New County manager says he’s seen it all, looks forward to meeting Rowan

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypost.com
While Gary Page is new to Rowan County, he has 30 years of experience as a county manager.
Page, arguably one of the biggest fans of Mountaineer football, started work here in early May.
He got his feet wet during his first week on the job by attending a Tourism Development Authority meeting during which county and Salisbury representatives clashed over the occupancy tax rate.
In another session, when Salisbury-Rowan Utilities officials started to explain about a Muffin Monster, Page’s eyes lit up. “I know all about Muffin Monsters.”
Dealing with jails in multiple counties, he’s been there, done that.
Muffin Monster is a brand name for a huge grinder designed to deal with materials put in sewer lines, most often by inmates intent on creating havoc.
“Whatever comes up, I’ve seen it,” Page said. “There’s no surprises, no curve balls left.”
“After 30 years I know the job. What I don’t know is the elected officials around the county and the municipal officials,” Page said recently. “I don’t know the county yet.”
He’s already working on this short-term goal ó to get to know the people and build relationships as he works on several major county projects.
In the next few months, Page will present county commissioners with options on a new county jail.
The county is also getting ready to start a renovation and expansion of the Health Services building on Faith Road to house all divisions of the Social Services Department.
And a multi-million dollar-Justice Center upfit is under way.
During his tenure as manager in four counties, Page has built jails, courthouse, libraries and schools. He takes a hands-on approach, keeping up daily on construction projects.
“The big ticket items, those are the ones that can hurt you politically, if they get out of whack. Whatever we do, I want it to be right. If it’s not, it will be a reflection on the board.”
While serving as manager in Wilkes County, Page frequently ate his lunch in a cemetery overlooking the new courthouse construction site. He could keep an eye on the project and was able to respond to questions from commissioners and the public.
While Page is hands-on when it comes to building projects, he is mostly hands-off on county departments. He depends on department heads to take care of business. They run their departments and come to him only when there is a problem.
Page said recently he is impressed by the county operations and the departments here.
“Every budget year there’s money unspent; there’s no rush to spend every dime before June 30. That shows the county departments are responsible, and we’re giving the departments what they need to operate.”
The unspent money is a plus for the county and taxpayers. Each percentage point of the unspent budget equals around $1 million, which goes into savings or fund balance.
Page’s experience and style won over the Rowan County Board of Commissioners during the interview process. He was the unanimous first choice of a board that often splits along philosophical lines.
His amicable, low-key but forthright style impressed commissioners.
Responding to questions from commissioners about his goals and why he would want to leave Wilkes County after 12 years, Page said his goal has always been to manage a county the size of Rowan.
Wilkes was no longer a challenge.
“I wanted one more challenge. I wasn’t ready to retire. After 12 years in Wilkes, I knew how my days would go. Coming here reshuffles the deck. It’s got my competitive juices flowing again,” Page said, emphasizing this will be his last job as a manager. “It sort of puts an exclamation point on my career.”
He expects to retire in five to seven years.
During Page’s tenure in Wilkes, the county bought 100 acres a mile outside the county seat and built a new courthouse. Design of a new jail is underway.
Page learned to deal with the ever-changing political landscape ó 22 different commissioners in 12 years. He said the county basically has three Republican parties and every two years a different party puts a couple of new members on the board.
Page has a special perspective on adversarial relations between counties and cities. “I’ve seen it everywhere I’ve been, it’s nothing new.”
Page’s wife, Julie, served as town manager of Wilkesboro, which created a unique situation ó two managers under one roof.
It also created a bit of controversy.
She opted to resign and go to work for Lowe’s in the corporate office. For the past four years, she has commuted one-hour each way to the headquarters in Mooresville. Both he and his wife are thrilled at the much shorter drive from Salisbury.
They’ve put their house in Wilkes County on the market and have some prospects. They’ve signed a six-month lease on an apartment in Salisbury, which will give them time to find the right place.
Page grew up in Reidsville. His family was in tobacco farming. It was a good life, but as a teen he wanted to try something else.
When he arrived in Boone, he was thinking of being a teacher. “I got sidetracked into the TACCM (Town and City County Managers) program at ASU.”
The sidetrack has led him to jobs as manager in five counties and two towns.
As he has moved around, his loyalty to Appalachian and its football team hasn’t waned. He proudly displays his ASU license plate on his black Tahoe, a vehicle that works well for tailgating.
Mention the Michigan game, and Page shares his experience of seeing the jaws drop simultaneously on 106,000 people. “When we kicked that last field goal there was total silence. It was great.”
Page already has his airline tickets and hotel room booked in Baton Rouge for the LSU game. He’s hoping to get tickets through ASU. If not, he’ll look at other options.
He expects LSU will be ready. “We won’t catch anybody by surprise any more.”
Like a lot of other Mountaineer fans, he’s looking forward to the day the Carolina Tar Heels will be willing to schedule a game.


Meet the manager
Gary L. Page
Age: 53
Bio: Born in Stokes County; 1979 graduate of Appalachian State with B.A. in political science; wife, Julie, one daughter, one step-son.
Career: Town manager of Yadkinville, 1979-83;
Town administrator, Laurens, S.C. 1983-88;
Stokes County manager, 1988-1992;
Stanly County manager, 1992-94;
Carteret County manager, 1994-96;
Wilkes County manager; 1996-2008.
Accomplishments: Involved in design phase or construction of jails, courthouses, greenways, airport runway extension, landfills, animal shelter, other county buildings; supervised implementation of 911 emergency system; supervised development of an industrial park.
Hobbies: Attending ASU football games, golf, SOS beach music events, movies.
Honors: Manager of the Year in 2000 for the Region D Council of Governments, the seven counties including Yancey, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Ashe, Allegheny and Wilkes.