KANNAPOLIS — The Kannapolis City Council voted to reinstate Tom Kincaid back to council with a vote of 3-2 in favor at its Jan. 8 meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Doug Wilson was feeling under the weather and was not there to vote on the matter. 

Kincaid resigned last month from council after mounting pressure due to his involvement as owner of Caremoor Retirement Community, which was being sold to Cooperative Christian Ministry to be turned into a new transitional housing facility. Council had intended to give CCM $3 million of the $9.3 million grant Kannapolis received from the Federal American Rescue Plan Act in 2022, but certain council members would only approve of the funds being transferred if Kincaid resigned. 

Towards the end of the meeting, council member Darrell Jackson first brought up the subject of bringing Kincaid back on. Council members Ryan Dayvault and Dianne Berry thought that it would be best to wait until Wilson returned to formally vote on this, but City Attorney Walter Safrit noted that council was within their legal rights to go ahead with a decision with only five members present. 

Right after the vote, Kincaid was sworn into office by City Clerk Bridgette Bell. When Kincaid took his seat, Berry read a prepared statement from Wilson about his disapproval with the council’s behavior over the last month. Kincaid then made comments from his perspective on how the deal with CCM and his resignation came about. He stated that the $3 million was not directly the city’s money and to him, the most important thing was making sure CCM’s transitional housing facility is operational so that it can assist children and families in need. 

“The way I had to resign really took a toll. They want to talk about how I got back on. What’s the difference in how I come off and how I went back on? It’s politics and sometimes you hate to have to play politics, but you have to do what you have to do,” Kincaid said. “I have no animosity towards anyone. Dayvault, we’ve been friends forever. Like I told him, I hate that I wasn’t able to explain our project before it got into this because I had to recuse myself from all conversations. If they would have known the whole story, I think it would have been a totally different outcome, but I still think a lot of it was personal and we shouldn’t bring our personal feelings to work.” 

Regarding how Kincaid was voted back on to council, Dayvault said that he was “a little surprised by the process and how that happened tonight. I wasn’t expecting that at all. At best, I thought we were going to have a conversation about it…I’m still a little bit in shock.” 

Dayvault said his main priorities are serving Kannapolis the best way the now six-person council can. 

“We have to move forward no matter what because of the people, the town. You can’t let this stop our position to move forward as a city…Having the respect for each individual member is of the utmost importance for me,” Dayvault said.

Phil Goodman, a Kannapolis resident, attended the meeting and voiced his displeasure during public comment with how everything transpired on Monday night. 

“I think we have a good city council with poor leadership. I have nothing wrong with Tom Kincaid being back on city council, I think the way in which it was handled tonight was inappropriate. Yes, it’s legal, some would say it was ethical, but it was totally inappropriate in my book,” Goodman said. “My hope is the city of Kannapolis remembers this when it comes election time.” 

Goodman said he truly cares for Kannapolis, but specified that Mayor Darrell Hinnant should take responsibility for his actions. 

“He’s a manipulator and he’s a person that twists the truth whenever he can and can not deal with the truth when it hits him in the face. I think the city would be wise to request Darrell Hinnant’s resignation or either have him expelled from the position,” Goodman said.