By Elisabeth Strillacci and Madeline Wagoner

news@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Nearly every town in Rowan County has struggled in recent years to get residents to serve on volunteer boards, and the challenge is growing.

Cleveland had to cancel its zoning and planning board meeting Monday night due to a seat being unfilled. According to town clerk Kelly Rodgers, Cleveland has had a turnover of many board members within the last couple of months, leaving empty seats needing to be filled. The planned meeting was for a zoning map amendment. An extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) alternate is an urgent need for the town and the community is not alone in that.

In Spencer, the city is also having to work to get participation on boards.

“The one place we have trouble getting people to participate is in our extraterritorial jurisdiction or ETJ,” said Steve Blount, city planner for Spencer. The ETJ gives a city the authority to adopt zoning ordinances in a 1- to 3-mile area surrounding the city limits. “Those areas are more sparsely populated and those residents do not always identify as residents of Spencer. They often see themselves as living in the county.”

State statutes regarding residents of the ETJ were amended in 1996 to require proportional representation of extraterritorial residents on city planning boards and boards of adjustment. But Blount said the benefits of serving on volunteer boards is not limited to outlying residents.

“For anybody, not just for those residents, these committees shape the rules and regulations that in turn shape the growth of the town,” Blount said. “If you want to have a say in development and growth, these committees are the place to do it.”

But those who live outside the city limits have a vested interest in serving on planning boards and boards of adjustment in particular, Blount said.

“People who live in the ETJ often have a very rural lifestyle,” he said. “But in the ETJ is where a large portion of our growth is happening, which means that rural lifestyle can change, and quickly. Serving on a board gives those residents an active role in deciding what that change looks like.”

In East Spencer, the Community Appearance Committee has not met because there are no members.

“We are continuously soliciting participation, we advertise in the town newsletter and on the website, we ask current residents for recommendations, we ask new residents if they would like to participate,” said Town Manager Michael Douglas. “We need people on the Board of Adjustments, the Community Appearance Committee and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.”

The advisory board has members, but Douglas said it is one of the most active committees because the town has so many community events, so more members are not just welcomed, but needed.

“We don’t want to plan in a vacuum,” Douglas said. “We want community input. I think people are very busy these days, trying to balance work, home and family, but their participation is essential.”

Residents can apply to serve on committees through the town’s website, but Douglas said strangely, he has had at least three applications from people who live in other states.

“I’m not sure why, because our meetings are not virtual, they are all in person, here in East Spencer, so I’m not sure how they could help, but I had one from as far away as Chicago.”

Granite Quarry continues to have vacancies on boards. According to town clerk Aubrey Smith, the Board of Adjustments has been cut down in the past only to still have the need persist. Five out of seven seats have so far been filled.

“I’m not sure why there has been a lack of voluntarism,” said Smith. “But it has lowered in the last five years.”

Even in Salisbury, there is a challenge to get folks to volunteer. Recently, the city council called for people to serve on the newly formed Bell Tower Green advisory committee. The issue of putting an American flag and flag pole in the park has brought the new board into the spotlight of late, and council member Harry McLaughlin, the council liaison to the new board, said he was “thrilled to have gotten more than 30 applications. There are only three seats on that board, which we filled, but I am letting people know we will be reaching out to applicants to see if they are willing to serve on other boards where we need their input.”

To apply, nearly every community has online applications, or residents can contact town managers or simply stop by the town hall.