June 17 is National Waste and Recycling Collectors Day, but the City of Statesville plans to celebrate all week long! Join in the celebration by giving an extra wave when a sanitation truck goes by or find your own way to say “thank you” for all these great workers do to keep Statesville safe and clean! The employees of the Sanitation Division were honored recently at a City Council meeting where Mayor Costi Kutteh presented a special proclamation to Kevin Rankins, Sanitation Division Superintendent.

Join us for the 2021 City of Statesville Fireworks Celebration on Saturday, July 3. Launch time is 9:30 p.m. The launch location is the same as in past years - the Signal Hill Mountain Bike Trail area.

Statesville City Council finalized the 2021-2022 budget during Monday’s budget work session, deciding to leave the current tax rate and the $120 annual Solid Waste Fee intact. Council also decided that the proposed 20% increase in water/sewer rates was necessary.

The Statesville Leisure Pool is opening May 29 for the summer season with two swim sessions Monday thru Saturday: an early session, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and a late session, 4-8 p.m. There is only one session on Sundays, 2-6 p.m. The price per session is $5 for ages 1 and up and free for ages under 1. The maximum attendance for each session is 250. Pool admission fees are included with the Annual Membership to the Statesville Fitness and Activity Center. The pool will be open Saturday and Sunday, May 29-30, as well as Memorial Day. It will begin seven-day-a-week operations beginning Saturday, June 5.

The City of Statesville’s Planning Board and Board of Adjustment have upcoming vacancies for residents of the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), which is the unincorporated area generally within three miles outside the City’s primary city limit and subject to zoning and land use regulations. Please contact 704-878-3583 or email anesbit@statesvillenc.net if you would like to know more about these positions or to request a volunteer application form. The forms are also online at www.statesvillenc.net/volunteer.

Two major economic development projects have been announced in Statesville – a $70 million expansion of the current Doosan Bobcat North American manufacturing facility in Statesville and the construction of a new $7.9 million production facility for VPI Quality Windows, a brand of JELD-WEN, a global manufacturer of windows and doors. Along with the investment comes new jobs: for Doosan, it will be 250 new, full-time jobs over the next five years, and for JELD-WEN, it will be 235 jobs.

City Manager Ron Smith presented the proposed 2021-2022 budget to Council Monday, recommending a $118.6 million budget for the next fiscal year. It includes a tax rate increase of just over five cents, elimination of the solid waste fee, and increases to the water and sewer rates. Smith said these recommendations reflect the City’s growth and making sure its needs are addressed now and the future. Continue reading to view Smith’s visual presentation, as well as the proposed budget and budget message. Council will meet May 10 at noon to hear more about the particulars of the budget.

Learn more about the Statesville Civic Center market study to determine the facility's direction at a Virtual Public Forum, on Tuesday, May 4, at 6 p.m. Continue reading to get the meeting link or request the link by emailing kroberts@statesvillenc.net.

The City of Statesville has begun the process of upgrading all its electric and water meters, replacing the old meters with highly accurate, secure, state-of-the art metering technology called Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) or smart meters. Here's what to expect:

The Statesville Fire Department has added another vehicle to its fleet with the recent donation of a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) by Great Western Motorcycles. This unit will be used for rescue situations involving the greenway and other areas that are inaccessible by fire engines and pickup trucks. It will also be used for medical coverage at City events. The SFD is very appreciative of Great Western’s generosity and support of the department’s work.

Welcome Stacey Everette - Statesville's new Human Resources Director. Everette has more than 20 years of human resources experience, most recently serving for over five years as the director of Human Resources for the City of Washington, NC. Before that, most of her human resources management experience was in the private sector, working for several large manufacturing businesses and a national public accounting firm.

Statesville is celebrating its linemen who are a part of our outstanding Electric Utilities Department. There are two Lineworker Appreciation Days in April, so we're going to take the whole month and honor the profession of electrical lineworkers. We encourage all our citizens to join us in celebrating these employees for their service to our city.

The City of Statesville is celebrating April 11-17, 2021 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and taking time to recognize the men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals, and render lifesaving assistance to Statesville citizens every day. Kimberly Arbogast, Division Manager, oversees Statesville’s Communication Center and Records Division which is a part of the Police Department. The division has 2 supervisors and ten telecommunicators. Also housed in this division are the records unit and parking enforcement. In 2020, the division answered 85,551 calls, of which 9,047 were 911 calls. The types of calls range from requests for an escort or welfare check to reporting an accident or serious crime.

Statesville’s first street adoption for its new Adopt-A-Street Program was announced Wednesday during the touching dedication of a portion of Raleigh Ave., adopted in memory of Carlos Livingston, who was hit and killed 15 years ago in that area. City Council Member Frederick Foster initiated the adoption. Carlos’ mother and other family and friends were present for the dedication. “This is a very fitting way to kick off the Adopt-A-Street Program and honor the memory of Carlos,” Foster continued. “My hope is that this small gesture will help us to always remember how Carlos made Statesville a more beautiful place with his smile and friendliness.” Continue reading for more information.

We are excited to be a part of this great loan program that will help small business borrowers who may not have access to traditional resources. Targeting women and minority-owned small businesses, Kiva loans are offered through the Self-Help Credit Union. Statesville City Council provided some start-up money for the program and is looking forward to hearing about the success of local small businesses who take advantage of the program. Here's how to find out more and apply online:

The City of Statesville has completed a study by Raftelis Financial Consultants related to a System Development Fee Report. The report is available for review online for 45 days. Written public comments may be sent to Assistant City Manager Scott Harrell. At the April 19, 2021 City Council meeting, Council will conduct a public hearing on the proposed System Development Fees prior to any action being taken on the recommendations in the report. If adopted, the changes will go into effect immediately. A system development fee is a one-time charge paid by a new customer to recover a portion or all of the cost of constructing water and sewer system capacity. Continue reading for links.

The City of Statesville will receive Bids for the Eastside Taxiway Lighting & Vault at the Airport Terminal Building located at 238 Airport Road, Statesville, NC 28677, until March 16, 2021 at 10:00a.m., at which time all Bids received will be publicly opened and read aloud via virtual meeting. Bidding and Contract documents may be requested from HBoniface@parrishandpartners.com.

Todd Scott, chairman of the Statesville Chapter of the NAACP, (left) was presented a proclamation by Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh, recognizing February as Black History Month. As part of the presentation, Kutteh also told Scott “there is no Statesville history without Black history”. With the Mayor and Scott are Council member Doris Allison, Police Chief David Allison and Council member Frederick Foster. The first African-American to serve on Statesville City Council was A.E. (Pete) Peterson in 1985. Since that time, the following African-American citizens have also served: Willie Williams, Flake Huggins, Keith Williams, Jarrod Phifer, Allison and Foster.

City Council will consider next steps for the development of the Vance Hotel at its meeting Monday, Feb. 15. A Master Development Agreement will be presented which involves selling the hotel property to Rainier Group, LLC, for $47,000 and allowing them to proceed with plans to restore the Vance to a 60-unit hotel. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and can be viewed on cable channel 20 and www.statesvillenc.net/live. Here’s more information on the agreement.

The Statesville Regional Airport is contributing millions of dollars to the local and state economies, as well as supporting hundreds of jobs connected to the operation of the airport, according to a recent report released by the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation. The report contains 2019 data from the state’s network of 72 publicly owned airports, and the aviation and aerospace assets that rely on them. It shows the Statesville airport as having a $139.2 million impact on the economy, including funneling more than $8.7 million to state and local tax revenues.

Statesville native Dr. Thomas H. Marshburn, NASA astronaut, is going back into space. It was announced Monday that Marshburn will serve as pilot for the NASA-SpaceX commercial mission to the International Space Station in the fall of 2021. Statesville is proud to be the hometown of Dr. Marshburn, who has walked in space and spent five months aboard the International Space Station. Many of our welcome signs around Statesville now include that slogan: “Hometown of NASA Astronaut Dr. Thomas H. Marshburn”

Statesville Utility customers have a simple yet powerful way to share the warmth this winter with neighbors in need. It’s called Statesville Connects and this voluntary assistance program allows customers to contribute through their monthly utility bills to aid low income families and people in crisis who need help with their utility payments. Statesville customers can donate in two ways: The Round-up Program is a new method for contributing that allows the customer to “round up” their bill each month to the next highest dollar amount. Customers can also participate by adding a designated contribution on their monthly bill. Separate donations are also accepted.

The City of Statesville has announced its partnership with Retail Strategies, a national retail recruitment firm, to help expand retail development in Statesville. The project involves conducting a detailed analysis of the City’s retail market, creating a strategic plan for recruiting new business and growing existing businesses, and then proactively reaching out to potential businesses and developers. The project will focus on all of Statesville.

The Bloom is back! The Statesville Bloom is part of Iredell County’s public transportation system (ICATS) and runs a fixed route in Statesville, Monday through Friday. The route, along with other fixed routes, have been suspended since March 18 due to COVID-19 but will resume service effective June 22. Schedules are subject to change based on passenger demand and passengers are requested to follow COVID-19 safety protocols, including safe distancing and the use of masks.

The Statesville Recreation and Parks Department is on the route to big things! And we're off to a great start! We're developing a comprehensive plan for the future of our parks, facilities and programs and we need your help. The next community conversation on Tuesday, March 24 at the Bentley Community Center - has been postponed. Click below to learn more!

As of January 2020, Statesville residents and other Benfield Sanitation Services customers (including Mooresville and Troutman) have been instructed to no longer put glass in their recycling bins. Also, Benfield has begun charging municipalities $20 per ton of recycling, whether or not there is glass in the materials. This will cost Statesville $12,000-$13,000 per year. Removing glass from the recycling materials should lower the weight and lower costs. Continue reading for more information on how to recycle right!

Statesville considers itself a dog-friendly community and asks pet owners to help it keep that reputation by obeying the City's leash laws in city parks and greenways

Statesville Electric Utilities has a great rebate program for residential customers who purchase new heat pump systems and/or electric water heaters. The Baileys recently took advantage of the program and got a $400 rebate from the City after installing a new heating and air conditioning unit.