SALISBURY — City Council will “step up to the plate” next week during Salisbury’s 29th annual strategic planning retreat.
The two-day retreat at the Rowan Museum, 202 N. Main St., features a baseball theme and will include public discussion while council members set goals for the coming year.
Council members will hear presentations on neighborhood revitalization, downtown living, plans for the farmers market and cultural plaza, public transit, economic development, fiber optic broadband, animal nuisance issues and more. They also will hear about city finances, with a budget outlook for the coming year.
The retreat agenda includes:
• Wednesday
8:30 to 8:45 a.m. Opening remarks by Mayor Paul B. Woodson, Jr. Invocation by City Clerk Myra Heard
8:45 to 9:00 a.m. Opening Video: Two Years in Review by City Manager Doug Paris
9 to 9:30 a.m. Ramping Up Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization by City Planning Director Janet Gapen, Code Services Division Manager Chris Branham and Chanaka Yatawara, executive director for the Salisbury Community Development Commission
9:30 to 10 a.m. Downtown Living: Turning More Lights on Upstairs by Gapen, City Planner Catherine Garner, City Utilities Director Jim Behmer
10 to 10:15 a.m. Break
10:15 to 10:45 a.m.. Centerpiece: Placemaking for the Future by Lynn Raker
10:45 to 11:15 a.m. Growing Transit – Connecting People and Places by Rodney Harrison
11:15 to 11:30 a.m. Council discussion, followed by luncheon at City Hall
2 to 3 p.m. Bringing a School Back From 69th to First by Carol R. Naughton, senior vice president for Purpose Built Communities in Atlanta
3 to 3:15 p.m. Break
3:15 to 4:15 p.m. A City-Specific Economic Development Focus: Raleigh’s Story by James Sauls, Raleigh economic development manager
4:15 to 4:30 p.m. Discussion and wrap-up by Paris
• Thursday
8:30 to 8:30 a.m. Call to order and invocation
8:30 to 9 a.m. Taking a Bite Out of Animal Nuisance Issues by Gapen and Branham
9 to 9:45 a.m. Building a Digital City: Chattanooga’s Experience by Danna Bailey, vice president of corporate communications for EPB Fiber Optics in Chattanooga
9:45 to 10 a.m. Break
10 to 11:30 a.m. Slow Democracy by author Susan Clark
2 to 2:30 p.m. Financing Livability by Assistant City Manager John Sofley
2:30 to 2:45 p.m. Financial State of the city by Sofley and budget Director Teresa Harris
2:45 to 3:15 p.m. Review Council 2013-2014 Outcomes and Goals
3:15 to 3:30 p.m. Break
3:30 to 4 p.m. Reflection and development of one-year tactical plan
4 to 4:30 p.m. Session wrap-up and exit interview by consultant Warren Miller
The retreat also will include invitation luncheons at City Hall both days featuring Clark and Shirley Franklin, chair and CEO of Purpose Built Communities.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.