By Mark Wineka
mark.wineka@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY —  Jason Smith, owner of the Hot Dog Shack and a big supporter of the town, urged Granite Quarry officials to use social media — specifically, Facebook — for promotion purposes.

Smith volunteered Monday night to be administrator of a town of Granite Quarry Facebook page for a year and promised he would post weekly, if not daily, updates on the town’s behalf.

Facebook could be used to communicate more effectively than the Town Hall marquee sign, newsletters, newspapers, radio or television when the town was offering events such as its annual Family Fun Fest or spring clean-up days, Smith said as examples.

“I think it would be utilized,” he added. “I think it would be a definite asset for us.”

The page also wouldn’t cost the town anything, Smith said.

Aldermen seemed in general agreement with Smith, but in the end, they conceded to Mayor Bill Feather’s suggestion that it be discussed further at the board’s retreat Feb. 19-20.

“I think you need to try it anyway,” Mayor Pro Tem Mike Brinkley said, “(but) I want to know the horror stories.”

In another matter Monday night, Mary Wright, president of the Timber Run Homeowners Association, asked on behalf of her group for the installation of speed bumps in the subdivision.

Wright said Timber Run has a speeding problem. Although the speed limit for the neighborhood is posted at 25 mph, many motorists are going at least 35 to 40 mph, she said, noting the subdivision has two long straightaways.

Wright said she personally has tried to address the problem in her newsletters, at the neighborhood’s annual meetings and in emails to some of the known offenders. Speed bumps would be the most economical solution and one that might save a child’s life in the future, she added.

Brinkley and Alderman Jim Costantino clearly were not in favor of speed bumps as a solution. Brinkley said it would open “a Pandora’s box” around the whole town, and he said the speed bumps “are a pain to maintain.”

Costantino said he would like to see the town try police enforcement first.

“I won’t vote for speed bumps,” Costantino said. “I hate them.”

Alderman Jim LaFevers said the subdivision he lives in, Countryside, has similar problems with people who drive too fast. Most of the offenders are residents who live in the subdivision, he added.

“We put a speed sign up, and it didn’t really help much,” LaFevers said.

Police Chief Mark Cook said his department was approached about the speeding concerns in Timber Run. For the past three weeks, he said, his officers have been working some radar on Timber Run streets, and “it does appear our presence has calmed some of the speeding problems.”

Cook added his department could continue to monitor speeds in the neighborhood for several more months.

“I don’t want us to forget the problem,” Brinkley said.

Feather said the broader question seemed to be whether aldermen wanted to use speed bumps in Timber Run or anywhere else in town.

“We just don’t have a policy that’s currently in place,” Town Manager Phil Conrad said.

With other board members in agreement, Feather said he would like town staff to look into a possible policy that could be discussed by the board later.

In a health insurance matter for town employees, aldermen agreed to reimburse 80 percent, or $160, of the $200 deductible on prescription drugs.

Last December, employees re-enrolled into the federal health exchange with Blue Cross Blue Shield. On Jan. 13, the town was notified the insurance company had added a $200 deductible on prescription drugs for its Platinum Plan, which had been sold to the town by a Nationwide office in Kannapolis.

“Blue Cross Blue Shield did not communicate the change to employees, town staff, nor to the insurance provider,” a town memo says. “As a result town employees have been impacted by this $200 deductible, causing a financial hardship.”

Previously, employees paid no deductible on their prescription drugs.

Feather later appointed Brinkley and Costantino to a personnel policy committee. Feather said the last update of personnel policies was 2010.

In other business, aldermen:

• Approved text amendments, recommended by the Planning Board, to the Unified Development Ordinance related to curb and gutter, sidewalks, driveways, entrance markers and medians.

• Learned that a 55-page draft of the Downtown Master Plan for Granite Quarry, prepared by Arnett Muldrow & Associates of Greenville, S.C., is available for public inspection. Anyone wishing to see the plan can pick up a hard copy at Town Hall or view the plan online at the town’s website.

Aldermen will seek public comment on the plan at their March meeting.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.