SALISBURY — Rowan County has proposed a 10-year lease with an annual rent of just over $250,000 to the United States Department of Agriculture to rent out offices in the West End Plaza Agriculture Center once renovations have been complete.

The Rowan County Board of Commissioners will discuss the proposal at their next meeting Monday, April 3. If approved by the commissioners, the proposal will be sent to the USDA who will most likely send back a counter-offer. The total size of the office space is 5,189 square feet. If the lease is accepted, the USDA will be renting the space for $48 per square foot. Currently, their offices are located at the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Rowan County Center on Old Concord Road.

The county is also proposing a grant program called the “2023 Plumbing Grant for Lead Remediation for Qualified Customers of NE Rowan County Water System program.” The program is in response to analysis by outside engineering consultants that lead was leaching into drinking water from old or outdated private plumbing systems within some customers’ properties, according to a memo sent to the commissioners by county officials. Approximately 445 people living in the northeastern part of the county may be affected. If the commissioners approve the grant, it will allow qualifying customers to receive repairs to ensure lead will not be able to leach into their private plumbing systems.

The commissioners are also holding a public hearing to discuss a financing contract that will be used to finance a chunk of the costs for acquisition, construction and equipping of airport hangars at the Mid-Carolina Regional Airport. The financing contract is expected not to exceed $8.7 million. The total cost of the project is currently estimated at $12.7 million.

The Community Child Protection Team will also be at Monday’s meeting to present their annual report to the commissioners as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month, which occurs every April. The team is a group of community representatives who meet regularly to review child welfare cases. They are also requesting a proclamation from the commissioners to officially designate April 2023 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Rowan County.