SALISBURY — Positivity appeared a common goal as the Rowan County commissioners held their annual planning retreat Thursday, a day reserved to celebrate successes and evaluate needs across the county.

“I’d like to see us, at the end of the day, have a positive outlook on where we want to go short-term and long-term for the county,” said Commissioner Craig Pierce.

Commissioner Jim Greene agreed.

“I don’t know that today’s going to be much different than any other meetings we’ve had trying to keep Rowan County going in a positive direction,” Greene said. “We’ve made a lot of increases. We’ve had an increase in tax base, an increase in income to the county. I want to continue to do those things.”

Other commissioners expressed interest in working together to maintain momentum as the county moves forward. Chairman Greg Edds said he is “interested in learning what the rest of the commissioners have a passion for this year.”

These passions came to light as the meeting progressed. Commissioners identified several areas of focus for the year ahead, including public safety, quality of life, government efficiency, economic growth and education.

Top priorities, said the commissioners, are addressing matters of school safety, jobs skills training and continued support for ending Rowan’s opioid crisis.

Other county workers said they see trends of positivity alongside opportunities for growth and refinement. Before an afternoon session devoted to development near the Interstate 85 interchange, the commissioners heard several presentations:

• County Manager Aaron Church discussed countywide accomplishments for the past and current year.

Church said that last year, 118 new jobs were brought into the county along with $37 million in new investment. Key players in the job increase were Daimler, R+L Carriers and Premtec.

Another expanding business, he said, was AMREP, with its new building expected to be complete by the end of March.

“They anticipate a lot of growth in their business,” Church said.

Chairman Edds agreed, saying the company is already in talks of buying and, talking about doubling inside and starting additional construction soon.

Other countywide accomplishments cited included the completion of a new hangar at the airport, which Church is nearly at capacity. By the end of 2018, Church said the county will have installed nearly 9 acres of new roofing across the county, renovating West End Plaza, parts of the courthouse, the detention center, the 402 N. Main St. building and the agriculture building.

Church commended the board on funding a new crime unit that added six deputies and for transitioning emergency services to 12- hour shifts, ensuring that emergency responders are getting adequate rest.

“A lot of the things the board has done … is stuff you don’t see as you ride down the road but it’s stuff in the background that will make big impacts on all citizens’ lives,” said Church.

• Leslie Heidrick, assistant county manager and finance director, updated the board on the county’s financial standing for the first half of the 2017-18 fiscal year.

According to Heirdrick, the county’s 2018 budget, which runs from July 2017 to June 2018, is tight but on target.

The county had a cumulative current-year property tax collection of $72.7 million. With this number, Heidrick said, she is anticipating a tax collection for the year of slightly better than 98 percent of what was budgeted.

The county also saw a 3 percent increase in cumulative sales tax revenue, she said, but there is room for more growth.

“A 3 percent growth for Rowan County, historically, is very good,” she said. “But the year before was 5.5 percent, and the year before that we exploded at 10 percent.”

Heidrick said that with current trends in the budget, the county is projected to dip into its fund balance, or savings, anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million. But she said the budget was calculated tighter this year as it is approaching property revaluation.

She said capital projects completed in the first half of the fiscal year have also altered budget numbers when compared to prior years.

• Chris Soliz, the county’s new emergency services chief, presented options for the location of a new western Rowan EMS base station.

Since 2014, emergency services has been serving the western part of the county from the Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department, operating full time with one ambulance and paramedic services.

In that time, emergency response times have seen a decrease from 17 minutes per call to 15 minutes.

“In my world of expertise, that’s a significant drop,” said Soliz.

Soliz said the goal is for the combined space to be temporary until the fire department designs and builds a new station to include permanent quarters for emergency services.

The station’s board of directors has approved construction of a new station and is proposing that the county purchase the EMS part of the building.

The county manager and commissioners all expressed concern that this option would be illegal, failing to meet public bid requirements for county projects.

“If we do this, it might appear we’re trying to skirt some of the bidding laws,” said Church. “If anything, the appearance of impropriety is there.”

Soliz suggested the board look into other options for the partnership: leasing rather than purchasing the space, renovating part of Cleveland Elementary School or acquiring another suitable parcel for a separate construction.

• Brian Newman of McGill Associates presented two possible options for a James River connection to county access roads.

With upcoming changes to Julian Road and a new site for James River Equipment, the county is exploring changes to the access road that serves the animal shelter and a convenience center.

Newman presented two options: an access road ending in a cul-de-sac that would cost about $120,000 and an access road that would connect to Corporate Center Drive, costing about $370,000.

James River has agreed to contribute $59,813 to the project. The commissioners discussed further evaluating the plan to potentially relocate the convenience center.

• Allen Cress and Randy Cress discussed re-evaluating radio systems currently in use throughout the county.

Rowan County has a robust radio system in use by public safety, county government and the city of Salisbury, with roughly 2,200 units, said Allen Cress.

Randy Cress and Allen Cress both suggested a review of ongoing operational needs, suggesting the commissioners send a request for proposals for a private consultant that would evaluate the county’s partnership with municipalities, tower sites and equipment, ensuring optimum function.