By Amanda Raymond
amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The Salisbury Transit System received a first place award from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The city council will recognize the transit system at the meeting on Tuesday at 217 S. Main St. at 5 p.m.

The system won the fiscal year 2015 Performance Excellence Award. According to meeting documents, the recognition is awarded to transit systems with “exceptional performance” on benchmarks set by NC DOT Public Transportation Division. Those benchmarks included operating radio, cost per trip and passengers per hour.

The Salisbury Transit System was scored above the superior rating for four out of six opportunities and performed better than nine other systems in its urban category, including Concord/Kannapolis, Rocky Mount, Henderson County and Gastonia.

In other business, the council will:

• Recognize historic preservation efforts.
• Recognize Livingstone College foreign exchange students from India, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.
• Consider approving the consent agenda, which includes:
  • Adoption of an ordinance amending the city code to designate two handicap parking spaces on the west side of the 400 block of North Main Street and two spaces in the 500 block of North Main Street.
  • Adoption of a $8,554 budget ordinance amendment to the fiscal year 2016-17 budget to appropriate insurance proceeds received for damage to the city’s tower site.
  • Approval of the revised System Safety Review Program and Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy for the Salisbury Transit System.
• Hear a presentation on economic development strategies from Downtown Salisbury, Inc.
• Consider approving an advertising policy for the Salisbury Transit System.
• Hear public comment.
• Hear comments from the city manager about the purchase of a property at 310 Cedar Springs Road for the future site of Fire Station 6.
• Go into closed session to talk about an economic development matter.

The mayor will proclaim Oct. 8-9, 2016, as October Tour Days and Oct. 9-15, 2016, as Fire Prevention week.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.