Staff report
CHINA GROVE ó Butch Bivens wants to add four more years to his service on the China Grove Town Council.
The 60-year-old incumbent is completing his 14th year on the board, which is legally the China Grove Board of Aldermen.
“I’ve always enjoyed it,” said Bivens. “It’s a good experience. Sometimes it’s the knowledge that you gain at the meetings.”
Bivens cited progress during his current four-year term, including working to get things done that affect citizens.
Among the major items still on the front burner is restructuring the town’s water and sewer operations to provide lower rates. Town officials are talking with the city of Salisbury about some type of merger that would reduce rates.
Another major project is renovating and expanding the current police and fire department building on North Main Street.
A committee on which Bivens serves has recommended moving the police department to the current Municipal Building on Swink Street and moving the town offices to Main Street.
“It looks like that is a good possibility,” Bivens said.
The project will depend on cost. An architectural firm is currently working on detailed drawings and a cost analysis.
“We’ve got the projects started. I would like to see them come together,” he said.
Bivens is the maintenance director for the Rowan-Salisbury School System. He is a former public works director for the town of China Grove.
A resident of Franklin Street, he and his wife, Sheri, have one daughter.
A member of the Civitan Club, he is also a member of the China Grove Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Rowan County Historic Landmarks Commission and the Rowan-Cabarrus Metropolitan Planning Organization.
He attends Prospect Presbyterian Church.