Shelby-May 17, 2022 (Primary Election Day) at the Cleveland County Commissioner’s Meeting!!!
Robert A. was the only “Citizen” present. Except for the American Legion “Honor Guard” who led the Pledge of Allegiance ceremony and Shelby City Council member Andrew Hopper. And maybe a few who might have been watching the video live broadcast. Perhaps they should count too.
This Commissioner’s Meeting, being on the 2022 Primary Election Day, this Commissioner’s meeting agenda was relatively short as everyone wanted to go to the Shelby Uptown Fire station and watch the live feed of election results/ It is an old tradition. (Robert A. also attended the gathering at the Fire station.) The Agenda included only two items on the Regular Agenda portion and only one Commissioner’s Board Appointment. Which was the last order of business. We will start with that last item.
The Commissioner’s Board Appointments were for the Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees. The Commissioners had two appointments to make and the General Assembly Has one appointment this year. The Commissioner’s Appointments were for the positions currently held by Wes Westmoreland and Chris Monroe. The General Assembly Appointment will be for the position presently held by Wayne King.
Of course, EVERYBODY remembers the Robert “Luke” Queen debacle last year, where the Commissioners DID NOT re-appoint Robert “Luke” Queen to the Community College Board, and the Rogue Republican, Wes Westmoreland, Dennis Bailey, Rev. Dr. Lamont Littlejohn, and others “sneaked up” on Senator Ted Alexander and had Alexander re-appoint Queen to the Community College Board of Trustees. NOOOooobody has forgotten about that. Robert A. has previously recommended the Commissioners get rid of every CCC BoT member, over time, until they are all replaced with reliable people that are not Republican elitist Snub-licans.
And, guess what, Wes Westmoreland and Chris Monroe are gone from the CCC BoTs now. The Commissioners appointed Anthony “Tony” Berry and Kenneth Ledford without discussion. Of course, Westmoreland has been going around town, like Luke Queen did, saying he didn’t want to “serve” another term on the CCC BoTs anyway. Many, including Robert A. believe Wes Westmoreland never “served” CCC to begin with. He only served himself and his own oversized EGO by being in a position of power over others he looked down upon. No word yet on who the General Assembly has or will appoint for the ”open” Wayne King position on the CCC Board of Trustees. We will find out soon enough and let you know.
Looking at the CCC BoT list, Dennis Bailey, Craig DeBrew and Larry Hamrick’s positions on the CCC Board of Trustees are up for re-appointment about this time next year. Robert A. recommends the Commissioners and the General Assembly continue cleaning house. That way a full half of the BoTs will be gotten rid of. And with Commissioner Kevin Gordon still on the CCC BoT’s, these present Commissioners will have a 7-5 majority. Enough to put Cleveland Community College on the right track. ONCE and FOR ALL!!!
Item A on the Regular Agenda: Solid Waste Residential Curbside Pickup Franchise Agreement
Folks, The Solid Waste Franchise has been on Robert A.’s “Radar Scope” for around 30-plus years. Robert A. says this Solid Waste Franchise is about the closest thing to a self-designed opportunity for political graft and corruption that he has EVER SEEN. It’s been “a license to steal” from the git-go. And a perfect hiding place for all kinds of criminal enterprise under the Health Department where everything is kept secret, to begin with. Corruption is camouflaged as management incompetence. Corruption is camouflaged by enforced silence. Plus, a little sexual “hanky-panky” cover-up to boot.
Oh! the sexual cover-ups. It seems there is always sexual cover-up among so many other cover-ups. From the Trash Dump to the School Board, through and around DSS and CCC. And about everywhere in between. Lawsuits too. Will it ever stop??? Apparently not anytime soon. And nobody is held accountable. Maybe a few, a very few at the highest levels are let go. Some with great and well-talked fanfare. Only to undergo a complete Public Relations makeover where those caught were officially allowed to “resign” in such a way that all pay and benefits are maintained. Leaving the harassed women and retaliating against men caught up in a legal battle against city hall. Where the taxpayers pay the offender’s, lawyer bills.
But Robert A. needs to get to the point of the topic at hand. The Solid Waste Franchise Agreement was unanimously approved at the May 17, 2022, Commissioner’s Meeting. Writing this article, is a book about the long history of Corruption in Cleveland County NC since 1841.
The “Republic” solid waste company has had an exclusive Franchise with Cleveland County for a long time. An Exclusive Franchise means a company has the exclusive rights to perform some service at whatever price they want to charge their customers. And nobody else can perform that service. And, if anyone else does perform that service, the local government will enforce sanctions upon the usurpers who do NOT have the Franchise. It seems like a little legalized price-fixing and discouragement of free enterprise to many observers.
In this particular case, Republic would keep an exclusive franchise on hauling solid waste from “commercial” customers and other waste haulers could bid on hauling waste for county-wide residential curbside trash pickup.
At this point, Robert A. must add that he has often complained to governmental officials that he and the rest of the public have been kept in the dark about such items before they are acted upon by those governmental bodies. Keeping all of the citizens of Cleveland County in the dark about what the government officials are about to do, so the public will NOT be able to offer public comment during the public participation part of the meeting agenda. In particular, Robert A has again made this very same complaint at the past two Commissioner’s meetings.
Only, this time, regarding this Solid Waste Franchise Agreement, Robert A had received a “leaked” copy of the Request for Proposal for the “Collection of Curbside Residential Solid Waste” for Cleveland County, NC” in advance of this May 17, 2022, Commissioner’s meeting. As usual, Robert A inspected this 9-page document closely. Especially Page 5, which showed a map of all of Cleveland County that had been divided into four zones. Each Zone contained essentially the same number of households.
Zone 1, the largest zone, included all of Cleveland County above Highway 182 and half of Cleveland county down to almost Shelby and East to the Gaston County Line. This represents the most rural part of Cleveland County where the residences are much farther apart.
Zone 2. Included the Moss Lake Area, all of Kings Mountain, and Grover South of Highway 150 down to the South Carolina Line and about halfway East between Kings Mountain and Shelby. Much smaller than Zones 1 and 4.
Zone 3 Included the just North of the City of Shelby down to the South Carolina Line and between Zones 1. 3 and 4. Much smaller than Zones 1 and 4. With about the same number of households.
Zone 4. the second largest zone, included the Eastern part of Cleveland County below Highway 182 and West of Lawndale, all the way down to the South Carolina line. Also mostly rural where the residences are also farther apart.
Looking at this map, several things were obvious.
1.Collecting residential solid waste in Zones 2 and 3 would be the most profitable. The households are closer together and less travel means large savings in fuel consumption. Not to mention paying employees for “riding around” time.
2.Collecting residential solid waste in Zones 1 and 4 would include the most road travel. And with fuel prices skyrocketing, the most costly by far. Lots of employee time spent “riding around.”