Concord council approves incentives, contracts and code changes; hears parks, downtown and storm briefings

Concord City Council on Jan. 9 approved a package of economic incentives, contracts and local code amendments and heard progress reports on bond-funded parks projects, the downtown streetscape and preparations for an approaching winter storm.

The council voted on multiple consent and action items after staff briefings. Key approvals included tax-incentive agreements for prospective businesses, city code amendments affecting subdivision/site-plan requirements and the water/wastewater code, procurement awards for electric-system work and a technology contract to upgrade the council chamber audio and video systems.

Why it matters: The approvals clear contracts and incentives that city staff say will advance economic development, complete long-running capital projects and modernize council-room technology used for public meetings. Staff also briefed the council on near-term weather risks that could affect city operations and the timing of construction work downtown.

Votes at a glance

- Economic development grant (3-year / 50% tax-based incentive) to Custom Ingredients (DBA Custom Flavors) to locate at 79557975 West Wind Boulevard NW — motion moved and seconded; public hearing opened and closed; council approved the offering and contract (vote: voice/hand-raise; no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript).

- Economic development grant (1-year / 85% tax-base incentive) — public hearing opened and closed; council approved moving forward with the 85% grant (vote: voice/hand-raise; no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript).

- Text amendment to amend Article 5 (subdivision/site-plan construction plans) — public hearing held; council adopted statement of reasonableness and consistency and approved the text amendment.

- Ordinance amendment to Chapter 62 (water and wastewater utility code) — council approved the amendment (consent item tied to prior zoning/code amendments).

- Rename private street Stowe Lane to Team Hendrick Way — council approved the name change.

- Interlocal agreement with the City of Kannapolis for construction of a structural sign and landscaping — council authorized the city to proceed and committed $364,000 toward the project.

- Two procurement awards for electric delivery upgrades at Delivery 3: contract to WESCO for $111,102 and contract to Siemens (Siemens Energy) for $765,860 — both recommended as lowest responsible bidders and approved by council.

- Procurement award to Virginia Transformer Corporation for work at Sub H in the amount of $1,430,800 — council approved the award.

- Contract authorization for information technology upgrades in the council chamber: authorization to enter a replacement and upgrade contract with Clark Powell for $116,165 to replace cameras, add views, install new wireless microphones and upgrade hearing-impaired receivers — council approved the request.

- Preliminary applications for water/sewer service outside city limits (several parcels: 7 Mary Circle; 5321 Zion Church Road; 5170 Almond Drive) — council accepted the preliminary applications and the staff recommendation to exclude annexation where sewer was unavailable.

(Transcript shows motions, seconds and a standard "all in favor, raise your hand" vote for each item; the record did not include a roll-call vote list in the meeting transcript provided.)

Parks and bond projects: what staff reported

Sheila, a Parks & Recreation staff member, gave the monthly bond projects update and reported that the bond program remains within budget despite two small increases (investment earnings and project cost estimates). She said Dorton Park is nearing completion and a new playground will be installed near the tennis courts in February. Staff secured permits to bid the Coddle Creek stream restoration after a bank collapse and expect the restoration to take about 60 days, weather permitting.

Sheila described progress on multiple projects: Academy Gibson Aquatic Center (materials ordered, plan compliance work ongoing), Marvin Caldwell Park (site mobilization and stormwater work under way), the Jim Ramsor Park driveway permit and associated easement with NCDOT and a temporary construction easement on Cox Mill High School property that Cabarrus County approved; Academy Gibson fields and skatepark/pump track remain in design and are planned for spring/summer council action and later bids. Several other parks (Dave Phillips, Hartsall Park, Poplar Tent trailhead, Wilson Street, Flow and the Academy Recreation Center) are at various design or permitting stages.

Downtown streetscape progress and timeline

Kaylee, who presented the downtown streetscape update, said the project has completed temporary road striping, sidewalks south of Corbin Avenue and full light-pole installation including festoon towers and string lights. Remaining work includes wire pulling and fiber installation, drilling for flag holders, drinking-fountain installation (weather-dependent), brick paver placement, and milling/paving from Corbin Avenue to Ford Avenue once temperatures permit.

Kaylee noted a few installation constraints tied to temperature: the thermoplastic striping and some crosswalk/compass markings require surface temperatures of at least 50 degrees, so those features are likely to be completed in spring. She said the centerpiece compass at Cabarrus Avenue will be 24 feet in diameter and may require a temporary road closure for installation. Kaylee also reported on parking occupancy counts: the city deck averaged about 72% occupancy, the county deck about 48%, and combined occupancy about 56% at a sample count taken the first Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m.

The county courthouse plaza received a North Carolina Main Street award for best public building improvement, a result council members praised as reflecting coordination between county and city design and construction teams. Council and staff said a spring grand-opening is planned but no date has been set.

Winter-storm briefing and road treatment policy

Ian, the city's emergency management director, said he had consulted the National Weather Service and that a winter storm warning was in effect for the Concord area; the forecast called for sleet and freezing rain beginning Friday afternoon into Saturday morning with 1–2 inches of snow and up to a quarter-inch of ice, which "could result in isolated power outages and very icy road conditions." He cautioned residents: "If you do not need to be on the roads Friday night or Saturday morning, please stay home." Ian said departments were preparing with staffing adjustments, fuel and supplies, brine application on bare-pavement routes, and on-call crews.

Philip (city staff) described the city's bare-pavement routes as the major corridors the city treats or coordinates with NCDOT to treat — routes that reach hospitals and high-ADT corridors (for example, Concord Mills Boulevard and George Lyles Drive). He explained why icy conditions are more challenging than snow: plow blades initially skip over ice and brine has limited time-of-effectiveness before wash-off and refreeze, which can create black-ice hazards when temperatures fall again.

Council chamber technology upgrade

Mike, the city's information technology director, outlined the proposal to authorize the city manager to contract with Clark Powell for $116,165 to upgrade the council dais cameras, add high-resolution 4K camera views, replace dais touch monitors, install wireless microphones with voting-base units (enabling optional electronic voting) and improve audio equalization and hearing-impaired receivers. He said the expected implementation timeline is about six weeks from start to finish and emphasized the need for training and controlled staging so meetings can continue while the work is performed. "This will... improve functionality, reliability and accessibility," Mike said, adding that the upgrade would transform the chamber into a Microsoft Teams room and make in-room presentations interactive for remote viewers.

Public art and housing updates

The Public Art Commission presented an annual workplan and schedule of projects, including the downtown streetscape temporary art show (murals and sculptures), a transit bus-wrap project, the Les Meyers tennis-wall mural, a mural assistance grant program (matching grants up to $2,500), an airport wall-art project, and future gateway and park-focused proposals. The commission requested city funding targets for these efforts (examples cited: $30,000 for streetscape sculpture rotations and $30,000 for an airport wall piece) and asked the council to consider funding and scheduling as project designs firm up.

We Build Concord staff announced a ribbon-cutting for the Lincoln Street Townhomes on Jan. 15 (program about 11 a.m.), with the first resident expected to move in the same week.

Next steps and follow-up

Staff will finalize contract documents for the awarded bids and interlocal agreement with Kannapolis, proceed with the Clark Powell technology contract upon authorization, and continue permitting and bidding for parks and downtown work. Emergency management staff said they will push additional storm-preparedness briefings as updated forecasts arrive. A council member asked staff to provide training sessions on the new dais touch screens and voting displays once installed.

Council actions were recorded as motions with seconds and decided by voice/hand-raise; individual roll-call tallies were not listed in the provided transcript.

Ending

Council members praised staff coordination on downtown work and the county courthouse award, thanked emergency-management personnel for the storm preparations and urged residents to avoid travel if possible during the forecasted event.