SALISBURY — A community task force studying how to regulate nuisance animals and encourage owners to take better care of their pets will give a report Tuesday to City Council.
The Nuisance Animal Study Committee, appointed by City Council in March, will give an update at 4 p.m. in City Hall, 217 S. Main St., regarding possible solutions to nuisance animal issues within the city limits.
More than 40 people showed up last month for the task force’s public workshop. Participants discussed concerns and solutions for addressing nuisance animals and neighborhood safety.
They came up with 21 specific items and voted for their top priorities. These general concerns received the most votes:
• Community education

• Growing population of feral cats
• Number of pets allowed at one residence
• Enforcement of current ordinances
• Loose animals

• Chaining, or tethering, of dogs
• Humane treatment of animals

Also on Tuesday’s agenda:
• The N.C. Department of Transportation soon will begin road construction projects on Klumac Road and Peeler Road. The city has existing fiber sheaths in both areas that need to be relocated.
The city plans to use its own construction and maintenance personnel to relocate the Fibrant lines. According to the utility relocation agreement between the city and state, NCDOT will reimburse Salisbury for materials and personnel costs.
The state will cover 100 percent of the city’s cost, city staff said. The project’s budget is $198,547, and if costs are higher than estimated, the city is eligible for reimbursement as long as NCDOT approves the extra work, staff said.
• City Council will consider awarding a contract for 6 percent of construction cost with a base fee of $56,745 to Stout Studio Architecture for the design and construction of new parking to support the redevelopment of the 300 block of South Main Street.
Parking would serve both Integro Technologies, which is building a $3.2 million headquarters at one end of the block, and the proposed school central office at the other end.
Stout Studio would design, bid and manage the parking construction. Stout will provide conceptual drawings for City Council’s approval before completing the design.
The city has agreed to provide 76 parking spaces for Integro, including 24 existing spaces behind City Hall and 52 new parking spaces to be constructed by Nov. 1.
Conceptual drawings show 160 spaces for the school central office, and Assistant City Manager John Sofley said the property could accommodate additional parking if needed, including a potential parking deck.
Integro and the central office are expected to bring about 190 employees downtown, but Integro’s building also will include a 90-seat auditorium for training and seminars, as well as more than 10,000 square feet for lease to high-tech start-up companies.
The city will issue debt for the architectural services and parking construction, Sofley said.
According to the contract, Stout will meet with top city staff regarding landscaping, city codes and historic district requirements and seek review and approval from the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. The firm also will meet with Downtown Salisbury Inc. to talk about projected parking needs for the Empire Hotel redevelopment project.
• The city is in the process of obtaining approval from the state’s Local Government Commission to borrow $3.7 million under a lease-purchase financing agreement to buy, construct and equip improvements so the city can continue providing 800 trunking telecommunications services.
City Council will consider adopting the required capital project ordinance, as well as buying 239 new radios and upgrading 293 old radios so they will work with the new system. The city would buy the radios from Motorola for $1,287,302. City Council also will consider buying Suspension Control and Data Acquisition, or SCADA, equipment from Wireless Networks for $244,927. The city needs SCADA equipment so Salisbury-Rowan Utilities can monitor and watch different functions of their processes remotely, staff said.
If approved, the city’s general fund and capital reserve fund will take on about $2.4 million in new debt. The debt from the previous telecommunications lease-purchase contract was paid off this year, so the new debt will partially replace the previous payment.
The water and sewer fund portion of the new debt will be about $1.3 million, and the new debt service payments will be about $160,000 in the first full year.
• City Council will consider an all-way stop at the intersection of Lantz Avenue and Yost Street.
• Public comment.

• City Manager Doug Paris’ comments, including an update on the Brick Street Live concert series.

Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.