[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6641968,"mediaKeyId","3424872-983bf1a97763c868a4726d46fc6a8d47","parentId",3424872,"title","High Point plans online pilot store for new city merchandise; proceeds and model still under review","audioSeconds",196,"startMs",2585000,"endMs",2781000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3424872-983bf1a97763c868a4726d46fc6a8d47&start=2585&end=2781","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3424872-983bf1a97763c868a4726d46fc6a8d47/thumbnail_2585000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6641968/High-Point/Guilford-County/North-Carolina/High-Point-plans-online-pilot-store-for-new-city-merchandise-proceeds-and-model-still-under-review","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6641968-b28092c5dceb070e0d3b2981d32b7ca6/orig.mp4?Expires=1775067526&Signature=gSnuvYcM5ikUaX-31TUhnXPq4RuykCdJwLX4ljEDGoKiizwmOfATIfTsG4xgK0RgkOzUZ1ZhzeO16wL2tkecGPI6OeG3PsCJBSXCXEtHZmABfo18~RUuZkbjoz2n2Ae1jjjAPPDtgb~TY8wQp6GJxSRkAf8iSsG3GEsk~6y-0SKn~0O5sGkb7HKDJ~sNZagV4W9KinTfSkoQsbaisafq7r7Twihnek6LGJtEObgsQGqqSx4Jj-bjI942lLw9cM-IelAbMaZZKX-IVclJIvNnNnmDQSbJCpjKsnIcu9SDTpoadFoJvOq0dnLQ11ZBG1Uryz2TeRuyW3Bv3~tIl8NjCQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","High Point","date","2025-05-21T09:00:00Z","article","Managing Director Jaron Hollis briefed the Transparency, Engagement and Communication Committee on May 21 on plans for a city merchandise store tied to the city’s new visual identity.

Hollis said residents have shown demand for branded items that use the city’s secondary mark (an “HDOT” secondary mark staff displayed), and the city is exploring a third‑party vendor to manage online orders and inventory. “At this point, we're looking at a third quarter of this year launch, for the store. And we're finalizing the vendor selection and the item offerings for the community,” Hollis said.

Hollis told the committee the city is coordinating with finance and legal staff on platform and inventory models, and that the pilot will start with an online platform though physical retail partnerships remain a possibility later. When asked about net proceeds, Hollis said the city has discussed several models but has not finalized how proceeds from sales would be handled.

Committee members suggested options such as partnerships with local retailers and airport or visitor centers; Hollis said the initiative will remain flexible as the pilot collects demand data and vendor responses.

No formal action or vote was taken during the item.

Hollis framed the store as an extension of a successful branding rollout in which residents have shown strong interest in city merchandise.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Transparency, Engagement, and Communications Meeting | 5-21-25 | 9:00 a.m.","oneSentenceSummary","Managing Director Jaron Hollis told the committee the city will pilot an online store for merchandise featuring a secondary mark of the new city brand, with a tentative third-quarter launch; staff and vendors are still working through vendor selection, inventory and how to manage net proceeds.","taxTitle","High Point, Guilford County, North Carolina","taxId",4908,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6641973,"UNC 'Lead for North Carolina fellow summarizes year of projects including Citizens Academy and microtransit",559,1984000,2543000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3424872-983bf1a97763c868a4726d46fc6a8d47&start=1984&end=2543","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3424872-983bf1a97763c868a4726d46fc6a8d47/thumbnail_1984000.jpg","/articles/6641973/High-Point/Guilford-County/North-Carolina/UNC-Lead-for-North-Carolina-fellow-summarizes-year-of-projects-including-Citizens-Academy-and-microtransit","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6641973-3d9f4bb285926eb2fbad087999a9adeb/orig.mp4?Expires=1775067526&Signature=lEqr5v0T5Zp4I0HVdDf2TdXNyKxXhdUDWsjZz9tfVz5QzvvYZiM1M5jBSMX7iitqknTGvuwkZEOcGAZ~zzcZZjWJu1y3GIG6Bw0ShKbUrTIHhp0wMwf4r9GHWIE8DR9XHbFAbPOd9Cmo8k8FQIfZJ8zW8oExVf8kdTLLWyRy-vx3d8LAzau3i6xZuL~zesSxCTrGhQXAxZffWxbXhrXc5LEl-RXWrZ024Yr0N9~VLzihO5VDZ~VZK2efnilBjT1iR8e7MZRLozFe6v~01PkrgAK9fmtQ-~B8C7FxbLNuqMN7Dnr1nOMS4wL5l-ucPlUkN3Og3C7j5RdZIBlP5WIE6Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Carla Huggins, a Lead for North Carolina fellow working in High Point under a UNC School of Government fellowship, presented a year-in-review to the Transparency, Engagement and Communication Committee on May 21.

Huggins said her fellowship runs from Aug. 1 through June 30 and places recent graduates in local governments for 11 months. She described three major projects: a city Citizens Academy (branded High 0.101), a supplemental microtransit service (HBTS Go), and participation in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative work stream focused on furniture and design economic opportunities.

The Citizens Academy work began with a listening tour and research on academy models. Huggins told the committee she developed an eight-week model with 13 participating departments and spent months coordinating departmental sessions, application materials and session goals so the program can launch in September.

On microtransit, Huggins said she researched national and North Carolina models, helped workshop operations and policy details with transit leadership, and supported the service that went live in early April. She described HBTS Go as a supplemental service that does not replace fixed routes but extends service for residents with limited access, including curb-to-curb pick-ups and connections to existing bus routes. She said staff prepared a frequently asked questions page covering fares, booking, equipment and policies.

Huggins also summarized High Point staff participation in the Bloomberg Harvard program, noting a cross‑departmental team has spent months on classes, ideation and interviews to advance the mayor’s priority to expand year‑round economic opportunities tied to furniture and design.

Huggins thanked city staff for access to meetings and data and said she looks forward to continued work; the committee offered praise for her contributions. No formal action or vote was taken on her presentation.

Huggins’s presentation identified the Lead for North Carolina program as an AmeriCorps initiative housed at the UNC School of Government and said her cohort included 38 fellows serving host sites across the state.","Carla Huggins, the city's Lead for North Carolina fellow placed at High Point, briefed the committee on a year of work: a listening tour, preparations for a fall Citizens Academy, and the launch of a supplemental microtransit service called HBTS Go.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6641978,"High Point outlines phased rollout, pilot and customer tools for new advanced metering system",1684,262000,1946000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3424872-983bf1a97763c868a4726d46fc6a8d47&start=262&end=1946","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3424872-983bf1a97763c868a4726d46fc6a8d47/thumbnail_262000.jpg","/articles/6641978/High-Point/Guilford-County/North-Carolina/High-Point-outlines-phased-rollout-pilot-and-customer-tools-for-new-advanced-metering-system","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6641978-1805d8e067ebf12daa26a56d5633ee40/orig.mp4?Expires=1775067526&Signature=NhQfUfj~4TeL3LZh-mten2GR4pfgVbBagoSRodfmu2T3e3burEVZukmykZFTB9n~tdGTx4nZ5fbrDnn1Xj6AlLG2fNpUiAzLXSF~XBxAr6xmgjgJmuCh7ZwwyBFBd02CsOcytOA9rYjiR20lxc-WSdWwufnzhAfe2nd5Mzfp3QM3LrbMvpqfZyfV~7nvxXyENRc38ZFk~xYkaQ6JiEYIBQJxPtfstk8uiAKCGtZfA~9~ILXBKMvlxJiUtCpe5DR0kcyUTLtsXWosauNyU4rL-5xo0veJXyYFteXLDOeoZwmJVVW55O98tg9ltk0WzEkFi8RXJxUHEYRVstiib3Woxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jeremy Coble, High Point’s customer service director, told the Transparency, Engagement and Communication Committee on May 21 that the city is nearing the launch of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure program to provide two-way communication between utility meters and the city.

Coble said the city will begin with an initial deployment area of approximately 500 customers to validate the system and correct remaining configuration issues before broader installation. “Once these are done, and they will be very soon, we will then roll out on our initial deployment area of approximately 500 customers,” Coble said.

The nut of the proposal is immediate customer access to near real-time hourly water and electric usage through a portal the city will deploy. Coble said the portal (the vendor software is called Silver Blaze) will include hourly and daily consumption graphs, year-over-year overlays and exportable CSV data for tech-savvy users. He also described tailored alerts customers can set for high usage and timely leak detection that will let the city and customers spot abnormal consumption sooner than the current monthly-read model.

Coble framed several operational benefits: improved first-contact resolution at the call center, automated remote reconnections for electric service (the city will still perform manual water reconnections), and targeted outage and service-area messaging by drawing geographic areas on a map. “This will allow us to proactively see where some of these leaks are occurring. We can notify the customer,” he said.

On scale and cost, Coble estimated the overall program at about $20 million to $22 million, saying “a large portion of that, over half, is actually the electric meter themselves.” He said the electric department is integrating the AMI meters into its ongoing meter replacement program to reduce incremental cost impacts.

Coble described technical volume and staffing expectations: the system’s backend will receive roughly 9,000,000 data points per day, and the city has already hired an internal staffer for a data analytics team to work directly with high‑usage commercial customers and produce automated reports.

Committee members pressed on timeline and coverage. Coble said electric-meter installation will begin this summer and the full electric deployment is expected to take about 18 to 20 months once it starts. He acknowledged integration complexity in parts of the service territory served by other utilities (he named Duke and United Energy), noting pole‑attachment and contractual work remains for about 70 poles with Duke. A propagation study showed roughly 400 customers “so far out” that AMI signals are unlikely to reach without expensive additional infrastructure; those customers will keep existing radio reads (AMR) unless an alternate cellular-equipped meter option is chosen.

Coble also offered several usage and customer-service details: the city has about 35,851 customers signed up for text messaging so far; the call center fields roughly 20,000 calls per month and the most frequent inquiry is balance and due date; AMI will enable text-based outage reports and geotargeted messages; and automated electric reconnections will reduce field‑crew exposure and workload.

On questions of solar and customer-owned generation integration, Coble declined to answer on the spot and said he would coordinate with the electric department, which he described as the subject‑matter experts.

Committee Chair Councilman Michael Holmes thanked Coble for the presentation; no formal action or vote was taken during the meeting.

Coble closed by reading a project vision statement he keeps in his office: “At High Point, we have established a rich legacy defined by quality, innovation and a dedication to the community… Our foremost objective is to modernize our utilities ensuring a safe and sustainable environment while fostering economic growth and prosperity through responsible resource management.”","City staff presented an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) rollout plan that includes an initial 500-customer pilot, hourly usage data in a customer portal, automated outage and leak alerts, and an estimated $20–$22 million total cost largely for electric meter hardware.","actionData","errors"]

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High Point plans online pilot store for new city merchandise; proceeds and model still under review

UNC 'Lead for North Carolina fellow summarizes year of projects including Citizens Academy and microtransit

High Point outlines phased rollout, pilot and customer tools for new advanced metering system