SALISBURY — The Salisbury City Council plan to address the mayoral vacancy during its upcoming meeting on Tuesday.

The city council members hold the power to make appointments to the city council, and can fill a mayoral vacancy in several different ways. They can choose to appoint a sitting member of the council to the chief seat or choose another resident of Salisbury who is eligible. If a sitting member of the council is chosen, the members would then be responsible for appointing someone to their seat. 

The mayoral seat has been vacant since Mayor Karen Alexander died in late December.

Because Alexander was the only registered Republican on the council, Rowan County Republican Party Chairman Tony Yon sent an open letter to the members of the council asking them to choose a Republican to replace her, saying that he wanted “continued equitable representation for our citizenry.” However, state law does not lay out any requirements for possible candidates, including registered parties.

The Salisbury City Council meets on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in town hall, located at 217 S. Main St., Salisbury. The other agenda items that will be discussed include:

• The council will consider the voluntary annexation of a 27.68-acre property on Sells Road.
• The council will consider an amendment to the city’s land development ordinance, clarifying that banner signs are prohibited and allowing for the conversion of standard billboards to electronic billboards. The agenda proposal notes that the city is capped at its current amount of billboards, meaning that the ordinance would only affect the conversion of pre-existing ones.
• The council will receive an update on the city’s planned release of an RFP for the redevelopment of the Kesler Mill site located at 423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. St. Currently, the conceptual plan for the site includes streets, a greenway or trail, and 147 units for low-to-moderate income households, with a priority on senior housing.
• The council will consider revising the city’s investment grant program in order to allow for a scoring system for companies looking for economic incentives for expansions or relocations. The system would be similar to the county’s scoring system, which provides companies the ability to receive larger incentive packages through a grading rubric which looks for issues such as larger job creation, target industries for the community and whether the company provides healthcare, among others.
• The council will consider an ordinance allowing for all-day parking on the north side of the 100 and 200 blocks of East Liberty Street. The change is being brought to the council after five of six business owners along the street signed a petition asking for it.
• The council will consider entering into agreements with the North Carolina Department of Transportation adjusting funding for the Grants Creek Greenway project.