Councilman Tony Wood (left), Councilwoman Charlotte Williams (center) and Mayor Hank Guess go through the agenda at Tuesday's Hickory City Council meeting.
The Hickory City Council voted to allot more than $274,220 in federal COVID-19 relief funding to help people who have been affected by the pandemic.
The receipt of the additional funds required the city to update its Community Development Block Grant annual action plan.
The city previously used $194,000 in funding to partner with Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry to help people affected by the pandemic pay utility bills.
Kevin's Memorable Stories of 2020
A rainstorm that claimed the lives of six Alexander County residents. An explosion at a hydrogen plant that shook the homes and psyches of a neighborhood. A visit from the president in the waning days of the campaign.
These are a few of the memorable stories from reporter Kevin Griffin that appeared in the Hickory Daily Record in 2020. Read through the stories below to revisit these important moments for the Hickory area.
Damage from heavy rainfall has imposed a financial and psychological burden on residents across Hickory. These residents said they have been f…
In the weeks after an explosion occurred at a hydrogen plant in their neighborhood, Long View residents talked about the lingering damage to t…
The decision to lay off several employees in the parks department as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic drew an angry response from some reside…
President Donald Trump chose the Hickory Regional Airport as the site of one of his final campaign rallies before Election Day. He spoke to an…
Six people, including a 1-year-old boy, were killed in Alexander County as a result of severe flooding in November. The storm caused widesprea…
Karen Dickerson, Hickory's community development manager, said the city hopes to continue that utility assistance with the new funding but also hopes to expand into areas like rental, mortgage and energy payment assistance.
“(The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) doesn’t tell you what to do with your money but they suggested that you really look at emergency payments and subsistence payments to try to help the individuals that are really suffering in the community,” Dickerson said.
The city will use $246,800 on the assistance and roughly $27,400 to administer the program, Dickerson said.
She said the city hopes to continue working with the ministry on the initiatives, but the council would need to approve contracts for those arrangements.
The vote was unanimous. Mayor Hank Guess and council members Danny Seaver, David Zagaroli, David Williams, Charlotte Williams and Tony Wood were present. Councilwoman Jill Patton participated in the meeting via Zoom.
Kevin Griffin is the city of Hickory reporter at the Hickory Daily Record.
