English: Rowan County Courthouse in Salisbury, North Carolina, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Steve Mensing, Editor
(Information from the 2013 Rowan County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, RowanWorks, and previous RFP articles)
♦As we head toward the year’s end we thought it a good time to roll out our Rowan County Government’s cornucopia of recent major accomplishments and initiatives. We believe the county commissioners (Chairman Jim Sides, Vice-Chairman Craig Pierce, and Mike Caskey, Chad Mitchell, and Jon Barber) deserve a hearty round of applause along with their the County Manager Gary Page and all the employees who work tirelessly for the county.
The honor roll of our Rowan County Government’s accomplishments and initiatives:
• Airport De-annexation. Craig Pierce was a major engineer behind this county coup of recapturing the airport from city who slowed its development. The county is now the sole taxing authority. The runway extension was icing on the cake. Jim, Mike, and Chad joined Craig in getting this vision off the ground along with the our local legislative delegation: Carl Ford, Harry Warren, Andrew Brock, and Gene McLaurin. Bi-partisan support helped railroad it through Salisbury’s protestations. A major victory for the county.
• I-85 Interchange in the Southern End of the County. Craig Pierce brought this interchange, to be built South of Beaty’s Ford Road, to our attention prior to election. It’s been a Rowan Free Press favorite, offering a large area to grow major retail and light industry in long neglected Southern Rowan as well as serving the function of providing a safe entry point for EMS vehicles.
• The Approval of the National Association of Counties Dental Discount Program. This program assists uninsured county residents to afford dental care. The program provides discounts to certain health care providers.
• Salisbury Mall Purchase. While not yet fully consummated, the Mall offers an incredible opportunity to buy highly affordable office space and building property for county expansion. A real taxpayer win in the long run offering the county wide possibilities for expansion. The entire property will likely come in at give or take 1.7 million dollars This will be a tremendous economic boost to the Mall area of Salisbury.
• The New 911 Telecommunications Center. Sides, Caskey, Mitchell, Barber, and Pierce helped move this state-of-the-art project along and saved the city of Salisbury somewhere around $400,000 on its budget. The citizens of Rowan county are safer today because of this project.
• The County’s Highest Transparency Grade of Any Local Government in North Carolina–County or Municipality. So says the esteemed John Locke Foundation. The grade is based on the amount of public information the County makes available on line–the number of employees, employee salaries by job code, health expenses, and financial information reports. Here is the Rowan County’s Transparency page:
http://www.rowancountync.gov/GOVERNMENT/Departments/InformationSystems/Transparency.aspx
• Pictometry Purchase. This solid future move can be extremely valuable in assessing property taxes and in helping law enforcement to have detailed photographs of buildings and properties for sieges and drug enforcement. Multiple other values as well.
• Summit Retail Development. Another future tense win and a large one for all of Rowan County is the development of the Summit property for retail. This project would limit retail leakage. The outcome will likely be known within a few months. Some major name big box chain stores could be sprouting up at Summit, building the county’s tax base, jobs, and saving on consumer gas consumption.
• The County’s Purchase of Agenda Management Software. This helps in converting from paper agenda materials to the county’s online system. During commission meetings the commissioners and staff can view important meeting materials on an IPAD, while the viewing public can follow along on computers and smart phones as well as on the projection system in the commission chambers.
• The County Airport’s Construction of a Community Hanger and Runway Extension. The construction of a spacious hanger provides much needed space for incoming aircraft patrons, larger aircraft, and those aircraft arriving late in the evening. Such improvements provide economic development opportunities by attracting long-term corporate clients.
• The Growth and Development of the Rowan County Public Libraries. Anyone who utilizes our county public library system will note its steady growth, technological improvements, and outstanding catalog of books, DVDs, and historical materials.
• Rowan County Transit Vehicles Will Be Retrofitted with Devices Reducing Emission Pollution and Lowering Fuel Costs. Using cleaner fuels, our retrofitted transit vehicles will save taxpayer dollars.
• Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded Rowan County a Certificate of Achievement For Excellence in Financial Reporting for its comprehensive annual report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30th 2012.
• A New Modular Ambulance Station for the Western Part of Rowan County. In 5 years a more permanent building will replace the modular ambulance station, uplifting the safety in West Rowan. Both buildings will reduce emergency response call time and save lives.
• Significant Economic Development Projects Announced, Under Construction, or Completed during the 2013 Fiscal Year in Rowan County. The economic development projects produce new construction and add significant jobs to Rowan County. The economic development roster includes:
* Hitachi Metals North Carolina.
* Henkel Corporation.
* Courtyard by Marriot.
* Integro Technologies.
* Universal Forest Products.
* Gildan Activewear.
* Freshouse II.
