By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
Salisbury City Council has approved a demolition of the facade at the former Friendly Cue pool hall at 135 E. Fisher St.
The demolition work, which will include a portion of the interior, is part of the building’s $2.5 million to $3 million transformation to a children’s theater for Piedmont Players.
Council regulates demolitions in the downtown historic district. The Historic Preservation Commission also approved of the work.
The present facade is not original to the 1920s building and is not compatible with “contributing” buildings in the historic district. The building was omitted from National Register of Historic Places district in 1975 because of the facade.
Demolition often can be controversial within a historic district, but Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz said she wholeheartedly supports this work because it will return the building to the way it looked originally.
The children’s theater will be another plus for that area, Mayor Pro Tem Paul Woodson said.
While council members agreed on tearing down the facade, Councilman Bill Burgin said it’s still important for them to consider the five criteria for issuing a demolition permit.
The demolition planned is for a non-contributing aspect of the structure, the work is not a threat to the rest of the district, and the building will be returning to how it appeared originally, Burgin said, adding, “this one meets all those good criteria.”
In another matter related to construction or demolition, council amended the noise ordinance so that it specifically sets out the hours that building construction is permitted in the city.
The ordinance now states building construction should take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. The noise ordinance says no construction should take place on Sundays.
The reason for putting specific hours in the ordinance is to give the Police Department some parameters for citing violators, Kluttz said.
Councilman Mark Lewis said he has always wondered whether construction activity was limited to certain times in the city. Action on noise ordinance violations must be complaint-driven, Lewis said, because he knows that construction happens frequently on Sundays.
In other business, council:
– Set a public hearing for Nov. 18 to receive comments on a proposed Cultural Action Plan.
Copies of the plan are available on the city’s Web page. Hard copies also are available at the planning office on the second floor of City Hall.
“We have a great document with a lot of good ideas in it,” Lewis said.
A large community task force worked with consultant Mary Berryman Agard on producing the document, which sets out numerous goals and strategies toward a more “creative enterprise economy.”
– Approved the purchase of a $115,764 Cooper Kenworth dump truck for Salisbury-Rowan Utilities.
– Approved the voluntary annexation of 98.7 acres of the Sacred Heart Church and School property off Jake Alexander Boulevard. The annexation becomes effective Dec. 31.
– Heard that a textured crosswalk, scheduled to be installed at Fulton and West Innes streets, would have to be located instead at Long and Council streets. Burgin and Councilman William “Pete” Kennedy asked city staff to investigate whether the stamped asphalt demonstration project, being offered to the city at no cost, could be placed at South Long and East Fisher streets.
Urban Design Planner Lynn Raker said she would investigate whether that intersection would work.