West End Plaza will have two new tenants after Rowan County Commissioners on Monday approved leases with a carpet company and consignment store.
Both leases were late additions to the commissioners’ consent agenda. The first lease — dated Oct. 1 — is with Annette Parker of The Family Closet 2 Consignment Shop. The second — dated Oct. 15, — is with Clifford Long of Magie’s Carpet. Parker’s lease is for 2,880 sq. ft. Long’s lease is for 2,700 square feet.
Board of commissioners chairman Jim Sides said the leases were negotiated under former county manager Gary Page. Though the leases were late additions, Sides said all commissioners had a chance to review them before the meeting and they were standard leases.
“They are simple leases and we want as many tenants as possible, but we really don’t want them all retail,” Sides said. “If we can’t put government use in there, we’ll put retail in there because we are going to keep enough money to pay the bills and that’s basically what this is.”
Sides made his comments prior to the Salisbury City Council’s vote against a special use permit.
The lease for Parker and the Family Closet ends on Oct. 31, 2015, requiring a deposit of $800 and $800 with one month fee for setup and utilities transferred.
The lease for Long and Magie’s Carpet ends on Nov. 14, 2015, requiring a deposit of $700 and $700 per month. The lease begins on Nov. 15, 2014 because the lease allows one month to build out space and begin utilities.
Sides said the commissioners’ intent from the beginning was for the mall to be entirely governmental services, but to make it mixed use in the interim.
“As we have a need for that space, we would move tenants out and make it available to government agencies,” he said.

In other news from Monday’s commission meeting:
• The commission held a closed session that lasted more than 30 minutes. The board of commissioners’ agenda said the session was “regarding the County’s pending Special Use Permit application with the City of Salisbury.”
After the meeting, commissioner Craig Pierce wouldn’t talk in depth about conversation that occurred, because it was a closed session.
County attorney Jay Dees and planning director Ed Muire remained in the county’s chambers during the closed session. Dees and Muire spoke during Tuesday’s city council meeting about the special use permit application.
• The commissioners approved a date for three different public hearings.
A public hearing for two transportation grants and the 2015 reappraisal schedule of values will be Oct. 20
• The commissioners also approved increases to health water sample fee increases.
The increases tack on state lab prices to current county prices. The largest increases are $74 for pesticide, VOC and petroleum. After the increases, all three would cost $105.
Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246