Rowan County commissioners are meeting Monday to discuss a variety of issues, including two that have stirred a considerable amount of discussion, and vitriol, in the community — what the county is doing with West End Plaza and the agreement between commissioners and the school board.
At their 3 p.m. meeting in the county administration building, commissioners will review and consider for approval floor plan renovations for the veteran services office and board of elections at West End Plaza.
In a memo to commissioners, Rowan County Manager Gary Page wrote he has been working with Burl Brady Architects for a month to develop plans for relocating the offices to West End Plaza.
“Staff from both departments have been involved in developing the floor plans and are in support of (commissioners’) consideration and approval,” Page wrote. “Brady will attend (Monday’s) meeting to give a brief overview and explanation of the space needs assessment and development process.”
Upon approval or amendments to the floor plans, Page said he and Brady will continue the process of drawing plans and soliciting bids for commissioners’ consideration at a later date.
Commissioners also will review a proposal from ADW Architects to perform both a space needs study for county departments and a master plan for West End Plaza at the tune of $66,000.
Page said ADW will interview all departments and assess their future space needs over a period of 10 years to 15 years.
“The assessment will coincide with our own efforts to update the county’s capital improvement plan,” Page said. “The proposed master plan will indicate how department space needs can be incorporated with the development and use of West End Plaza.”
ADW Architects is the same firm used in 2006 to assist the county with a master plan for improvements at the Rowan County Justice Center.
Although county staff received in January seven proposals to perform the needs assessment and master plan, they opted to contract with ADW due to the company’s familiarity with the county.
An extra $500,000 in funds used to purchase West End Plaza was identified to assist with the plans and renovations, Page said, and the study should be received by July.
Commissioners also will return to discussions on the mediated settlement agreement with the Rowan-Salisbury School System Board of Education.
Commissioners met on March 17 in closed session to review a mediated settlement agreement drafted by attorneys and based off the discussions commissioners had with the school board during a Feb. 27 joint meeting.
Commissioners took no action on the mediated settlement agreement, and one commissioner — who did not want to be identified — said the document they received March 17 was very different than what the two boards agreed to at the joint meeting.
In a letter attorney Richard Schwartz sent to Rowan County Attorney Jay Dees on March 25, Schwartz said the school board approved the mediated settlement at the March 24 meeting.
Schwartz represented Union County’s school board last year in a lawsuit against commissioners that resulted in a $90 million jury award for the schools — most of which was for capital projects.
“The (school board) is extremely upset at the lack of movement and lack of response from the county commissioners following the joint meeting on February 27, at which the essential terms of the agreement were unanimously approved by both boards,” Schwartz wrote.
Following commissioners’ March 17 meeting, a couple of them expressed displeasure with the wording and length of the document presented to them — a document one commissioner said was given to him only five minutes before the start of the meeting.
Schwartz continued to write he did share some of the concerns Dees expressed to him from conversations with commissioners regarding the document.
“While the (school board) may be willing to make some changes, there are some items (Dees) discussed with me that are simply not going to be acceptable at all,” Schwartz wrote.
Commissioners will review a revised agreement on Monday.