70 - Winter 2018

Information You Can Use

WINTER 2018

Meet your new elected officials 2018 Solid Waste Calendar

City Council

20th annual Mayor’s Golf Tournament benefits youth programs On September 29, Rocky River Golf Club hosted the 20th Annual

This year's event raised nearly $11,000 that will directly support youth in our community. A special thank you goes

Mayor's Golf Tournament.

Sam Leder District 1

Brian King District 2

to the sponsors that help make the event possible, as well as the City and golf course staff members who once again organized the event and volunteered their time and effort.

Thank you to our Eagle sponsors:

Ella Mae Small District 3

JC McKenzie District 4

Terry L. Crawford District 5

Jennifer H. Parsley District 6 Mayor Pro-Tem

John A. Sweat, Jr. District 7

The Concord City Circular is produced quarterly by the City Manager’s Office to provide Concord citizens with information about current activities of the City of Concord. It contains items that will help make it easier for you to do business with the City.

Your comments and questions are welcomed. Please send them to: Concord City Circular P.O. Box 308, Concord, NC 28026 or call 704-920-5210 or e-mail franzese@concordnc.gov. designed by

Granite Sky Civic

In this Issue:

Front and back cover photos courtesy of Michael A. Anderson Photography.

From the Mayor | Manager’s Notes . . . . . . . . 3 2018 Recycling Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Update on Water Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 NCLM Elects Parsley to Second Term . . . . . . . 5 Concord 101 Class of 2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Concord Electric Aids Hurricane Irma . . . . . . . 8-9 New City Budget Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Solid Waste Services Receives Award . . . . . . 11 High 5 Performers / CPR Training . . . . . . . . . 12 Concord Rotarians Fund Playground . . . . . . . 13

2 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • WINTER 2018 • concordnc.gov

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From the Mayor

Manager’s Notes

William “Bill” Dusch

Brian Hiatt, Concord City Manager

A tradition of good leadership Since our founding in 1796 and incorporation in 1806, the City of Concord has been blessed with a tradition of good leadership. For a glimpse of our past, pictures of many of our leaders are displayed in the entrance foyers of the City Council Chambers at City Hall. I recently walked into one of these foyers and viewed the pictures of our 21 Mayors since 1893, bearing names familiar to our community such as Meyers, McEachern, Caldwell, Brown, Liles, and our recently retired Mayor, Padgett.

Our Mayors have served our citizens well and we properly remember their service by naming parks, streets, buildings, and facilities in their honor.

When I walked into the second foyer, I saw pictures of our City Council members since 1953, the year I was born in Concord.

Some of these names are Dorton, Henry, Small, Mathis, and McGee, which are also names you may recognize around the wonderful parks, greenways or structures in our city.

In December, another three names with a combined service of 70 years were added to the distinguished list of past Mayors and City Council members. Scott Padgett was our longest serving Mayor for 16 years, and before that another six years as a City Council member. Lamar Barrier finished his 32nd year as a City Council member, which made him one of the longest serving Council members in the state. Al Brown Jr., my lifelong friend, served on City Council for 16 years. These individuals have given us their time, knowledge, and foresight to guide us through these recent years of amazing growth and change.

I thank them for their efforts to make Concord one of the best places to live in the United States.

The citizens of Concord have given me an opportunity to be their next Mayor. I thank you all and give you my commitment to uphold this leadership tradition. Together with the City Council, I will work hard to continue moving our city forward.

I wish you the best in 2018 and am excited for what we will do together over the next years.

Thank You, Concord In August, I made the Mayor and City Council aware of my intent to retire from the City of Concord with a target date of March 2018. I wanted to give the Mayor and City Council plenty of notice so they had time to hire their next City Manager, and the City Council is well underway with that process, working towards selecting a new City Manager early in 2018.

This was a very difficult decision for me as Concord is a special place to live and work, but it is time for me to prepare to move on to my next challenge, whatever that may be, and spend more time with my family. I am very grateful to those in the Concord community for making this such a rewarding job and a great home for my family.

My interactions with Concord citizens and business owners on service requests, neighborhood needs, City projects, or just to provide me with advice, have made this such a wonderful experience since I arrived in 1998.

One of the many reasons I have been blessed in my role is because voters in Concord have always elected Mayors and Council Members with constructive agendas who are focused on doing what they feel is best for citizens. These elected officials provided direction and set expectations leading to so many significant accomplishments, all while honoring the City Manager’s role in the CouncilManager form of government. Our elected officials have been fiscally conservative, but also understood the importance in investing in our infrastructure and focusing on services and facilities that enhance the quality of life.

The evolution of our infrastructure and quality of life, combined with Concord’s location, has led to a healthy economy that benefits us all. It has also made this community attractive to a diverse population, as well as new and expanding employers.

I think back to the Mayor and Council that hired me.

Mayor George Liles and Council Members Alfred Brown, Sr., David Phillips, Scott Padgett, Jim Ramseur, the late Allen Small, Lamar Barrier, and the late Hector Henry, II brought me to Concord and I am indebted to them for that and for making me feel so welcome. Others that joined the Council later were Al Brown, Jr., Randy Grimes, Ella Mae Small, John Sweat, Jennifer Parsley, Sam Leder, and Brian King. They continued the Concord tradition of continued on page 14 concordnc.gov • WINTER 2018 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • 3

Cut out this year’s calendar and save it for your reference.

2018 Recycling & Bulky Waste Calendar Recycling & Bulky Waste is collected every-other-week on your regularly scheduled garbage day.

January

February

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

April

March

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

May

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

July

1 2 6 7 8 9 13 14 15 16 20 21 22 23 27 28 29 30

October

3 4 5 10 11 12 17 18 19 24 25 26 31

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

4 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 18 19 20 21 25 26 27 28

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

September

November

1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 27 29 30 31

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

June

August

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

7 14 21 28

If you are a City of Concord resident, recycling roll-out carts are free. Call 704.920.5555.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

December 1 2 3 8 9 10 15 16 17 22 23 24 29 30

2 9 16 23 30

1 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 31

For full holiday collection schedule, go to: concordnc.gov/ whatsmyday and click on ‘Holiday Schedule’.

Don’t know if you are a blue week or the green week?

Go to: concordnc.gov/whatsmyday and enter your address.

City Holiday Blue Week Green Week

Put these items in your recycling cart Empty Aerosol Cans (no paint cans)

Aluminum Cans, Steel Cans, & their Lids

All Plastics (1 - 7)

Glass Bottles & Jars

(no Styrofoam, bags, or wrap)

Wide-Mouth Plastic Containers & Lids Rigid Plastic Containers & Small Plastic Toys Milk & Juice Cartons, & Juice Boxes

Shredded Paper

(placed in clear bags)

Spiral Paper Cans

(with plastic lids detached)

Clean pizza boxes

(without grease or food residue)

Cereal & Food Boxes

Gift Boxes, Shoe Boxes, & Small Cardboard Boxes

(flattened and placed into Cart)

Large Cardboard Boxes

(flattened, cut into 3ft x 3ft sections and placed inside cart for collection)

Paperback Books Mixed Paper, Newspapers with Inserts, & Junk Mail

Gift Wrapping Paper Magazines & Phonebooks (without foil backing)

Bulky waste is anything that won’t fit inside and isn’t allowed in your garbage cart like furniture, construction and demolition debris, tires, scrap metal (including lawn equipment, bicycles, etc.) electronics and appliances.

Cart lids must be able to close completely.

Extra bags of trash and recyclables placed outside your cart will not be collected.

Twice per year, for special occasions, parties and family reunions, the City will collect a small amount of extra bags.

Please call to schedule all special occasion collections.

Those who consistently have more garbage than the green rollout cart can hold may call to reserve an extra brown garbage cart for a monthly fee.

Recycle cardboard the right way! All cardboard must be flattened and cut down to 3ft x 3 ft sections or smaller for collection. A MAXIMUM of 2 or 3 flattened cardboard boxes can be placed between the top of the cart and the lid. Additional flattened boxes should be stacked neatly beside your recycle cart.

Place cart out between 5:00 p.m. day before and 6:00 a.m. day of collection.

Retrieve cart by 9:00 p.m. collection day.

Place carts for collection with heels facing your home.

Keep carts 2 feet from one another and 2 feet from parked cars, mailboxes, etc.

Do not block sidewalks with carts.

Thank you for your continued efforts with our solid waste program and for recycling abundantly.

Register to receive collection schedule changes and other important updates via phone, text, or email through our secure Blackboard Connect Portal at ConcordNC.gov.

For more information on Solid Waste Services: concordnc.gov

704.920.5555

4 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • WINTER 2018 • concordnc.gov

August’s sampling results show that Concord’s water has returned to compliance with haloacetic acid levels and all other regulations at all sampling locations.

To achieve compliance, Water Resources professionals immediately started new efforts to correct the HAA issue, including adjusting the pH of the treated water to be less favorable for HAA formation, and using carbon in raw water to adsorb as much of the organics as possible prior to chlorination.

The City of Concord announced in September that as of August 2017, drinking water supplied to our customers has returned to compliance with all federal and state regulations.

In June of 2017, customers were notified of the exceedance of haloacetic acids, in violation of a drinking water standard.

Haloacetic acids (HAAs) are a type of by-product formed when the chlorine used to disinfect drinking water reacts with naturally occurring organic matter (NOM) in water.

Monitoring results for water samples collected during the quarterly sampling period ending June 30, 2017 showed that the contaminant concentration for total haloacetic acids from one of the eight sampling locations in Concord’s water system exceeded the standard by .0024 micrograms per liter.

Although water remained safe for drinking, cooking, bathing, swimming, and other activities, the City prioritized keeping customers aware of what happened, actions they could consider, and what the City would do to correct the situation.

Concord’s water is mixed with finished water from two utilities outside of Cabarrus County in order to provide capacity that meets customer demand. Concord staff has enhanced their partnership with the City of Albemarle to better communicate treatment strategies that will reduce levels of haloacetic acids in the finished water they provide to Concord. The City of Concord is working to implement additional new technologies in the future to help ensure all customers are provided the highest quality water possible.

The City of Concord values its customers and takes its commitment to supplying good quality drinking water seriously.

All customers are encouraged to visit concordnc.gov/ waterqualityreport to become familiar with Concord’s water sources, composition, and testing data. More information about the Water Resources Department is available at concordnc.gov/Water, customers can call 704-920-5342 to discuss the specifics of the water treatment process.

Parsley Elected to second term on NCLM Board of Directors City Council Member Jennifer Parsley has been selected for a second two-year term on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina League of Municipalities.

In that role, Council Member Parsley will help oversee the advocacy and membership service efforts of the League, which represents more than 540 cities, towns and villages across North Carolina.

Council Member Parsley speaking to a NCLM Legislative Action Committee about Concord’s involvement in the Here We Grow program on November 9 at SAS Institute in Cary.

The selection was made by League members during the organization’s annual conference, CityVision 2017, held in Greenville in mid-September.

League Executive Director Paul Meyer said he looks forward to working with Council Member Parsley and is confident that her contributions will continue to help NCLM better enable cities and towns across North Carolina to better serve their residents.

CityVision 2017 brought more than 600 attendees to the Greenville Convention Center. The event included

programming focused on entrepreneurial solutions for economic development, regional approaches to municipal challenges, and Smart Cities technology.

Attendees of CityVision 2017 also heard from National League of Cities President Matt Zone, State Treasurer Dale Folwell, Court of Appeals Chief Judge Linda McGee and state Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jackson.

About the League The North Carolina League of Municipalities is a membership association of 540 great hometowns – representing nearly every municipality in the state. The League advocates for its members, from the largest city to the smallest village, on the full range of legislative issues that affect municipalities.

For more than 100 years, the League has promoted – and continues to promote – good government by offering non-partisan advocacy, insurance and other services – as directed by its membership. concordnc.gov • WINTER 2018 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • 5

New video makes Concord budget more accessible The City of Concord has a new approach to make its annual budget accessible to the public with the debut of its first ever budget highlights video. Although Concord has been nationally recognized with GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for 15 consecutive years, the Finance Department’s budget staff were excited to make a new option available to the public for fiscal year 2018, which started July 1.

“We have produced hundreds of pages of revenues, expenditures, performance measures, and capital improvement plans time and again,” said Budget and Performance Manager Robin Barham. “However, we wanted to come up with a new way to make the budget available to the community and thought the best place to do that would be as a video in our citizens’ news feeds.”

Available at concordnc.gov/budget, and youtube. com/concordnc1, the six-minute video condenses the information found in the City’s Annual Operating Budget and Performance Plan into a visual summary of how Concord is spending $246 million in public funding this fiscal year. A shorter preview video was also developed to post on the City’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Driven by 13 percent population growth in the last six years, Concord’s booming economy is increasing the demand for public services and infrastructure. By viewing the video, citizens have the opportunity to see how managing growth translates into budget priorities for FY18. The City is committed to maintaining a stable, low tax rate while providing a high quality of life for its customers. Viewers will see budget highlights for a variety of services ranging from Parks and Recreation facilities and programming, to road construction projects, to utility service expansions. Concord’s primary purpose is to spend public dollars in a way that makes citizens proud to call it home.

The use of video is an opportunity to reach more citizens through new format. The video was produced

by Scott Stockton of Shot by Ashley and Scott of Charlotte in collaboration with the City’s Finance Department budget staff—including Barham and Budget Analyst Lesley Reder.

6 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • WINTER 2018 • concordnc.gov

To see the video and learn more about the budget in detail, visit concordnc.gov/budget, or call 704-920-5261 if you have questions about the budget process.

The most ever:

Class of 2017 completes Concord 101 2017 Participants (left to right) are: front row Michael Lyles, Bertram Hinton, Corey Wells, Sandra Riggins, Margaret Andersen, Liz Hickman, Sherry Lassiter-McCullers, Deanna Miles, Brenda Patrick, Peter Davis; second row Nickie Hinton, Deanna Hope Powers, Michael Anderson, Melissa McGuire, Marc Van Brunt, Anthony Clark, Ashley Moye; third row John Mastro, Laura Croke; fourth row Linda Ray, Cheryl Morgan, Matilde Reeves, James Smith, David Hunkele, Mudassar Ali Mohammed; fifth row Pamela Reiter, Betty Auten-Sides, Rita Pyndus, J. King; back row Arthur Ray, Steven Reiter, Terry Alexander, Jeffrey Hoover, Frank Patterson, Joshua Talbert. Not pictured: Janet Brown, Lynnetta Tilford.

PHOTO: CITY OF CONCORD/ L.J. WESLOWSKI

The Concord 101 class of 2017 was recognized with a graduation ceremony on November 21. This year’s class was the largest in program history, with 37 active participants who were thanked at the ceremony by Mayor Pro-tem Ella Mae Small for their involvement in the program.

Concord 101 is designed to inform citizens about their local government.

Participants met on Tuesday afternoons or evenings (there were two parallel classes for the first time) and learned about what it takes to run City services such as solid waste and recycling, public utilities, police, fire, parks and recreation, and more. The course also included special sessions about Concord’s history, economic development, and tourism. The free 14-week course began in August.

The class was first offered in 2002, and alumni represent a cross-section of the community. Some are now serving in leadership roles in their neighborhoods or on City boards and commissions. Council Members Jennifer Parsley and John Sweat are both graduates of the program.

At the ceremony, City Manager Brian Hiatt encouraged the graduates to take an active role in the community. He also welcomed continuing feedback on City services and programs. The next class will begin in fall of 2018, with applications available in May. Learn more about Concord 101 at concordnc.gov/concord101.

2018 PUBLIC SAFETY ACADEMY The 2018 Citizen Public Safety Academy begins January 30 and provides an opportunity to learn about Concord’s Police, Fire, Communications, and Emergency Management functions. There is no cost to participate and applications are accepted through January 23. Visit concordnc.gov to learn more and apply.

concordnc.gov • WINTER 2018 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • 7

Concord Electric restore communities afte For ten days in September, 14 Concord Electric Systems coworkers were part of a 42-person team deployed by ElectriCities to restore power in Georgia and Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Locals may remember there was initially local concerns of Irma’s arrival in our area, but once it was apparent Concord would not be affected by the storm crews knew they would likely be needed elsewhere.

Their first stop was Kings Mountain, joining a team organized by ElectriCities of NC including additional crews from Gastonia, Huntersville/ Cornelius, Maiden, Morganton, and Statesville. The Irma Recovery team first went to the Atlanta metro on September 13 and worked in East Point and then Covington, GA on Thursday, September 14.

On Friday, the team moved to Jacksonville, Florida where 50,000 of 400,000 customers remained without power prior to their arrival.

Over the weekend, crews moved to the Sarasota/ Bradenton area, where Florida Power & Light requested mutual aid through the American Public Power Association with 239,000 customers out of power. Over 12,000 linemen worked on their system. In Bradenton crews did a lot of climbing as they worked mainly in back yards restoring lines.

The team arrived September 20 in Fort Myers, which was their last stop before returning home September 23.

When working in areas impacted by a disaster, hazards can make the already difficult job tougher, including flooded infrastructure and venomous wildlife like rattlesnakes and scorpions.

8 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • WINTER 2018 • concordnc.gov

Pictured above (left to right) are: Justin Pepper, Marino Perez, Jackie Rushing, Jason Sartain, Larry Barbee, Chandler Rice, Daniel Scott, Robert McClure, Jonathan Shields, Chris Aldridge, Darrell Allman, Lannie Cruse, Billy Deese, and Blaine Long.

es power in at least five r Hurricane Irma Overall, crews were impressed with the communities they visited and were taken care of by the locals. They took a lot of pride in being able to provide assistance to so many customers in need. Florida Power and Light commented positively on Concord’s crews, and said they were very productive in restoring power to those in need.

When emergency needs exceed local capacities, communities across the country step forward to provide assistance. Movement, coordination of resources, and deployment work seamlessly to leverage the strength needed for such significant restoration. We appreciate the willingness of our crews as they stepped forward to leave their families and work in hazardous conditions to help communities in Georgia and Florida.

This response provides a good example of how local governments prepare for an impact and then can help other communities when the local community is spared.

The same can be seen on an individual level. When citizens take the time to engage in individual, family, and neighborhood preparedness activities they become part of the larger scope of community preparedness.

How? Community preparedness helps first responders through individuals considering the impacts of disaster and avoiding confusion when it happens. Individuals are both the whole and the part of the community at the same time. Their individuality is how their preparedness manifests itself in practical ways (such as planning ways to communicate in advance when phone lines are down), so they can respond to the disaster vs being a victim of the disaster.

See more images from the team at: bit.ly/cesirma.

concordnc.gov • WINTER 2018 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • 9

THE LIGHTS ARE OFF– EVERYONE IS HOME. Hundreds of people struggle to pay their electricity bill each month. Neighbor Helping Neighbor, a partnership of the City of Concord and Cooperative Christian Ministry, is here to help.

HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS?

WMA-166 Bill insert.vF.indd 1

11/16/17 2:26 PM

Neighbor Helping Neighbor provides the necessary funds to keep electricity on for neighbors in need. Through a tax-deductible contribution, you can make an immediate impact. There are three ways you can give.

1 Round up your bill and donate the extra cents.

2 Donate a set amount each month.

3 Make a one-time donation.

Sign Up: ConcordNeighborHelpingNeighbor.com WMA-166 Bill insert.vF.indd 2

11/16/17 2:26 PM

Did you know...

Did you know the City of Concord was named this year’s healthiest local government employer in the Charlotte region by the Charlotte Business Journal?

Visit concordnc.gov/hr to find out more reasons why the City Concord is a great place to work and to browse career opportunities.

10 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • WINTER 2018 • concordnc.gov

Staff members from the City’s Solid Waste Services Department were presented the 2017 Productivity Improvement Award at the November 9 City Council meeting. The annual award recognizes the department or work team most demonstrating outstanding efforts of achievements in productivity improvement during the previous fiscal year, and exemplifies the City’s core values of continuous improvement and accountability.

The department is credited with generating and implementing solutions to shift staff hours and free up funding to serve the City’s growing needs in yard waste collection. For example, a pilot program in the downtown area was eliminated because it was no longer cost-effective, and the collection of white paper from local businesses was streamlined into the City’s

Solid Waste Services Department wins 2017 Productivity Improvement Award

regular recycling program. In addition, corrugated cardboard collection was scaled back to one collection per week as research showed few businesses needing extra collection. Lastly, the department recommended collecting bulky waste every-other-week in an attempt to avoid additional costs in the City’s contract with Waste Pro, driven by an increase in volume.

Solid Waste Project Manager Lonnie Bulger and Solid Waste Director Brian Moore received the 2017 Productivity Improvement Award on behalf of the department at the November City Council meeting.

These changes were staff driven and resulted in a savings of $75,669 annually, a cost avoidance of $124,000 resulting from the every-otherweek collection of bulky waste and the creation/shift of 1,456 hours of staff time that can now be dedicated to the increasing needs associated with yard waste collection.

Solid Waste Services has won the Productivity Improvement Award three of the last six years. With a strong dedication to keeping costs low, avoiding future costs, and making the department as efficient as possible, the Solid Waste Department also maintains a high level of service to our customers. The City of Concord recognizes and appreciates these staff members for their commitment to efficiency and our Core Values. concordnc.gov • WINTER 2018 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • 11

Quarterly

High Performers Congratulations to the following coworkers who were selected as quarterly High Performers: Concern for the Individual • Customer Focus Fair and Equitable Service • Professional Service

Aviation: Sandy Reynolds

Effective Communication • Taking Ownership Timeliness • Teamwork • Great Service Recovery

High Five recognizes coworkers who make a difference.

Each day City of Concord coworkers are focused on providing the services needed to keep our community moving forward. We believe that coworkers who are delivering excellent service deserve timely and effective recognition by their team members, managers, and the community. We invite you to help us recognize one or more of our coworkers who have provided excellent service.

These nine principles help us deliver a high level of quality services.

There are three ways to submit your recognitions: 1 Call 704-920-6400 to submit your acknowledgment via the telephone.

2 Complete the online form at concordnc.gov/high5 3C omplete a paper form found one of the following public facilities: City Hall; Academy Recreation Center; Brown Operations Center; Concord Regional Airport; Fire Stations 3, 7, 8, and 9; Housing Department Office; Police Headquarters; Rider Transit Center.

FREE CPR TRAINING AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC Equip yourself.

Empower yourself.

Transit: Charlotte Thatch Water: R icky Tucker, JC Whitley, Brett Clayton, Thomas Gabriel High Performers were selected from among the high five nominations received from the past quarter (July-September 2017). These recognitions best demonstrate “going above and beyond” in providing excellent customer service or events that best embody one or more of the 9 Principles of Excellent Customer Service. These co-workers were honored at a special lunch event in November. The City of Concord is recognized for having dedicated employees who are committed to providing excellent service.

Thank you for helping us recognize our best!

The Concord Fire Department, in partnership with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, offers Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training free of charge to the public. While not providing official certification, the program will educate the public in the lifesaving skill of CPR. The classes are offered selected Friday evenings from 6-8 p.m. in Fire Station Community Rooms.

2018 CPR TRAINING SCHEDULE

February 9 April 20 June 29 July 27 August 24 October 12

Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire

Station Station Station Station Station Station

8 9 9 9 9 9

Participants in this class will learn the fundamentals of adult and infant CPR, and how to use an automatic electronic defibrillator. The latest research indicates that hands-only CPR can double or triple the chances of survival for victims of cardiac incidents. Meanwhile, 70 percent of Americans feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency, because they do not know how to administer CPR or are afraid of hurting the victim.

12 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • WINTER 2018 • concordnc.gov

Visit concordnc.gov or call 704-920-5516 to learn more and register.

Community and Rotarians celebrate new playground for Housing residents The Concord Rotary Club’s latest service project was funding a playground for Concord Housing Department community members. Community members, Rotarians, and City officials gathered on Thursday, November 16 to celebrate. To see pictures from the event, visit the City's Facebook Page, or learn more about the Concord Rotary Club's service projects at concordrotary.com.

concordnc.gov • WINTER 2018 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • 13

From Manager’s Notes continued from page 3

dedicated elected officials working together toward common goals with respect for each other and staff, even when they disagreed on a particular direction. That has been refreshing to me. It has provided a professional environment to work and do business during a time when many other governing entities have struggled with civility and the inability to provide leadership that produces results.

Special thanks go to recently retired Mayor Scott Padgett.

He was the Mayor for sixteen of the nearly twenty years I have been City Manager. Every municipal manager will tell you the Mayor’s style will impact the role and workload of the City Manager. The Mayor can also make it difficult for the Manager if he or she does not respect the statutory responsibilities of the City Manager. Mayor Padgett had a great understanding of the Manager’s role, and supported me and all staff in trying to do good work. His untiring efforts in providing leadership and being so accessible to individuals and groups in our community always made my job easier.

I would have a lesser feeling of accomplishment if we did not have a great team of coworkers working on the front lines.

While the City Manager is sitting in an office, or meeting with citizens or business operators, or making presentations, there are hundreds of coworkers out in our City delivering the services that make or break a municipal organization.

One customer interaction gone wrong can frame the perception of any organization, regardless of who leads it.

14 • CONCORD CITY CIRCULAR • WINTER 2018 • concordnc.gov

No service organization is always perfect, but our coworkers have remained focused on customer service, worked hard, and learned from mistakes when things did not go as planned. I am proud of the coworkers that have worked for the City since 1998 and I thank them.

I also express my appreciation to those that have served on our management team over the years, including deputy and

City of Concord Important Phone Numbers

From Manager’s Notes continued from page 14

assistant managers and department heads. The department heads have been charged with not only being functional experts in their fields, but also providing leadership and managing their departments consistent with our core values. These fine people and the coworkers in their departments have always made me look good, particularly with their creativity in meeting the service needs of a growing community. These department heads, and assistants/deputies such as Tim Lowder, Jim Greene, Jim Hipp, Merl Hamilton and Lloyd Payne, have always provided me with honest feedback and sound recommendations that made decision making easier.

Finally, I have to thank my family. My wife Julie has been by my side the entire time. When they were living at home, my son Andrew and my daughter Erin also had to put up with me during my career in local government. Julie, Andrew, and Erin have always been supportive and understanding when I have been in meetings or in the office nights or weekends. I owe a great deal of any success I have had to them.

I ask the Concord community to continue to be engaged with your local governments. These are the units of government closest to the people that are often the catalyst for new ideas and carry the responsibility for measurable results in our current world. I certainly feel good about Concord as the most recent election once again involved several strongly qualified candidates seeking to provide leadership to have an impact in their town. I congratulate new Mayor Bill Dusch and new Council Members Terry Crawford and JC McKenzie. While there is so much focus on the politics of government at the Federal and State levels, local governments have to be accountable and attentive based on community needs, and not on divisive pundits or spin masters. If positive change is going to occur, more than likely the idea that brings about that change will be birthed at the local level and not through a Federal or State mandate.

Fire, Police, Medical Emergencies . . . . 911 Customer Care Center . . . . . 704-920-5555 Call the Customer Care Center for service requests and inquiries about any of the following: • Electric Outages/Services • Water/Sewer Emergencies • Dead Animal Pick-up • Drinking Water Inquiries • Garbage/Bulk Pick-up/Recycling • Utility Bills • Street/Traffic Light Issues • Right-of-Way Issues • Storm Water/Storm Drain/Flooding Problems • Yard Waste/Leaf Collection • Building Material Disposal • Bulk Metal Collection • Old Tire Collection • Vacant Lot Cleaning/Mowing You can also fax our Customer Care team at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-6953 The primary phone numbers for the various City departments are: Main Switchboard . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5200 Buildings & Grounds . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5380 City Clerk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5205 City Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5215 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5580 Concord Regional Airport . . . . . . 704-920-5900 Electric Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5320 Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5425 Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5220 Fire Department Administration . . 704-920-5516

COURTESY OF: MICHAEL A. ANDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Fleet Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5430 Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-6100 Human Resources . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5100 Meter Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5219 City Manager Brian Hiatt, Deputy City Manager Merl Hamilton, and former Mayor Scott Padgett at the 2017 Candy Crawl with Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose (Customer Care Supervisor Angela Britt), Slash (City Clerk Kim Deason), and the Queen of Hearts (Senior Planner Starla Rogers).

Parks & Recreation . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5600 Planning & Community Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5152 Police (non-emergency) . . . . . . . 704-920-5000 Public Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5210 Purchasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5440 Rider Transit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-7433 Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5111 Rocky River Golf Club . . . . . . . . . 704-455-1200 Solid Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5361 Tax Collector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5216 TTY/North Carolina Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711 Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5362 Water Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5337 Zoning/Permits . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704-920-5152

concordnc.gov

THANK YOU

to our sponsors and all who attended the

P.O. Box 308 Concord, NC 28026

20th annual

City of Concord Tree Lighting and Fireworks!

Sponsored

by:

Concord Mobile Care

concordnc.gov

You can now report pot holes, street light malfunctions, and many other non-emergency issues to the City using your smartphone.

Visit our City’s website where you’ll find a wealth of information. Pay bills online, access government and City departments, and discover what’s going on in Concord.

Visit concordnc.gov to learn about and download the Concord Mobile Care app for your android or iOS device, or access the web-version on any other device, including PC and laptop computers.