By Jessie Burchette
Salisbury Post
County commissioners have pruned their planned three-day retreat to a fast-paced two-day event starting Wednesday at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.
The lists of wants from various presenters are expected to include some big-ticket items.
The presentation that will be critical in deciding possible new projects or endeavors will be among the last on the agenda. That will come from Interim County Manager Leslie Heidrick, who is also the county’s finance director.
Heidrick will talk money, including the current debt stream and how to handle additional debt and its impact on the budget. Her presentation comes Thursday afternoon, just before commissioners hold their wrap-up session and set priorities for the coming fiscal year.
Over the two-day period, commissioners will hear more than a dozen presentations ranging from an update on land-use planning to some with high-dollar impacts such as school facilities and jail needs.
The retreat will get under way at 8 a.m. each day.
This will be the first retreat commissioners have held in Salisbury in three years. For the past couple of years, the board has met at the Tadlock South Rowan Regional Library.
Here’s a brief look at the agenda and presenters:
Wednesday
– 8:15 a.m. ó Economic development, presentation by Robert Van Geons, executive director of the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission. A discussion and review of the county-owned Summit Corporate Center will be included.
– 9 a.m. ó Emergency Services, Frank Thomason, emergency services director.
– 10 a.m. ó Employee market study, Becky Veazey with MAPS, a company hired to do the study.
– 11 a.m. óAirport, Ken Deal, director of administration, and Carl Ellington, an engineer with Talbert & Bright.
– 12:30 p.m. ó Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff George Wilhelm and Maj. Tim Bost, along with architects from Ware Bonsall & Associates to present a capital improvement plan that includes a proposal to move the department out of downtown Salisbury.
– 1:15 p.m. ó Parks Director Don Bringle.
– 2:30 p.m. ó Growth and land-use planning, Ed Muire, planning and development director, and Chris Cohen, co-chairman of the Land Use Steering Committee.
– 3 p.m. ó Farmland preservation, Jim Cowden, Cooperative Extension director.
Thursday
– 8:05 a.m. ó Rowan Salisbury School System, Dr. Judy Grissom, superintendent, and Dr. Jim Emerson, school board chairman, will discuss the system’s direction. An update will also be provided on the school’s early college initiative.
– 9:10 a.m. ó School facility needs, Gene Miller, assistant superintendent.
– 9:45 a.m. ó Other department facility needs including Emergency Services, Telecommunications, Information Systems.
– 1 p.m. ó Social Services facility needs, Sandra Wilkes, director, and architect Bill Burgin.
– 1:45 p.m. ó Other projects and debt stream, Heidrick.
– 2:30 p.m. óDiscussion regarding board priorities and wrap-up session.
The board is scheduled to adjourn at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The retreat will be held in Room 251 of the Brownell Building at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, 1333 Jake Alexander Blvd. S.
Contact Jessie Burchette at 704-797-4254 or jburchette@salisburypost.com.