Downtown Mooresville prepares for Christmas parade

If hearing “Silver Bells” at retail stores since Halloween hasn’t been enough to stir your holiday spirit, never fear. After Tuesday, it’ll begin to look a lot like Christmas in downtown Mooresville.

Nothing kicks off the holiday season quite like the downtown Christmas parade, which makes its way down Main Street every year the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Thousands of people are expected to gather for the parade, which is put on “by the community, for the community,” says Ron Johnson, chairman of the Mooresville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The parade is a tried-and-true tradition, enjoyed by generations since 1944.

“My great-grandson is seven and has been at every parade since he was a baby, and there are people a lot older than him that have been coming since they were his age,” Johnson said.

He said one reason so many people love Mooresville’s parade is because it is reminiscent of hometown parades from days gone by. And that’s because in 66 years, “we’ve never changed anything,” Johnson said. “Sixty-six years ago, they kicked off the parade on a Tuesday afternoon with Scout troops, bands, businesses and churches walking down the street. Today, it’s the same thing. We have never changed the flavor.”

Anna Kooiman, a co-host on “FOX News Rising, Charlotte” will serve as this year’s grand marshal.

Johnson said the parade will feature 3,500 to 4,000 participants in about 150 units.

“That sounds like a big number, but take Acrofitness for example,” he said, explaining that the popular fitness/tumbling program in Mooresville has traditionally boasted up to 400 parade participants who flip, hula-hoop and dance their way down Main Street, from Statesville to Mills avenues.

This year, Mooresville-based Travel Plus of North Carolina will collect toys and donations for Toys for Tots during the parade. Marines and Travel Plus personnel will be stationed with collection barrels at the corner of North Main Street and East Moore Avenue from 1:30 to 6 p.m.

Need a little extra incentive to give? Shane Proctor, a top-ranked professional bull rider in the Built Ford Tough Series World Finals, will be on hand for autographs and photos in exchange for donations.

Parade kick-off is at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Even beginning that early, Johnson said, it’ll be dark before Santa and his reindeer – who always end the parade – roll down Main Street.

But the downtown holiday celebrations don’t end after the parade. Throughout the month of December, downtown Mooresville will become a Christmas village of sorts, complete with Christmas trees, a festive light show, Santa visits and nostalgic horse-drawn wagon rides.

Take a stroll through the quaint John Franklin Moore park, at the corner of Main Street and Center Avenue, which will be adorned with Christmas trees decorated by downtown businesses, said Kim Atkins, executive director of the Mooresville Downtown Commission. And don’t forget to take the family downtown for the annual wagon rides, accompanied by Christmas carols by local church choirs, hot chocolate at extended-hour downtown businesses and of course, visits with Santa. The three-Friday event – Dec. 3, 10 and 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. – is weather-permitting and free of charge.

“Downtown offers a great family atmosphere and is a great place to build memories and traditions,” Atkins said.

She said the commission is excited about its new addition to downtown’s holiday celebrations: a light show – featuring up to 35,000 lights – on Town Hall’s lawn.The lights, set to music, will automatically recur throughout every evening in December. The downtown commission paid for the lights, and a Christmas-light enthusiast from Mooresville volunteered to create the show.

This article was originally published in Mooresville Weekly on Nov. 19; find it here: http://mooresvilleweekly.com/news/2010/11/downtown-prepares-for-christmas-parade/

Criticism is good. Solutions are better.

Yet another interesting debate is being played out online about downtown Mooresville. And (gasp!) it's happening somewhere other than here.

The Mooresville Tribune recently published an article about the downtown commission's new marketing theme, "It's Happening Downtown. Downtown Mooresville." The hope of the commission is to spread the word about what downtown has to offer in an attempt to bring more visitors to the area. (To read the Tribune's article, click here: http://www2.mooresvilletribune.com/content/2009/jun/12/downtown-unveils-new-marketing-theme/.)

One or two comments indicate a belief that the downtown commission needs to focus on attracting businesses, not visitors. But that's a chicken-and-egg argument. Visitors won't come without businesses. And businesses won't come without established visitors. So how does the downtown commission balance attracting both?

Another chicken-and-egg argument being presented: downtown businesses should stay open past 5 p.m.

While I totally agree, it's yet another case of "easier said than done." Downtown businesses are owned predominantly by local folks who are taking a huge risk, and an even bigger leap of faith, trying to provide needed (and oftentimes unique) services to area folks. Staying open late costs those businesses when visitors aren't beating down the doors.

Starbucks might be able to handle that because of the $5 or more a single visitor will pay for one cup of coffee. To the contrary, my mom (who owns a Main Street bakery/boutique/coffee shop) stays open until 10 p.m. every Friday. This past week, she was slammed because of the monthly downtown gallery crawl, and the bakery was hosting a live, young rock band. But the Friday before, downtown was dead. Four people walked through the bakery's front door from 5 to 10 p.m. Of those, two were family friends. The other two came back to visit this past Friday and were greeted by a livelier - and much larger - crowd.

Is downtown's "downfall" truly the lack of businesses staying open past 5 p.m.? Or, is it that downtown lacks a variety of businesses that people want to visit? Is NoDa packed on weekday nights? Or is it typically dead during the week and more lively on the weekends? What downtown stores would you like to see open later? What kind of stores would you frequent if downtown stayed open late? And how often would you frequent those stores? How many post-5 p.m. visitors do you believe justify a business staying open late?

There's the catch. Most small, local businesses aren't going to lose money by paying employees $8 or more an hour to sit on their thumbs with no one to serve.

So, what's the solution? Should the downtown commission try to attract "massive development" that'll charge you more but stay open later? Who's truly paying for that? Is it worth it?

I don't know the answers. That's why I'm asking you. I've always had a lot of hope and faith in downtown Mooresville; I've always believed it has the potential to be a relaxing retreat, worlds away from the busy-ness of the interstate area.

Obviously, it has a long way to go. While a new branding campaign might not be the "answer," it's at least a step in a different direction. But judging from the comments following the Tribune article, some folks vehemently disagree that it's a step in the right direction.

So I'm curious: What are your thoughts on what downtown needs? How do you believe it should be transformed, and what are the steps you would take to lead it there? What kinds of shops and events would you like to see in downtown Mooresville? And perhaps most importantly, what would you be willing to do to help bring it?

Getting Back to Basics

Wednesday night’s “town hall meeting” was an eye opening experience – in many ways.

From fraternizing with developers to the treatment of the town’s elderly and special-needs population – mingled, of course, with lively discussion about some of the town’s more controversial issues – the meeting offered citizens a rare opportunity to speak casually, yet candidly, with their elected representatives.

Two commissioners – Ward 4 Commissioner Chris Carney and At-Large Commissioner Miles Atkins - turned out for the three-hour-long informal meeting, organized by Rev. Larry Green and attended by about a dozen local residents, including Iredell County Commissioner Ken Robertson. Green said every commissioner except Thurman Houston responded in some way to his invitation. Mitch Abraham and Mac Herring said they had previously-scheduled plans, and Frank Rader didn’t respond to Green but told the Charlotte Observer that he wouldn’t attend. Mayor Bill Thunberg, said Green, didn’t respond to the invitation at all.

And that’s unfortunate because even though I wasn’t sure what to expect from the meeting – or if it would be fruitful or productive at all – the free flow of information and the uninhibited exchange of ideas was unlike anything we have ever witnessed in Mooresville before.

I left the meeting with fresh insight. Perhaps the most compelling impression that the meeting left on me was that our town and its government is headed in the right direction. It is progress, not perfection, that we expect. And as long as elected officials are talking to us, and listening to us, we’ll continue to move in that direction.

The open dialogue that transpired at the meeting reminded me of the original purpose of my blog – and it highlighted for me just how far some have strayed from that purpose.

I am a fervent believer in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and I staunchly defend people’s right to speak freely – even when their speech displeases me, and even when their words stand in opposition to everything in which I believe.

Commissioner Atkins and his wife, Kim, have been heavily criticized in the comments section of my blog since last week when the Mooresville Downtown Commission announced that it had hired Kim Atkins to serve as its executive director. I have no problem with people questioning public officials, doubting their motives and/or intentions, and holding them accountable for their actions.

What I do have a problem with is this: Despite sustained attacks on this blog against Atkins and his wife, when he stepped out of Town Hall and sat down willing to face his critics on Wednesday, only one person confronted him about his potential influence over his wife’s hiring. That one person: local attorney Cliff Homesley.

Homesley pointedly asked Atkins if at any time during the hiring process he had discussed his wife’s candidacy with other government officials or MDC board members.

“I have had no contact even with fellow commissioners,” Atkins said. “I’ve had some talk to me, but I have refrained.”

It appears, however, that at least two elected officials did not “refrain” from attempting to interfere in the process. In fact, those two individuals apparently threatened to withdraw the town’s funding of the MDC if it hired Kim Atkins as the new executive director.

Atkins neither confirmed nor denied the information, but he said that since his wife’s hiring he has heard that some of his fellow elected officials were “really opposed” to her hiring.

Carney, however, stated that members of the MDC board of directors approached him, concerned about their funding from the town. He said they asked him if the funds would be “at risk” if they hired Atkins as the executive director “because they had heard that from other elected officials.”

Carney acknowledged that he warned the MDC board members upon their selection of Atkins that “they better be sure their policies and procedures were in place.”

He told those in attendance at Wednesday night’s meeting that it was improper for commissioners to have spoken for the entire town board and to have threatened to pull an organization’s funding.

Carney explained that town commissioners earlier this year agreed to fund the MDC as long as the organization met certain goals that it spelled out in a three-year business plan that was shared with town commissioners in budget talks this year.

Homesley also pointed out that Carney’s brother, Robby, was recently hired as the existing industry and marketing manager of the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation – an organization that, not unlike the MDC, receives annual funding from the Town of Mooresville.

County Commissioner Ken Robertson chimed in, denying that government agencies “play favorites” with family members of public officials. “They actually get scrutinized more,” he said, because of precisely what is happening right now to the MDC. “The employers are afraid they’ll be accused of cronyism,” Robertson said.

Sometimes, he said, that means the employer will “work twice as hard” to find a reason not to hire the family member.

And the government official, Robertson said, “is scrutinized only because they are related to someone who is trying to maximize their value in this world.”

Said Atkins: “I hope that people will get to know Kim and myself. She is accountable to her board as I am accountable to you as your public servant.

“She has to stand on her own as a professional,” he said.

Simple, straightforward questions. Simple, straightforward answers. A free-flowing exchange of ideas and opinions. That's what Wednesday night’s meeting proved is possible.

It’s also what my blog is about.

Let me make something clear: My reporting is about principles, not personalities. And I expect out of others what I expect out of myself -- that any criticism will be relevant, well-founded and factual. If I ever fail in that, I ask that you hold me accountable for it.

I created my blog just over seven months ago to foster open, uncensored dialogue among and between the residents of Mooresville, southern Iredell County and beyond about issues that are important to us.

At times, certain readers have used my blog as a conduit for outright lies about me and other private citizens. One example: an innocent joke by a reader was turned into an accusation that I was having an extramarital affair … without regard for the fact that my husband, my two young daughters … my mother … all read my blog.

One reader has repeatedly called for investigations of private citizens, including me, accusing us of having “skeletons in our closets,” always stopping short, however, of disclosing just what those skeletons are.

I have even been accused of being “on welfare.” Though I see no shame in human beings who fall on hard times and need a little help, the fact remains that my husband and I chose to make financial sacrifices in order for me to be at home with our children while he earns our living … and pays our taxes.

Many readers who have signed their names to their comments, and others who are simply mentioned in my posts or readers’ comments, have been randomly grouped together despite the fact that some of us would not know each other if we ran into one another in the grocery store.

One reader wrote obscenities and attributed them to me and other community activists. Other readers have gone so far as to ridicule peoples’ appearances, their body shape, their national origin and their religious beliefs. They have stooped so low as to use derogatory and vulgar terms such as “sheep,” “freaks,” and “retarded” to describe readers who have posted statements that are critical of government officials.

I agree with one reader who pointed out that in our system, there is a fundamental distinction between public officials and private citizens. When it comes to criticism, public officials are fair game. Private citizens are not. Why? Because public officials are public officials by choice. If they don’t relish scrutiny and exposure, they can rescind their status, reverting back to being a private citizen. Private citizens don’t have that luxury; they can’t “rescind” their status as a private citizen.

The long and the short of it is this: Like many of you, I have been appalled by the hateful content of some comments that have been posted on my blog. Countless people have contacted me, beseeching me to censor such comments. But I have refused to do so. My loyalty to freedom of speech easily trumps any hurt feelings which may result from someone’s words.

However, I call on those of you who have committed to joining me in my “mission” to refrain from engaging with those whose sole purpose is clearly to personally attack others – that includes private citizens and public officials alike. This does not preclude legitimate, factual and pertinent criticism of public officials.

Let's get back to basics. In the coming days, I plan to post several different topics that were discussed at Wednesday night’s meeting. I will provide a brief synopsis of what was discussed, and, as always, I welcome and encourage your voice in the ensuing discussions and debate.

Among the issues that will be posted:

• Town commissioners and town staff fraternizing with developers
• What ever happened to the town-hall protestors’ demands for the assistant town manager’s firing? Does the town really need an assistant-town-manager position?
• The town’s hiring of engineering firm CH2M Hill for the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant
• The ever-controversial question: Should Iredell County’s two school districts merge?
• Town employees’ use of the municipal golf course

Town commissioner, MDC board member respond to citizens' questions

When we say we expect open government, that doesn’t mean we expect perfect performances from our community leaders and government officials … or that we expect them to know all the answers to every question, every time.

What is does mean is that we expect them to be responsive. When we have a question, we expect them to answer it; when we have a concern, we expect them to address it.

Some folks have expressed some very legitimate concerns about last week’s hiring of Kim Atkins – wife of Town Commissioner Miles Atkins – as executive director of the Mooresville Downtown Commission (MDC).

On Friday, I took your concerns to the people who could best answer them. Within just a few hours, they had all responded, acknowledging the merit of the concerns and offering an “open-door policy” for any further questions.

Conflicts of interest?
One reader asked about a potential “conflict-of-interest clause” that may prevent Kim Atkins – as a former unpaid member of the MDC's board of directors – from stepping down and then becoming a paid employee of the organization. “There are supposed to be documented rules and procedures to prevent conflicts of interest,” the reader posted. “Those steps and procedures are required BY LAW to be documented and kept in place. If they are not, they will lose their non-profit status with the IRS and could face conflict of interest charges.”

The reader added: “The bylaws or organizational documents MUST address how directors may or may not be compensated or apply for positions that are compensated. The conflict of interest documents must also outline how the remaining directors shield themselves from conflict of interest because they were colleagues of the former director.”

Article V, Section 11 (b) of the MDC’s bylaws states that a person cannot simultaneously serve as executive director of the downtown commission and as an unpaid member of the organization’s board of directors.

To read the MDC’s bylaws, click on the documents below:





The reader also asked about potential conflicts of interest between town commissioners – specifically, Atkins’ husband, Miles – and the MDC board of directors. “How do they (the MDC directors) shield themselves from the fact that the director's husband is an elected official? Was there any undue burden placed on those directors, or did they feel as if there would be if they did not hire her? Does Atkins have any regulatory authority over them or their businesses? Any influence at all?”

“Those are very, very valid concerns,” Commissioner Miles Atkins said on Friday. “And honestly, I would have the same questions.”

Town Attorney Steve Gambill has already addressed the question of whether Commissioner Atkins will be able to vote on matters that impact the downtown district. Citing N.C. General Statute 160A-75, Gambill said a commissioner “shall not be excused from voting ‘except upon matters involving the consideration of the member’s own financial interest or official conduct …’

“Thus,” said Gambill, “if funding by the town of the downtown commission would financially benefit Commissioner Atkins (for example, if the funding will pay in whole or in part Ms. Atkins' salary), he can disclose it to the board and ask to be excused from voting on that particular matter.

“This feature of the statute in and of itself helps to prevent a conflict of interest when a board member's own financial interests are involved,” Gambill said, “and it offers a resolution by allowing such member to be excused from voting on that particular matter.”

Commissioner Atkins vowed that he will “disclose my relationship with my wife and recuse myself from a vote if it has even the slightest perception of a conflict.”

But that’s unlikely to placate some members of the public, such as the reader who posted this: “Even if Adkins (sic) doesn't vote on Downtown Commission issues, we all know that there are conversations and arrangments (sic) made between commissioners. You scratch my back; I'll scratch yours. That kind of thing. And even if it never happens this way, people will always wonder if it is happening and it will taint the Board. And it will taint Miles Adkins. Already has.”

Another comment suggested that other commissioners “will give him and vote (sic) what he wants for his wife and things to make his life more comfortable.”

Responding to the allegations, Atkins said he had absolutely nothing to do with the MDC's hiring of his wife as executive director, but that he “completely understands” peoples’ concerns.

“If the shoe were on the other foot,” Atkins said, “I’d be asking the same thing.”

He said it is an unfortunate truth that “power can corrupt, and people can abuse power.”

Atkins, as a private citizen in 2005, spearheaded the town’s adoption of a Code of Ethics for elected officials. “I live by the same standards that I apply to anyone else,” he said. “But if in any capacity I have ever abused the power or authority graciously given to me by the people of this community, then I expect to be held accountable for it.”

The hiring process
Readers have also asked about the MDC's hiring process: How many candidates applied? How far and wide was the search? Did the board of directors choose the best candidate? Did Kim Atkins close her Main Street business and step down as chairman of the board of directors just so she could apply for the executive director’s position?

“Man are we lucky or what,” one reader posted on Oct. 9. “People from all over the country were interviewed and guess what? The most qualified person for this position was someone from right here in Mooresville! Imagine that! And, she is a former board member AND she just happens to be the wife of a town commissioner. What were the odds of that happening? Does the Downtown Commission really think this does not look just a little suspicious?”

Kim Atkins announced in July that she would be closing her Main Street business, The Garden Party, in September due to the downturn in the economy. She does not own the building in which her business was situated.

Atkins resigned as chairman of the downtown commission’s board of directors in August; a new chairman was appointed on Aug. 18. Atkins applied for the executive director’s job on Sept. 9, and she was hired last week.

John Amon, a downtown businessman and MDC board member, said the selection committee – which included MDC members and representatives from the Mooresville Convention & Visitors Bureau (MCVB), the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation (MSIEDC) and the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce – considered 22 applicants “from as far away as Georgia and Ohio.”

The selection committee included the MDC’s Robert Holshouser, Howard Kosofsky, Steve McGlothlin, and David Miller, along with Leah Mitchum (MCVB representative), Karen Shore (Chamber representative) and Russ Rodgerson (MSIEDC representative).

“The committee was made up of very reputable people who dotted their Is and crossed their Ts,” Amon said. “I personally have not seen the other resumes that were submitted, but the committee has said that Kim’s resume was head and shoulders above the others.”

Additionally, Amon said, “I do not believe that any decision was made to have Mrs. Atkins resign (from the chairman’s position) because she was -- wink wink -- going to get the job. The people on that committee did a lot of work, and I believe that they did not have any pre-conceived ideas about the job or the person to be hired.”

He said the committee, during the selection process, “pared the applicants (from 22) to around 8 and then held face to face interviews.

“Kim Atkins was the choice by everyone on that board committee and that was presented to the entire MDC board,” Amon said. It was then that the MDC board offered the position to Atkins, he said.

Amon said while the MDC board of directors advertised the position on a state level, “the job wasn’t that appealing to a lot of people” because the pay is disproportionate to the job duties.

While Atkins’ salary has not yet been confirmed, the former director, Wayne Frick, made $46,000 plus benefits – no more than $56,000 total – according to Amon and the MDC’s most recent budget. Amon said Atkins will likely be making less than Frick after factoring in insurance and benefits.

So, why didn’t the downtown commission hire a headhunter or broaden its search?

That’s simple, said Amon. The budget of the downtown commission is only $117,000. The most recent budget anticipates $60,000 from the Town of Mooresville, $52,000 in district tax, and an additional $5,000 in “ADV & entertainment” revenue.

In addition to the executive director's salary and benefits, the MDC budgets about $25,000 a year for entertainment and advertising, $11,500 for festivals and events, and thousands of dollars for expenses such as beautification projects, a merchants' newsletter, "facade grants," insurance and accounting.

In the current budget year, the MDC plans to cover half the cost of the sprinkler system in the John Franklin Moore park, at a cost of $3,250. The organization also plans to spend $600 for tulip bulbs for the park and $10,000 for a promotion that will attract people to downtown every Thursday and Friday from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The $10,000 includes co-op advertising, Christmas lights and trees, a window-decorating contest, fliers for the schools and movies at the Citizens Center. Amon said the Christmas lights "are a one-time purchase and are long-lasting LED low wattage bubs that should last a long time."

A headhunter would have cost the MDC $10,ooo to $18,000 to find a candidate for the executive director’s position, said Amon. And typically speaking, a headhunter doesn’t target $45,000-a-year candidates. Such a salary “doesn’t get a lot of people excited, from a headhunter’s standpoint,” Amon said.

The simple truth is that the downtown commission, a non-profit 501(c)4 on a set $117,000 budget, couldn’t afford a headhunter and a more expensive executive director.

In addition to that, Amon said, “If we had gone with a headhunter, we were looking at 120 days from the time we signed a contract until we had a person.

“Everyone is struggling like crazy,” he said of the downtown merchants. “I think time is of the essence. We needed someone right now.”

Also, he said, “We need somebody that understands Mooresville and North Carolina law. Different states do things differently. Kim is going to bring so much because she knows the dynamics of this region.

“And who’s to say that Kim wouldn’t have been the headhunter’s pick?” Amon added.

He also addressed some of the concerns about the MDC’s potential hiring of a consultant for a couple months. Though “a consultant has not been hired nor agreed upon,” Amon said, the MDC is considering hiring one to help Atkins and the MDC board “understand what are justifiable goals.” Amon said that is “something that hasn’t been done in the past.”

He said the role of a consultant is not to “train Atkins” as one Report reader suggested. Instead, he said, a consultant will help strengthen some of the MDC’s weaknesses in general.

He said the MDC wanted an executive director that “has some marketing experience … somebody that can understand what the downtown merchants are dealing with and understands that the property owners want the values of their property to go up. We need a liaison with other municipal functions and someone who is good at grant writing and who is familiar with the Main Street USA program, which is on a state and national level."

A candidate who is strong in each and every one of those areas, he said, “is impossible to find.” A consultant will help strengthen the areas in an executive director that “may be a little weak," Amon added.

He said the MDC wanted an executive director “who is going to grow as our needs grow,” and, he said, the MDC board feels strongly that Kim Atkins is the perfect fit.

Amon invites anyone with further questions about the MDC and its hiring process to attend the organization’s monthly meetings. The MDC meets the first Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. in the Charles Mack Citizens Center, and its meetings are open to the public. “We would love to hear ideas on how Mooresville can better serve the citizens, merchants, and property owners,” Amon said.

Downtown commission hires new director

It’s a new day on Main Street.

The Mooresville Downtown Commission has hired its new executive director – downtown resident Kim Atkins – to succeed long-time director Wayne Frick, who retired in June.

Calling her “passionate,” “vibrant,” and “energetic,” the downtown business community says Atkins will bring much-needed new life to the downtown district.

Atkins – wife of Town Commissioner Miles Atkins – recently stepped down as chairman of the downtown commission’s board of directors. Her decision to give up that post came on the heels of her closing her 4-year-old Main Street business, The Garden Party, due to the downturn in the economy.

Dennis Cowardin, who succeeded Atkins as MDC board chairman, said that Atkins’ “past service” to the MDC board “demonstrated that she has the right leadership qualities, passion and determination that are needed to unite, ignite and drive initiatives.”

The MDC board of directors – consisting of downtown business and property owners – selected Atkins from a field of qualified candidates. In a statement released today, the MDC board said Atkins has what it takes to “lead the MDC in creating a vision and implementing a strategy to enhance revitalization efforts while actively facilitating a collaborative effort with key community stakeholders to achieve its desired goals.”

“Kim will bring vibrant energy to downtown Mooresville,” said downtown businessman and property owner Bob Amon. “Her experience as a business owner and resident of Mooresville should allow her to understand the challenges downtowns face and prepare her to help downtown Mooresville bloom and prosper.”

Though Atkins had to close her business doors, she said The Garden Party taught her much of what she’ll bring to the table as executive director of the MDC.

“It was my first venture into the small business world, and in our first two years we were nationally recognized by ‘Home Accents’ magazine as a ‘Today’s Top 50 Retail Stars,’” Atkins said of The Garden Party. “This award was given based upon innovative strategies and creative merchandising in conjunction with a strong presence in the community.”

The Garden Party, said Atkins, “was recognized regionally as a destination shopping experience that also served as a recruitment asset to attract other businesses to our downtown.” She said it was more than just a store – it was “a place where people gathered socially, relationships were built, and many lasting friendships were established.

“I am very blessed to have been a part of something that touched so many people in such a positive way,” she said.

Because of her experience as a downtown business owner – coupled with her 15 years of experience in sales and marketing – Atkins said: “I understand and recognize both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead” for the MDC.

Atkins will be responsible for forging effective relationships with other area organizations, such as the Town of Mooresville, the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation, the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce, the Mooresville Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Historic Preservation.

“These are fundamental relationships that, if approached collaboratively, will help create a vibrant downtown and strengthen the core of our community,” Atkins said. “In addition, the downtown property owners and unique merchants play a significant role in our future success. These relationships need to be renewed and sustained.”

Howard Kosofsky, a major investor in downtown Mooresville, said Atkins will be “a great addition to the Main Street Program.

“Her passion for Mooresville has been evident with her past involvement as chair of the MDC and a small business owner on Main Street,” Kosofsky said. “We are excited to have Kim on board.”

The Mooresville Downtown Commission is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1987 to develop the economic, cultural and educational potential of Mooresville’s historic downtown. The organization focuses on attracting new business and increasing occupancy rates to cultivate a vibrant downtown area.

Citing statistics from the Small Business Association, Karen Shore – president/CEO of the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce – said that “shopping dollars spent downtown have a greater return on investment for our area.

“Of every dollar spent with an independent business, 60 cents is re-circulated back into the community as opposed to only 6 cents of every dollar spent with a ‘big box’ retailer,” she said.

The downtown commission is funded by a special district tax and an annual contribution from the Town of Mooresville.

The question has already been asked: Can Commissioner Miles Atkins rightfully vote on funding for the downtown commission, which, in turn, will pay his wife’s salary?

Town Attorney Steve Gambill said there’s no cause for concern.

“I know of no legal impediment or prohibition preventing Ms. Atkins from serving as the executive director because of her being the wife of Commissioner Atkins,” Gambill said.

Citing N.C. General Statute 160A-75, Gambill said a commissioner “shall not be excused from voting ‘except upon matters involving the consideration of the member’s own financial interest or official conduct …’

“Thus,” said Gambill, “if funding by the town of the downtown commission would financially benefit Commissioner Atkins (for example, if the funding will pay in whole or in part Ms. Atkins' salary), he can disclose it to the board and ask to be excused from voting on that particular matter.

“This feature of the statute in and of itself helps to prevent a conflict of interest when a board member's own financial interests are involved,” Gambill said, “and it offers a resolution by allowing such member to be excused from voting on that particular matter.”

As executive director of the MDC, Kim Atkins said she intends to look into additional funding options for the organization. “Grant money and fundraising are areas that desperately need exploration and can supplement our monetary resources,” she said. “For our long-term success, we must create and gain support to carry out a unified vision.”

Atkins plans to lead the MDC in creating measurable goals. Short-term needs, she said, “consist of marketing and promotional opportunities, consistent branding and distinctive seasonal events.”

Mid-range goals, Atkins said, include attracting “more dining and entertainment venues.” Recruiting more “unique retail” – and lowering the overall vacancy rate of downtown storefronts – will be another mid-range goal, she said.

Long-term, Atkins said she will “be focused on new or expanded business growth and residential opportunities” and “the ongoing recruitment of potential businesses.

“Our economic vibrancy,” said Atkins, “can come from many areas, including Historic Preservation, transit and residential … but only if we are actively engaged in planning for the future.”

The Danger of Only One Idea

"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have." ~Emily Chartier

From time to time, I hope to pull valid ideas from the comments section and give them a little more attention, particularly if they challenge my thinking.

Here was a comment posted on the Report this morning:

The Charlotte Observer reported yesterday that “downtown commission members say the new director must meet measurable goals, such as increasing investment, business growth, residential development and entertainment, or be fired”. How about the current director.

Opponents and proponents alike agree he is not meeting these qualifications, yet he “announced” in January that he will be staying on for another six months. MDC Board: The proof is in the pudding. If you want the taxpayers of this town to back the downtown commission, and if you want to convince us that you are indeed going to start being accountable with our tax dollars, you must start now – by firing Wayne Frick.

Ouch. The truth always hurts.

So basically what this person is saying to the Mooresville Downtown Commission board is this: put our money where your mouth is.

You cannot retain an under-performing director for three more months and then have people believe that you won't do it with the next guy. Truly, if the MDC board wants the taxpayers' blessing on this year's funding, it must prove now that it means business. And make no mistake about it – the MDC board is going to need the taxpayers on its side if it expects to be funded year after year after year.

Right now, the MDC has a lot of momentum and a lot of community support. But if the board members truly made a statement like the one that the Observer reported – and they still decide to let Wayne Frick ride out the next three months, when not one person (including MDC opponents) have come to Frick's defense – I think the MDC board will have a lot of explaining to do.

Then again, I'm only one person. What are your thoughts?

Commissioner Abraham comments on the MDC funding

Ward 1 Commissioner Mitch Abraham e-mailed me a short while ago, responding to yesterday's e-mail to elected officials asking about their stances on funding the Mooresville Downtown Commission (MDC).

Commissioners Mac Herring, Chris Carney and Miles Atkins responded yesterday. I still have not heard from Mayor Bill Thunberg or Commissioners Thurman Houston and Frank Rader

Here are Abraham's e-mailed comments:

"Chris (Carney) cc'd me his email reply yesterday to your questions. My thoughts were somewhat similar in that I didn't want to give any individual comments because I didn't want to speculate on the MDC's report that was coming to us this morning and wanted to hear their presentation.

"They gave a good presentation and have some points that are valid," wrote Abraham, whose ward includes part of the downtown area. He stated that one of the "most notable" points that the MDC made in its presentation this morning is that "the present MDC board is filled with new blood and they have very progressive ideas on how to move the MDC to be a player on the (economic development) level, mainly by getting an active (executive director) and ruling with a stiff hand to make the Downtown a vibrant and economic producing entity!!"

Also, Abraham wrote, "The increased cost is not that much, an (additional $15,000) from what we have been funding the last several years. I have more comments but will get back to you later as we discuss it on the board level."

The MDC has received around $45,000 annually from the Town of Mooresville in recent years. This year, it's asking for $60,000, in part to help offset the salary of a new executive director since its long-time director, Wayne Frick, announced he will retire in June.

Which way is the wind blowing for MDC funding?

How town commissioners will eventually vote on funding the Mooresville Downtown Commission (MDC) is anyone’s guess. But the day before they’re expected to hear a presentation by the MDC’s board of directors, it appears at least two of the six town commissioners will vote to fund the MDC.

A reader, responding to my April 2 blog entry (Why nix downtown funding now?), asked me to track down Mayor Bill Thunberg’s official position on the MDC issue. So I tried.

In fact, I decided to track down the positions of all seven elected officials, including Thunberg and Commissioners Mac Herring, Frank Rader, Chris Carney, Miles Atkins, Thurman Houston and Mitch Abraham.

I sent an e-mail at 11 a.m. today to their town e-mail accounts. (By the way, Mooresville taxpayers provide BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices to elected officials, enabling them to send and receive e-mails wherever and whenever they may roam.) I asked all seven elected officials to provide and elaborate on their stances regarding the MDC, and I requested responses by 6 p.m. Of the seven, I heard back from three: Ward 3 Commissioner Mac Herring, Ward 4 Commissioner Chris Carney and At-Large Commissioner Miles Atkins.

Ward 1 Commissioner Mitch Abraham and Ward 2 Commissioner Thurman Houston – whose districts include the downtown area – did not respond. Neither did Thunberg or At-Large Commissioner Frank Rader.

Herring, who says he’ll vote to fund the MDC, had already posted his position as a comment on my April 2 blog entry. He wrote: “I will levy one of the 6 votes to support our Down Town. The Down Town is in a time of change, and needs our support as much if not more so than at any other time.”

Herring also stated that he will work to ensure that downtown remains a “vital part of our economic infrastructure, just as my family has done for generations.”

Atkins, whose wife owns a downtown business and is chairman of the MDC, said he supports the efforts and direction that the current MDC board of directors is taking the downtown commission. He also said he believes that those board members “should be afforded the opportunity to bring a new executive director on board to demonstrate how effective and accountable it (the MDC) can be with a respected, talented and qualified director to help move it forward.”

Additionally, Atkins said he would support extending/expanding the downtown district, which would increase the amount of money the MDC receives. The district tax is 16 cents per $100 valuation.

As an aside, in e-mails that circulated through downtown businesses recently, a Main Street lawyer accused the Atkins’, because of their positions, of having a “direct ethical conflict.” Miles Atkins publicly disclosed in a recent budget meeting that his wife, Kim, is indeed the MDC chairman.

If I recall correctly, Town Attorney Steve Gambill said at a town board meeting some time ago that unless an elected official stands to directly financially benefit from a matter being voted on, that elected official is required by law to vote.

But back to the elected officials' stances on the MDC:

Though Carney said it’s difficult to answer a question about his stance on the downtown commission before tomorrow morning’s presentation by the MDC board, “I know the MDC has gone through great trouble and effort to be able to present a vision for the Downtown," he said.

“My position has always been one of accountability,” Carney added. “We need to understand what the return is on the taxpayers' investment. That was the question I raised 3 years ago and still today. Any organization that requests money should be able to answer one simple question: how is Mooresville better off for the investment by the citizens’ money?”

Carney also asked: “If we were not going to hold funding back in the past, then what has triggered a change in philosophy?”

That's the question a lot of people are asking.

To the person asking me to get Thunberg's official position: sorry I couldn't accomplish that today. Perhaps those of you reading would have better luck. If you're interested -- for this issue or any in the future -- here are your elected officials' e-mail addresses:

bthunberg@ci.mooresville.nc.us (Bill Thunberg)
frankrader@ci.mooresville.nc.us (Frank Rader)
mabraham@ci.mooresville.nc.us (Mitch Abraham)
thouston@ci.mooresville.nc.us (Thurman Houston)
ccarney@ci.mooresville.nc.us (Chris Carney)
mherring@ci.mooresville.nc.us (Mac Herring)
matkins@ci.mooresville.nc.us (Miles Atkins)

Why nix downtown funding now?

The Mooresville Downtown Commission may soon find out its fate.

Several members of the MDC’s board of directors, coinciding with their annual request for public funding, plan to make a presentation about the value and future of the MDC during a Friday-morning agenda briefing for Mooresville commissioners. The commissioners’ regular monthly meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 7, at 6 p.m.

In recent years, the Town of Mooresville has given the MDC between $40,000 and $45,000 annually. But this year – due mainly to the upcoming retirement of longtime MDC Executive Director Wayne Frick – the MDC is asking for $60,000, mostly to offset a new director’s salary.

Frick has been executive director of the MDC since one year after the organization was formed in 1987. He plans to retire in June.

One or two downtown business owners are using the retirement as a convenient excuse to attempt to nix the MDC, just at the time when all the right people are in place to move our downtown forward and make the MDC the organization it always should have been.

Interestingly, according to its very own website, the MDC “plays a vital role in the success of downtown Mooresville.” Working with civic leaders and merchants, the MDC “has kept the economic vitality and main street values going and growing strong in Mooresville for generations,” the website reads.

The MDC, funded by local government and business and property owners, “develops strategic plans to make downtown economically attractive to citizens, customers, visitors, and other businesses,” states the website, adding that “Mooresville is a great locale for business because it has great people with traditional American values.”

The town also apparently has people who can’t seem to accept change or let go of the reigns of control.

The one or two downtown business owners – including Mayor Bill Thunberg, who owns a Main Street jewelry store – are pushing to abolish the downtown commission, reportedly arguing that the district tax (16 cents per $100 of valuation) to help float the MDC isn’t paying dividends.

So after two decades, they are now apparently arguing that each business should promote and advertise itself, and the MDC has not done much for them in the past.

A couple of others are contending that the MDC executive director should be a Chamber employee or, even more absurd, a town employee … who would report to – you guessed it – the mayor.

On the other hand, another group of downtown business owners and major investors believe that the MDC’s full potential can finally become a reality. They want to help shape Mooresville’s downtown into a vibrant retreat and destination.

This particular group of business owners and investors want to search for a competent, dynamic director with experience and an expansive, futuristic vision for downtown – someone who knows how to vigorously pursue grants and how to recruit and retain professional, quality shops, boutiques, galleries and restaurants – someone with an open mind and an eclectic flair who recognizes the value and uniqueness of a downtown like Mooresville’s – someone whose goal it is to attract a variety of people and businesses to a downtown that desperately needs a shot (or five) of adrenaline injected into it.

Call me an optimist, but I can’t figure out why anybody wouldn’t want to jump all over such an opportunity – and why any elected official who has voted to fund the MDC in the past would not vote to fund it now.

Either the MDC website has been lying to us, or it has been telling the truth and somebody wants to sabotage it. I don’t know which is worse.

A question to our elected officials: After years of providing many hundreds of thousands of dollars to a shoddy-run MDC – and apparently providing those tax dollars for more than a dozen years before the organization had even adopted bylaws – why would anyone consider nixing the MDC’s funding now?

A question to the downtown business owner(s) who say the MDC has never worked for them: Where were you a year ago, or a year before that, or a year before that, or five years before that? You’ve been paying an extra tax for the MDC for years, and we are to believe that all the while the system has been failing you? Where was the talk about dissolving the MDC while Wayne Frick was the executive director?

In years past, town commissioners have rubber-stamped a $45,000 check to the MDC which in turn threw a few token community events, then kicked back and called it a year.

But as soon as the MDC gains a new-school, progressive chairman and a board of directors that seeks accountability … at the same time that outdated, dilapidated buildings and stores are giving way to fresh, trendy shops and restaurants … at the moment when major investors sink roots and millions in downtown and start splashing fresh coats of vibrant paint on storefronts … at the time when we receive the resignation of the only executive director the MDC has ever had – who was given the job 20 years ago because, like everyone else running this town, he had friends in the right places and Belk’s Department Store on his resume – that is when we decide to question our annual contribution to the downtown commission?

Something doesn’t add up.

Town continues discussion of MDC funding

Town commissioners, who were scheduled on Monday to discuss next year's funding of the Mooresville Downtown Commission, continued that discussion until a later date.

(For the full story, see the "Downtown Drama" blog entry, March 16, 2008.)

I'll keep ya posted...

Downtown Drama

When decades-long public officials resign, retire or are fired – especially from positions that have operated for years under the good ol’ boy network – it’s like a scab being ripped off a wound.

We’ve watched it happen repeatedly in Mooresville, beginning about a decade ago when Joe Knox chose not to seek re-election after 33 years as mayor. Knox’s right-hand man, Town Manager Rick McLean, resigned five years later under fire from the public and, ironically, the town board, which was then made up only of commissioners who were born and bred in Mooresville.

That same board hired McLean’s replacement, Jamie Justice, in 2005. Justice – even to our current board, which includes commissioners with varying experiences and hometowns – was known as the “task manager.” In other words, he would do whatever the town board instructed him to do … which was precisely the reason the old board hired him. But the majority of our new town commissioners wanted a manager who stood on his own two feet and didn’t have to be told what to do, so they asked Justice to resign, which he did last month. That’s progress.

Similarly, shortly after long-time Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dan Wallace resigned in 2006, the South Iredell Community Development Corporation (SICDC) split from the Chamber and formed the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation (MSIEDC). And shortly after that, the MSIEDC board of directors asked its 13-year executive director, Melanie O’Connell Underwood, to resign.

So I guess it was only a matter of time before the scab was ripped off the wound in downtown Mooresville, where, unfortunately, it appears the good ol’ boy network is alive and well.

Wayne Frick, who has been executive director of the Mooresville Downtown Commission (MDC) since one year after the organization was formed in 1987, recently announced his retirement, effective in June.

And judging from e-mails that I’ve obtained, it appears that the familiar power struggle between the old guard and the “progressives” has begun.

Kim Atkins was recently elected chairman of the MDC’s board of directors against longtime Iredell County Commissioner and Mooresville resident Sarah Haire Tice.

But Atkins is now being lambasted in e-mails from longtime Mooresville attorney Brian Harwell who has an office on Main Street. And the gloves came off when another downtown investor jumped into the e-mail match.

Some background: The MDC created a bylaws committee last year because the organization’s bylaws had not been updated since 1990. The MDC apparently looked at the issue of membership in 2004, but it was never resolved. The bylaws committee at the MDC board’s monthly meeting in February submitted proposed new bylaws. Due to questions that arose at that board meeting about the slate of candidates for next year’s MDC board, the membership issue was placed on the board’s March agenda.

And here’s where the drama started: Atkins on March 3 distributed the meeting agenda, which included the membership issue as an amendment to the bylaws. The MDC board at its March 5 meeting adopted that amendment.

But Harwell sent an e-mail the following day to a host of people, including Atkins, taking issue with the board’s actions, pointing out that state statutes require a five-day written notice of any meeting wherein an amendment is to be voted upon. Additionally, Harwell pointed out, the statutes require that a copy or summary of the amendment be attached to the meeting notice.

It seems Harwell is right, though some questions have arisen about whether the statute is applicable to an organization structured like the MDC. Regardless, in addition to only providing a two-day notice of the meeting, Atkins apparently did not include a copy or summary of the amendment with the meeting notice. Noted Harwell in his e-mail: “The so called adoption of the bylaw amendment on March 5, 2008 by the Mooresville Downtown Commission is therefore invalid by virtue of non compliance with the North Carolina Statutes.”

In an e-mail that followed, Harwell copied to a large group of people an e-mail he had sent Interim Town Manager Erskine Smith, in which Harwell turned to more personal attacks: “In my opinion the whole purpose of Ms. Atkins’ amendment was to make one of the nomination committees’ nominees a member and to further legitimize the current nominations from the nominating committee,” Harwell wrote. “It is highly improper to change the rules in the middle of the election for Board Members of the Downtown Commission. To do so gives the appearance of shady dealings.

“Furthermore as to my personal feelings," Harwell continued, "the whole operation of the Downtown Commission needs to be examined. Kim Atkins should have resigned as President of the Downtown Commission when her husband was elected to the Town Board. It is a direct ethical conflict for her to preside over the Downtown Commission while her husband sits on the Town Board determining Town Budgets which may include the Downtown Commission.”

Kim Atkins’ husband, Miles Atkins, was elected At-large Commissioner last November against veteran commissioner and Mooresville resident Danny Beaver. The Mooresville Downtown Commission in recent years has received around $45,000 annually from the Town of Mooresville. At this Monday night’s town budget meeting, the MDC will ask for about $60,000, in part to help offset the salary of a new executive director.

Harwell’s definition of “direct ethical conflict” deserves a second look. If we are to use his definition, is it a direct ethical conflict that Frank Rader serves on the town board and his wife serves on the advisory board of the town’s public library, which receives public funding? Is it a direct ethical conflict that Chris Carney serves on the town board and his brother was recently hired as the industry and marketing manager of the MSIEDC, which also receives public funding? Is it a direct ethical conflict that Ron Johnson is the treasurer of the MDC and the MSIEDC and is also executive director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau? Further, is it a direct ethical conflict for downtown business owner Bill Thunberg to serve as mayor, secretary of the MSIEDC and on the board of directors for the MDC?

In other words, if the Atkins’ positions are creating a “direct ethical conflict,” then we’re living in a cesspool of ethical conflict right now.

Another argument playing out in the downtown e-mails is about the recent nominations for next year’s MDC board of directors. In the MDC's election, a committee nominates potential board members, then a vote is taken. But Harwell apparently wasn’t pleased with the list of six total nominees, so he himself nominated six different people.

Howard Kosofsky of Old Downtown LLC, a major investor in downtown Mooresville, took issue with that, stating in an e-mail to Harwell and others: “I believe no one person should be allowed to nominate 6 people for the board of the downtown commission. Each person should be allowed one nomination and I propose this change in the new bylaws if it is not presently in effect.”

Also, added Kosofsky, “If one thinks that Kim Atkins should resign then Bill Thunberg would also have a conflict if he (owns a) downtown business and votes on the budget that helps promote his business. I do not understand why people who donate (their) time and make a commitment like Kim and this board should be abused with comments like these. I believe these e-mails are vindictive and uncalled for. My partners and I have committed a lot of time and money to downtown and expect this to be a team building process.

“Mooresville is growing and changing,” Kosofsky added. “Those that think downtown is business as usual are kidding themselves. If we are to attract good business to downtown, we need to improve, and we all need to work together to achieve success.”

I couldn't agree more. With or without the naysayers and/or the powermongers, our downtown will progress and flourish.

Ah, the winds of change. It was seemingly a simple request to further the professionalism of the downtown commission – to amend the bylaws and define membership to make way for the upcoming MDC board elections. And then, this. Sure, maybe the meeting was called improperly, but that could have been handled with a phone call instead of a “calling out.”

We have watched this scenario play out time and time again over the past decade. And each time, we’ve seen positive change come of it because the person who the old guard said “boo” to didn’t tuck tail and run.

It’s a new day in Mooresville. We have people who are poised to lead us through the transition of a small town with small ideals to a thriving, eclectic community with natural small-town charm. I’m not suggesting that all the decisions to this point have been bad. I am saying that the town has outgrown them. As evidenced by recent elections and other personnel decisions across the board, it cannot be argued that the people of Mooresville have spoken. And we’re saying: We want change.

I hope that Atkins, and others who appear to be trying to make our downtown a more professional, energetic place to live and work, won’t be intimidated by the bullying tactics of a couple of people who clearly have a hard time accepting change. And I hope on Monday, when the town board considers funding the MDC, that it will realize that the MDC needs a fresh start. It hasn’t been the best run organization in past years, which is obvious when quality shops are leaving downtown as quickly as they’re setting up. But the MDC, with its new leadership – and if all its members can work together for the greater good – truly has the opportunity to make our downtown what we’ve always wanted it to be: a peaceful, vibrant retreat from the rest of the traffic, noise and busyness of Mooresville.

Okay, jumping off my soap box now. Off to do a little more snooping. Stay tuned.