Is It 100% Sure the Central Office is Not Going to 329 S. Main?
To the Esteemed Editor of the Rowan Free Press,
The other day my heart leaped with utter joy when I read the RFP’s article that the boondoggle taxpayer waste Downtown Central Office was NOT going to land on the infill at 329 S. Main St. This failure to go forward was due to a Local Government Commission statute. Basically this turkey would land again on the County Commissioner’s table where at least three of the commissioners would give it the thumbs down.
Well I believe you, but a few of my associates have their heads turned by Salisbury’s version of Pravda, the city government, and Lil’ Richard at the board of education. I tell these knuckleheads repeatedly the RFP stands with its feet anchored in the real world. The RFP revealed the Baby Faced Fuhrer, Salisbury’s fearless city manager, often creatively repaints known reality. Ole Baby Face said Fibrant was a success when everyone knows it was a breathtaking flop. He claimed there would be no airport de-annexation because of some fruitcake “special criteria”. He okayed wrongful terminations of city employees. I could go on and on about this joker’s veracity, but still some people in Salisbury believe they can get a good price on the Brooklyn Bridge. I raise this question about the Central Office NOT going to 329 S. Main St. because of the School Board lawyer the other night acted like it was still going to happen. In fact he seemed certain about it.
So my question is: how sure are you that the Central Office will not happen at 329 S. Main?
Jonathan Morris, US Army Ranger, Ret. and Rowan County Sheep Baron
Jonathan:
Nothing in life is absolutely certain. However, if I was to assign a percentage of certitude to the RFP’s previous article about the Central Office not going forward at 329 South Main I might list it as 99.99% certain. I write this with the knowledge that sometimes the Earth wobbles on its axis, the North Magnetic Pole shifts, and Craig Pierce might get run over by a golf cart and suffer a head trauma, leading to a strange county commission vote.
Take it to the bank there will be no Downtown Central Office at 329 S. Main within the next several years. We research our articles and don’t print them unless we know them to be factually verifiable. I am 99.99% certain because I read the state statute and it was reviewed by two attorneys. Adding further to this growing body of evidence are communications with the Chairman Jim Sides who spoke with the LGC and confirmed that the statutes would indeed send the lease agreement back to the County Commissioners for approval. The commissioners will not approve the lease agreement between the city and the school board.
Steve Mensing, Editor
Distressed by the Downtown Central Office
By Dr. Ada M. Fisher, MD, MPH
I am distressed by the ministrations over an exotic and expensive school administration building which seems to masquerade as a mini-convention center or city center ring attraction first and an administration building secondly.
My objections are:
-the public needs an accounting of the properties already owned by the school system before any further appropriations are allocated for such. When I was on the school board we had at least three defunct schools, storage buildings and some vacant properties which were in disrepair. These need to be tallied, exposed and sold with the revenue generated used to pay for the proposed debt on a new structure.
-figures show a loss of approximately 4,000 students in the last several years. This means we are shrinking, not expanding our student pool and justifying more administrative space is a hard sell.
-as one increasingly limited in my mobility, the proposed building would be harder to negotiate than that on a one floor design say in the declining and likely available Salisbury Mall space. The law says we must accommodate.
-$6 million for a new building neglects a statement on the need for a new facility for parking which is likely equally expensive.
-Monies allocated for a new building could better be used to further address student needs and teacher supports.
Lastly as I’ve read comments pitting the Board of Education vs. County Commissioners, we all are losing in the rancor of the debate which displaces not only the best interest of students but that of the tax paying community base as well. I sense a swelling concern that the school board needs taxing authority to get what it wants. This would be unfortunate for when I lived in Chicago, IL, partly as a result of such actions, my monthly taxes for city and county services was $750 which was a factor in my decision to come home to North Carolina.
If folks sit still long enough who knows, the space in the Salisbury Customer Service Center might additionally become available. This proposed school administration building request seems to represents another poorly planned and thought out venture.
Ada M. Fisher, MD, MPH
West Historic District Resident
NC Republican National Committeewoman
Response by Steve Mensing, Editor
Ada:
Although your email arrived about the time the RFP broke the news that the Central Office was dead in the water at 329 S. Main, your case is exceptionally well argued and needs to be aired to our readership.
Take care, Steve
