Norfolk Southern Train Derailment - Bullet Dodged, Disaster Averted

Residents of the Town of Cramerton are still dealing with the fallout from a Norfolk Southern train derailment Monday afternoon.  Story here from the Gaston Gazette.

Fortunately, nothing catostrophic happened when over 30 train cars derailed in town - including highly flamable petrolium tankers.  The small town of a little more than 4000 in Gaston County has a train line running through the middle of it - a setup that should sound familiar to Davidson residents.

Something to considder as supporters continue pursuing the Red Line Regional Rail project with its proposed increased freight traffic through the towns of North Mecklenburg.

Town Welcomes MSC from Main Street to YouTube

You may have noticed the banners on Main St welcoming MSC to Town, and you might have seen the sales signs welcoming potential homebuyers in Bailey Springs, River Run and other neighborhoods.  However, you might not have seen the Welcome Video up on the Town's Youtube Channel posted under ExploreDavidsonNC.


In case you were wondering who put together the video, per Cristina Shaul, Town Public Information Officer, it was a combined effort of the PIO with volunteer help from rising 9th grader and Boy Scout Jeremy Collier .  The video will be presented at the next Town meeting on August 14th. 

Per the email from Ms Shaul, "MSC, through their relocation company, has been sending large groups of employees down to the area to help them learn more about the region, in order to determine whether or not they will relocate.  We created this video to welcome them to Davidson, share some key aspects of our wonderful community, and highlight our neighborhoods and schools, to help them get the 'lay of the land.'  One of the main reasons MSC picked Davidson is because of our wonderful community, and they are looking forward to being part of it."

Affordable Housing Rules Ignored or Irrelevant to a Revaluation?

Over at DavidsonNews.net there is a piece that poses the question Is assessor ignoring Davidson affordable housing rules?  In an unfortunate situation, there are Davidson homeowners in the Town's affordable housing program who after the last revaluation now have homes assessed for more than they can legally sell them according to the rules that keep the homes "affordable".

The question that should probably be asked is why shouldn't the assessor ignore those rules?

Davidson 4-Year Terms Proposal Withdrawn

In what may seem to be an ironic victory for small-d democracy, during Tuesday's "special meeting" the Davidson Town Board withdrew the resolution that would have put the 4 year terms charter amendment on the ballot this November. 

The Town's current format of two year elected terms for both the Board and Mayor in an at-large setup is the most "democratic" form of government allowed by state law.  The Town's proposal to go to 4-year staggered terms would have reduced the level of small-d democracy by reducing the frequency when an elected official had to face the voters.  It also would have ensured a majority of the board was only on the ballot at one time every 4 years.  In my opinion, neither of these things would be preferable for a small town like Davidson with an active and engaged citizenry.

Without going into the gory details of the arguments for and against this issue that were presented at tonight's meeting, I'll just say I'm glad they made the decision they did.  It was the right thing to do.

DavidsonNews.net article on the meeting.

THIS TUESDAY: Special Meeting on 4 Year Terms & Proposed Ballot Language

Tuesday evening at 5pm the Davidson Board will meet at Townhall to once again discuss 4-year terms.  This meeting came out of the issues posted here last week on this blog.  In an ideal world, the Board would drop this issue.  Between the missed procedural steps and the below examples of proposed ballot language, it is obvious this idea has not been fully thought out.


Initial ballot language received from Town Manager Brice.

Should the ordinance establishing four year staggered terms for the Mayor and Town Board of Commissioners of the Town of Davidson be approved?  ___yes   ___no

Follow-up language from Town Attorney Kline to clarify that this was an actual charter amendment (which indicates that the initial draft language may not have been fully vetted before sending to the Mecklenburg Board of Elections).

Shall the ordinance amending the Charter of the Town of Davidson to change the term of the Board of Commissioners from two year terms to four year staggered terms and changing the term for the Mayor from two years to four years be approved?  ___yes  ___no



Of course, neither one of these allows for separate questions for the Mayor and Board, so ultimately, neither of the above could be the language voters will see in November if this goes forward.

Is Davidson Using Correct Procedure for 4 Year Terms Charter Amendment?

Last year when the issue of 4 Year Staggered Terms was tabled, a big part of rationale for doing so was to get it right.  Unfortunately, with the "resolution of intent" passed at last week's July meeting, the process appears to have gotten off on the wrong foot.

As was reported in DavidsonNews.net last week, questions are still outstanding on "whether the votes for the Mayor’s term and the Commissioners’ terms will be separate, and also how they will determine who gets the first 4-year terms."  Those questions were raised by Commissioners Venzon and Graham about other options on the table other than the one in the resolution of intent presented at the meeting.  When the question was asked of town staff if changes could be made later to consider those other options, the answer was "yes".

The UNC School of Government seems to think otherwise and that may have the proposal in a bind.

Election Fallout Part 2 - NC Senate 41

Watching the election night returns in the new NC Senate 41 district was like watching a train bearing down on a car trapped on the tracks.  You could sense the outcome before it hit even as you hoped it was not going to happen.

John Aneralla held a solid lead in early voting showing strong support among the party faithful, and as precinct after iprecinct reported their results, he held onto that lead.  However, the precincts in Cornelius were holding out until the end.  Then came the crunch.  When the Cornelius vote finally posted, it put Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte over the top.  The Aneralla campaign was not able to get off the tracks to safety.

For state taxpayers, this train analogy could be a recurring theme.