of who has hired Juba Aluminum on a job that wasn't even in this county.
Without futher adieu

From: JERRY WILLIAMSON
To: coy1@vnet.

net ; JDJuba2@cabarruscounty.us ; rmfreeman@cabarruscounty.us ; rcarruth@carolina.

rr.com ; CBCarpenter@cabarruscounty.us
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 4:21 PM
Subject: FW: Fwd: It's The Law













--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
To:
Subject: Fwd: It's The Law
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 09:53:03 EDT







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Full-name: MAXINEMAZZA
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Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 01:05:13 EDT
Subject: It's The Law
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Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 01:05:13 EDT
Subject: It's The Law
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THE LAW IS THE LAW !
This is one of the better e-mails I have received in a
long time!

I hope this makes its way around the USA
several times over!!!

!! So Be It!

THE LAW IS THE LAW

So if the US government determines that it is against
the law for the words "under God" to be on our money,
then, so be it.

And if that same government decides that the "Ten
Commandments" are not to be used in or on a government
installation, then, so be it.

And since they already have prohibited any prayer in
the schools, on which they deem their authority, then
so be it.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a law
abiding US citizen.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to think that
smarter people than I are in positions to make good
decisions.

I would like to think that those people have the
American Publics' best interests at heart.

BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?

Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and
cannot Post His Commandments in Government buildings,

I don't believe the Government and it's employees
should participate in
the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the
God that our government is eliminating from many
facets of American life.

I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday,
Thanksgiving Easter.

After all, it's just another
day.

I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on
Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving Easter as well
as Sundays. After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives
to not have to worry about getting home for the
"Christmas Break." After all it's just another day.

I'm thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could
be saved, if all government offices services would
work on Christmas, Good Friday Easter.

It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be
just like any other day of the week to a government
that is trying to be "politically correct."

In fact..

..

I think that our government should work on Sundays
(initially set aside for worshipping God.

..) because,
after all, our government says that it should be just
another day.

...

What do you all think???

?



>> I'm adding..

.Why do we go to court and lay our hand
on the Bible and swear to tell the truth ?



If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected
officials will stop giving in to the minority opinions
and begin, once again, to represent the 'majority' of
ALL of the American people.

SO BE IT...

...

...

..

Please Dear Lord, Give us the help needed to keep you
in our country!

'Amen' and 'Amen'



These are definitely things I never thought about but
from now on, I will be sure to questions those, in
government, who support these changes.

At the top, it says "I hope this makes its way around
the USA several times over!!

!!!

"

Let's see that it does. Keep it in your mailbox and
resend it whenever someone new comes along.





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THE LAW IS THE LAW !

This is one of the better e-mails I have
receiv=
ed=20
in a
long time! I hope this makes its way around the USA
several
times=
=20
over!!

!!!

So Be It!

THE LAW IS THE LAW

So if the US
governme=
nt=20
determines that it is against
the law for the words "under God" to
be on=20=
our=20
money,
then, so be it.

And if that same government decides
that t=
he=20
"Ten
Commandments" are not to be used in or on a
government
installati=
on,=20
then, so be it.

And since they already have prohibited any
prayer=20
in
the schools, on which they deem their authority, then
so be
it.=20


I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a law
abiding
US=20
citizen.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to think=20
that
smarter people than I are in positions to make
good
decisions.

=20


I would like to think that those people have the
American
Publics=
'=20
best interests at heart.

BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?


S=
ince=20
we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and
cannot Post His
Commandments=
in=20
Government buildings,

I don't believe the Government and
it's=20
employees
should participate in
the Easter and Christmas
celebrations=
=20
which honor the
God that our government is eliminating from
many
facet=
s of=20
American life.

I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good=20
Friday,
Thanksgiving Easter. After all, it's just
another
day.=20


I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on
Christmas,
Good=
=20
Friday, Thanksgiving Easter as well
as Sundays.

After all,
it's jus=
t=20
another day.

I'd like the Senate and the House of
Representativesto=20
not have to worry about getting home for the
"Christmas Break."
After all=
=20
it's just another day.

I'm thinking that a lot of my taxpayer
dollar=
s=20
could
be saved, if all government offices services
would
work on=
=20
Christmas, Good Friday Easter.

It shouldn't cost any
overtime=20
since those would be
just like any other day of the week to a=20
government
that is trying to be "politically correct."

In
fact.

...

=
=20


I think that our government should work on
Sundays
(initially set=
=20
aside for worshipping God...

) because,
after all, our government
says tha=
t it=20
should be just
another day...

.


What do you all
think??

??=20




I'm adding.

..Why do we go to court and lay
our=20
hand
on the Bible and swear to tell the truth ?

If
this id=
ea=20
gets to enough people, maybe our elected
officials will stop giving
in to=
the=20
minority opinions
and begin, once again, to represent the
'majority'=20
of
ALL of the American people.

SO BE IT..

...

...

...

Please=
=20
Dear Lord, Give us the help needed to keep you
in our country!


'A=
men'=20
and 'Amen'



These are definitely things I never thought
about=
=20
but
from now on, I will be sure to questions those,
in
government, who=
=20
support these changes.

At the top, it says "I hope this makes
its wa=
y=20
around
the USA several times over!

!!!

!"

Let's see that it
does. K=
eep=20
it in your mailbox and
resend it whenever someone new comes
along.

=20

So, that was it. That was what was the "secret message" to Bob.

Pause for a moment and consider the importance of that clandestine communication.

Last Saturday, when I was gathering together information for last week's post on Harold Smith's baseless accusations - Harold sent out this about the jail:

October 28, 2005
Commissioners Juba and Carruth make false promise to the citizens at neighborhood meeting today...

Citizens filled the Cabarrus Government Center today from 1 to 3 PM asking the Commissioners to reconsider the location of the two planned housing units for the new jail. These two planned housing units are the size of two football fields and are planned to be built at Union Street and Corban. The two planned housing units will house over a 1000 prisoners.

The citizens complained that they did not know the enormous size of the total project.

The citizens encouraged going forward with the annex jail and the justice center as planned, but begged the commissioners to reconsider locating the two housing units to a more remote location. Commissioners Privette, Freeman, Juba and Carruth made a promise to reconsider the location of the two planned housing units.

Commissioner Carpenter was not present during the neighborhood meeting.

Immediately following the neighborhood meeting, the commissioners called their meeting to order with Commissioner Capenter present. Commissioner Privette made a motion to form a subcommittee to reconsider the location of the two planned housing units.

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Freeman. The motion was defeated with Commissioners Carpenter, Juba and Carruth voting against reconsidering the location of the two planned housing units.

Oh, by the way, Commissioner Juba apologized to Turner Construction staff who were present at both meetings for any discussions of delaying the construction of the new jail.

Why is Commissioner Juba more concerned about Turner Construction than keeping her promise made to the citizens only an hour before?

This is another sign that Cabarrus County has a leadership crisis!

Harold Smith

Sometimes, what you don't say speaks loudest

Here's a couple of facts Harold failed to mention:

• The County Commissioners had considered alternate jail locations in the past; but several groups, Historic Concord among them, pushed to keep the jail downtown.

• The County Commissioners did consider in that meeting to move the jail location, and they also discussed it at that same meeting. However, Coy Privette wanted to stop the entire process, form a committee to re-reconsider the jail location; but not to move it from Downtown Concord. A skeptical individual might think he wanted this decision-making process going on while he was running for another term next year.

• Most importantly, this project will be built in phases. If the County makes the construction dates, the 96 bed annex will be completed by the end of next year and the 400 bed housing factility will be finished by the end of 2007. What about the other 500 beds.

  ..that will be completed betweeen 2030 and 2035.

  You see, the BOC was sequestering the LAND for the second housing facility - not approving it's construction. Harold would have you believe that they are building the whole thing right away. This is an idea known as "planning ahead".

  ..a concept foreign to Harold Smith, Coy Privette and others of their ilk.

Was there a leadership crisis in the planning and building of this jail? I'll concede the point to Harold Smith. The current state of the jail project is a product of poor leadership by the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners - just not the current leadership.

. However, it won't be until next year, 7 years later, that ground will break on a much-needed annex. To illustrate this point, under previous leadership, it took the Board of Commissioners two years just to STUDY a problem that they knew about two years earlier.

As they dithered about this, the problem grew worse.
Right now, the current BOC must expand jail capacity in Cabarrus County. They have pressure from their own law enforcement and from the State to do so.

This will force them to make some hard decisions - which they are doing. Even under all of this pressure, they are still engaging the community.
The question the voters of Cabarrus County should be asking is, why did the BOC take so long to address this need?

Under the previous leadership, was public safety not a proirity? If it was, then why did this take so long?
In this case, Harold seems to be asking the right questions.

He's just not bothering to deal with all of the facts.

In these last moments before the Kannapolis City Council Election, does Harold Smith take his opponents on the issues? Does he layout a different vision for the City of Kannapolis?

Does he offer up a bold, new initiative to address the community at a crossroads?

Not Exactly.

November 2, 2005
When you receive expensive literature or see ads from Darrell Hinnant, Randy Cauthen and Paul Bessent, remember that "Developers" paid the bulk of the cost.

Darrell Hinnant and Randy Cauthen received the bulk of their campaign donations from the same "Developers" that financed Paul Bessent's campaign. Yesterday, I reported that Paul Bessent received over $16,000 or over 80% of his total donations came from "Developers."

Darrell Hinnant and Randy Cauthen both raised about $6,000 each.

The bulk of their donation came from the same "Developers." Do you think they will be obligated to the "Developers?"

On another issue, Darrell Hinnant has bragged about his water and sewer plan.

But he has publically stated in council meetings that he expects water and sewer rates to increase 10% each year for the next two years. What kind of plan is that? My plan is to reduce water and sewer rates by reducing debt.

I have already reported to you that Paul Bessent and Darrell Hinnant both favor higher taxes. This statement is based on their voting record documented in the council menutes.

By the way, why does Darrell Hinnant report in campaign news articles that his occupacation is a manegement consultant.

Darrell is the operation's manager for Asian Apparel in Charlotte. This company manufactures and imports textile apparel from Thialand. Is he ashamed that his company has exported textile jobs to Asia?

If Darrell misleads the public on this matter, what else will he mislead the public?

Just some thoughts to consider when you go to the polls to vote.

Please vote for Bob Misenheimer for mayor.

Please vote for Harold Smith and Johnny LeQuire for Kannapolis City Coucil.

Harold Smith

www.goharoldsmith.

com

These opinions are provided by Harold Smith and no other candidates..

And this.

..

November 1, 2005 Paul Bessent Raises $20,900 for His Campaign for Mayor

Over $16,000 came from developers.

..


According to the Board of Election, as of October 26, 2005, Paul Bessent has received over $20,000 in campaign donations for his campign for mayor of Kannapolis.

What is interesting is that over $16,000 of the donations have come from "developers." The citizens of Kannapolis need to know that "developers" are financing the bulk of Paul Bessent's campaign for mayor of Kannapolis.

Please vote for Bob Misenheimer for Mayor.

He will represent all the citizens of Kannapolis.

Please vote for Harold Smith for Kannapolis City Council so I can help Bob Misenheimer make Kannapolis a better city for all citizens.

Harold Smith

A Well "Developed" Argument?

Here's something to chew on. Companies and corporations cannot give money to local campaigns under NC law. Individuals can.

So, my question is, who are these "developers"? What's wrong with taking money from them to run a campaign? And why are the "developers" in quotes?

Of course, this is a tactic to make the voters think that a vote for anyone but Harold Smith is a vote for wanton, unfettered development. However, you'll notice that Harold Smith doesn't name these developers. That's because a lot of people you'd consider "developers" are pretty well-respected people in the community.

Also, folks in construction have a vested interest in not only who goes into office; but that this community keeps growing - thus keeping them in business.
Is Harold Smith saying that a vote for him is a vote against development?

Update: For the full summary of the "Juba Scandal" - click .

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. - Michael Corleone The Godfather Part III

Just when you thought it was over. The Juba Scandal had all of the evidence and the case was closed, and we could wake up to a brand, new day.

..Harold Smith goes and posts this:

October 27, 2005
The Juba Scandal: Update
"What would a "prudent individual think?

"...

I have had many responses to my series of comments on "The Juba Scandal." Some have applauded my courage for stating the truth. Some have criticized my statements, not because I stated the truth, but because it made them uncomfortable.

Some responses have been from former employees of Juba Aluminum confirming the facts of "The Juba Scandal." The most comical response came from Juba's attorney who came before the Commissioners and declared that my comments and "The Juba Scandal" was only political and not based on fact. What a joke!

This is the oldest trick in the book to explain away dishonesty and unethical behavior.
Commissioner Juba admitted to a "conflict of interest." Here are the facts: Commissioner Carpenter appointed Commissioner Juba to review the bids for a construction manager of the new jail.

Commissioner Juba reviewed the bids, interviewed the construction companies and recommended Turner Construction to be the construction manager. When it came time to vote for Turner Construction in the Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Juba recused herself from voting stating that she had a financial conflict of interest with Turner Construction. Juba Aluminum was a subcontractor for Turner Construction on other jobs.

If Commissioner Juba had a conflict of interest in voting in the Commissioner's meeting, Commissioner Juba also had a conflict of interest in the selection process in recommending Turner Construction. This is "The Juba Scandal."
The Independent Tribune recently reported that this Friday at 3;30 PM the Commissioners are scheduled to meet and vote on the construction contract with Turner Construction.

This meeting will not be televised. Carpenter, Juba and Carruth do not want the public to see their actions. I urge the Commissioners to vote "NO" to this contract.

The selection process needs to start over without any involvement from Commissioner Juba in order to eliminate any "conflict of interest."
What would a "prudent" individual think if this construction contract with Turner Construction is approved by the Commissioners. I declared to you that a prudent individual would think that this is why Commissioner Juba spent about $60,000 on her campaign to become a county commissioner - to benefit Juba Aluminum.

I rest my case. I leave this in the hands of the Commissioners to do the right thing.

What s new about this?

Well, first off Harold finally gives us his thesis towards the end of the rant:

What would a "prudent" individual think if this construction contract with Turner Construction is approved by the Commissioners. I declared to you that a prudent individual would think that this is why Commissioner Juba spent about $60,000 on her campaign to become a county commissioner - to benefit Juba Aluminum.
Yep, according to Harold Smith Joni Juba ran for County Commissioner in 2004 to fix the choice for contractor for the jail project during her term.

Before we consider this possibility, let s review Harold s facts

The Truth It s Such a Pesky Thing

Harold says, Commissioner Carpenter appointed Commissioner Juba to review the bids for a construction manager of the new jail .

This isn t ENTIRELY true, and it s worded in a misleading manner. Commissioner Carpenter was one of the Commissioners who unanimously approved Joni Juba to represent the County Commission in another committee reviewing proposals.

This meeting had all of the Commissioners present. Kinda different when you deal with the truth.

Harold says, Commissioner Juba admitted to a conflict of interest.

This also isn t true. Joni Juba avoided a conflict of interest by not voting on the selection of the contractor. Had she voted on the selection of Turner Construction, then she would have been in danger of having a financial conflict of interest; because her company, Juba Aluminum, has worked as a vendor for Turner Construction.

However, if you review her client list you ll find that that voting for any of the other possible companies would have caused her the same problem as they were all clients of hers.

Harold says, Commissioner Juba spent about $60,000 on her campaign to become a county commissioner

Well, he s off about $12,000. According to the , she lent her campaign $48,000 and got the remainder from contributors and political action committees.

The important number to focus on is the $12,000 that s a lot of people voting with their pocketbooks.

Joni Juba Criminal Mastermind?

For a moment, consider Harold Smith s argument.

Let s say that before she announced her candidacy for County Commissioner, while she was serving on the Mount Pleasant Town Council she decided that she was going to manipulate the selection of the jail contractor for her own personal fiscal gain. What would be the best course of action?

Well, the first rule of crime is not to get caught.

Things are easier to catch when they aren t so visible. A Town Councilperson is much less visible than a County Commissioner. So, it would make sense for her to stay on the Mount Pleasant Town Council, work her connections from inside the Republican Party to direct campaign contributions from the contractors an easily manipulated candidate, and cover her tracks.

She could play one side against the other, pick a favorite, and then run with it. She wouldn t even have to keep her promise . As long as there were no paper trail, it would be hard to implicate someone who was far away from the decision.

OK. Let s say that she not that calculating. Let s say that greed clouds her mind, and she thinks Oh, if I could only get on the County Commission then I could pick the contractor of my choice Motivated by greed, she campaigns hard and gets into office.

At this point she s visible; but she has to keep from things looking too suspicious. When asked to serve on the selection committee, she says..

. No . Why?

Well, if she were to not serve on the committee it would be harder to connect the dots between her and the contractor that got selected. She could work in the shadows and claim that she already settled the conflict of interest by not serving on the selection committee. No one would be the wiser.

Now this brings us to what happened. If her intent was to manipulate the process, why would she put herself in the most visible spot in the County, make it known that she was going to represent the Commission on a separate Committee at the agreement of the ENTIRE Commission, confer with the North Carolina Institute of Government on how to navigate a possible conflict of interest, and then state why she would not vote as a "Conflict of Interest". If Juba Aluminium got anywhere near the jail contract - then she would be in violation of North Carolina law and she'd get to be a REAL expert on jails.

If Joni Juba's intent was to profit from this situation using her position as a Commissioner to get a sub-contract - that would make her the state's dumbest crook.

So, this leaves us with two possibilities on the criminal front.

1. Joni Juba did not intend to manipulate the selection of a contractor for her own personal gain.

2. She's a dumb criminal.

Let's say that she's #2, for a moment. Let's consider that Harold Smith is right.

..c'mon I know it's hard; but try.

Let's say that this elaborate plan to spend $48,000 of her own money to manipulate the choice of contractor actually worked; and she got sub-contracts through some sinister channel...

what would that do for her business with the other two contractors? Joni Juba runs a business where she'd like all three of the bidding contractors to be her clients in the future. If she were to openly favor one contractor, and do so in an unethical way, do you think the remaining companies would even bother sending her requests for work?

So, this leaves us with two possiblities on the business front.

1. Her involvement with the selection of the contractor for the jail had to be above board BECAUSE of her relationship with all three contractors were vital to her business.
2. She's a dumb businesswoman.

Here's the bottom line. If you are to believe Harold Smith, you have to believe that Joni Juba is both a dumb crook and a dumb businesswoman; and, in spite of that, managed to have $48,000 of her own money available and raise $12,000 from contributors (a county record, I believe), and win in a 1.99-to-1 victory (had she only had $50,000 could it have been a clean 2-to-1) in the 2004 Republican primary.

There, I said it. Harold Smith thinks that you believe "the government" is out to get you and you need a "savior".