By Josh Bergeron

josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — After lumbering through details of a parking lot lease, Rowan County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to create a land management program for hundreds of acres of county-owned property.

After talking about the issue over the past few years, commissioners approved a lease that will give the Rowan County Fair Association the ability to use 5 acres of county land as a parking lot. The land is part of a 24-acre tract adjacent to the fairgrounds.

As part of another item approved Tuesday, the NC Forest Service will aid the county in drafting a land management program for all county-owned land.

County Manager Aaron Church said the details of the land management plan will include selectively cutting down trees and clearing underbrush in wooded areas.

The lease approved Tuesday appeared in 2015, in part, because of the sale of nearby land. The county sold a parcel traditionally used for parking during the Rowan County Fair and other events to James River Equipment, which has not yet developed the property. Once James River develops its land, the Rowan County Fair would use the 5 acres of county property for parking.

When the Rowan County Fair Association proposed changes to the lease recently, commissioners questioned the value of timber that would be cleared to make way for the parking lot. On Tuesday, Church told commissioners the 5 acres of timber would not be worth much by itself.

After county officials met with the Forest Service about the timber’s value, a new idea emerged — the county could solicit bids to clear the 5 acres and selectively clear the remaining 19 acres. Church says the county would have better luck funding companies willing to do the work with the 19 acres added.

On Tuesday, commissioners agreed to solicit bids for the work to be completed within 6 months of picking a contractor. When it’s time to solicit bids for clearing the 5 acres and selectively clearing the 19 others, Church said, the county will conduct a process similar to an auction and accept the highest offer.

A land management plan also emerged from the meeting with the Forest Service. Managing the land makes timber more valuable, Church said.

“By not having a stewardship plan, you could compare it to throwing $100 bills on the ground by just letting your timber grow and not taking care of it,” he said. “Other parts of the management or stewardship plan is forest fires. It reduces forest fires to get the underbrush out and trees that aren’t growing as well.”

He said the land management plan won’t cost additional money for the county. On Tuesday, an exact figure wasn’t available for the number of acres that will be included in the plan. Church mentioned Dan Nicholas Park, Eagle Point Nature Preserve, Dunn’s Mountain Park and industrial parks with wooded tracts as examples of property to be included. He estimated the total acreage to be in the hundreds.

Commissioner Craig Pierce, who met with the Forest Service, said clearing dead or dying trees as part of the land management plan will allow others to grow larger.

Commissioners took turns Tuesday asking questions about details of the lease and land management plan. After roughly 30 minutes of conversation, commissioners unanimously approved the lease and agreed to create a land management plan.

“Any other discussion? Please no,” Commissioners Chairman Greg Edds jokingly said before the final vote.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.