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The Concord City Council will hold its Tuesday work session at the home of former mayor and alderman Alfred Brown Sr., who died in 2003.
The council typically meets at city hall on Union Street, but has occasionally convened in other locations over the years. A city spokesman said the upcoming meeting will be the first time the council has met at the Brown home, which also served as an office for his realty company.
The work session will begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the home at 103 Cabarrus Avenue West, according to a city news release. The council will return to council chambers for its Thursday meeting.
“Our city would not be what it is today without the vision and leadership of Mr. Brown over so many decades,” Mayor Scott Padgett said in the news release. “To have an official council meeting in Mr. Brown’s former office is a show of respect for a man who truly loved Concord.”
Brown served as a Concord alderman from 1952 to 1969, and was mayor pro tem for four years. He was elected as mayor in 1969 where he served for eight years. He returned to the board of alderman, now known as the city council, in 1989. His son succeeded him on the council in 2001.
As mayor, he helped guide the city through racial tensions and steady growth, including helping to attract Philip Morris U.S.A. to build a cigarette manufacturing plant in Concord. The plant closed in 2009.
“I know my father would be pleased to know his house will be used for a Concord City Council work session and I am sure he will be with us in spirit,” said Brown Jr., who still serves on the council. “To know that the city’s business and affairs will be dialogued there would be meaningful to him. He spent his career trying to make Concord a better place to live, work, and play. It will be a special day for us and for him knowing that the public is welcome.” Observer archives contributed
