With county officials waiting on the completion of a permit and a final analysis of space needs, Veterans Services and the Board of Elections — identified repeatedly as the departments with the worst space crunch — may have just scored temporary office space.

When commissioners canceled all contracts for the former Salisbury Mall in February, County Manager Aaron Church’s order from commissioners was to find temporary space for the Veterans Services office. It wasn’t officially part of Commissioner Mike Caskey’s motion during the Feb. 16 meeting, but Church also arranged space for the Board of Elections. Both are stopgap measures until the county renovates space in the former mall, now West End Plaza.

For now, the Veteran Services office is set to move into a five-office space — currently occupied by the county’s Environmental Management office — in the county’s Old Concord Road building. The Board of Elections has been offered to store its extra equipment in a second floor conference room in Rowan County’s government’s administrative building, according to Church.

Because of space needs, the county’s Environmental Management Department is scheduled to temporarily vacate its offices on Old Concord Road. Church said Environmental Management would move into the county’s Recycling Processing Center in East Spencer, until more permanent plans are developed.

“In the interim, everybody wants to work together,” Church said. “It’s a perfect fit because the folks at environmental management spend a significant amount of time in the field.”

Church said the temporary plan was developed based on the speed of implementation and low cost. The move won’t cost any additional money in rent. No timeline is associated with either move, he said. Department meetings were held this week to discuss Church’s proposal. He said the proposal was first drafted on Feb. 19.

Veterans Services will receive a huge space boost in its temporary location. Church said its current facility measures about 300 square feet in size, posing problems for privacy during client interaction. The five-office space in the Old Concord Road building is over 1,500 square feet.

Elections Director Nancy Evans said she hasn’t yet prepared the proposal to her board. She said the additional storage space would help, but a permanent solution is still needed.

“We have to understand the issues our county is going through,” Evans said. “We can’t be close-minded.”

The conference room would only provide storage space to the Board of Elections, according to the proposal. Currently, the Board of Elections uses its office lobby and the administrative office building’s basement as storage space. Last week, the elections office was filled to the brim with equipment. The office lobby was restricted to small walking spaces because of limited storage.

Church said a county-owned building on Mahaley Avenue and a former Department of Social Services Facility on Innes Street near downtown Salisbury weren’t considered as part of a temporary solution for space needs. He cited repair costs as one reason the two weren’t an option.

The Board of Elections previously said it would need both floors of the two-story Mahaley Avenue building — which would require elevator repairs — if it became a permanent option.

With contracts canceled and a government services permit scheduled for the Salisbury City Council’s Tuesday meeting, a move to the West End Plaza is likely months away. The county would have to re-bid contracts before construction could begin or departments could move into the facility, which the county purchased for more than $3 million in late 2013.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246