By Mark Wineka

mark.wineka@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — The town of Granite Quarry has hired Jason Hord as its maintenance supervisor. He replaces the retired Kim Cress, who served in the position for many years.

Hord was introduced to the Board of Aldermen at its meeting Monday night.

A resident of Rockwell, Hord had been with Advance Auto Parts in Charlotte for the past 22 years, holding positions of sales clerk, assistant store manager, store manager and, since 2007, district commercial sales manager.

He has earned  emergency medical technician and Firefighter 1 and 2 certificates from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and is a 1997 graduate of A.L. Brown High in Kannapolis.

In other business Monday, on a staff recommendation, the aldermen approved removal of a line from the town’s unified development ordinance. The line permitted “alcohol beverage packaged, retail sales” in the highway business district.

In March, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Brinkley and others questioned whether the town was giving up some of its control over alcohol sales in town by removing the line, leading the board to ask for an opinion from Town Attorney J. Graham Corriher.

Corriher said the staff recommendation to remove the line was meant to reduce confusion about alcohol sales.

For example, Granite Quarry has two convenience stores, each of which sells alcoholic beverages. One of the stores is in the highway business district, where alcohol sales are permitted by the zoning ordinance.

The other convenience store, which is across U.S. 52 from the other, lies in a central business district, in which the zoning ordinance seems to indicate alcohol sales are not specifically permitted.

But Corriher noted the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission regulates the sale of alcohol, not the town.

“Assuming both of these retailers have appropriate ABC permits,” Corriher said, “the town could not, through its zoning ordinance, permit or prohibit either from engaging in these sales.”

In other words, Corriher said, if beer and wine sales are what the town intends to regulate through its zoning ordinance, it does not have that authority.

“We don’t really have control,” Brinkley said after hearing Corriher’s explanation.

Brinkley suggested taking the reference to “alcohol beverage packaged, retail sales” out of the zoning ordinance.

The board approved that proposal 4-0.

In another matter Monday, Mayor Bill Feather told his fellow board members that the town has used the same auditor, Eddie Carrick of Lexington, since 2009.

“Should we go out to bid or keep the same auditor?” Feather asked.

Board members asked the town staff to get some price comparisons, and they delayed a decision on how to proceed with hiring an auditor until April 20.

In other business, aldermen:

• Learned the Revitalization Committee is close to choosing a new logo for Granite Quarry in which the letters “GQ” will figure prominently. It also will incorporate the county’s “Be an Original” slogan.

• Learned from Town Manager Phil Conrad that the town is within days of rolling out a new website design.

• Were reminded that a public hearing will be held at 4 p.m. Monday to consider a moratorium on all building permits within the central business district while the town comes up with design guidelines that fit in with its revitalization plans.

The board also will work on the 2017-2018 budget at the Monday meeting.

• Were reminded of a meeting at 5 p.m. April 20 to hear public comments on amending the town charter to change the term of mayor from two years to four years.

• Issued a proclamation recognizing the 100th anniversary of Civitan International, founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1917.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.