SALISBURY — The City Council set guidelines for a public-comment period after pushing back the start time of council meetings.

Wednesday’s meeting was the first at the 6 p.m. start. The meeting time was changed to encourage more residents to attend meetings and also to provide a solution to cutting into the middle of meetings with public comment or pushing the comment period back if there is a lengthy agenda item.

As part of his city attorney’s report, Graham Corriher reviewed the new public-comment policy and asked if the council wanted to set a specific time for public comment.

Mayor Al Heggins started the discussion, saying she prefers a specific time.

Mayor Pro Tem David Post said he understood the council agreed to move the meeting time to 6 p.m. so that  public comment could be shortly after 6 p.m.

“I thought one of the reasons that we moved the meeting from 5 to 6 so the first thing on the agenda after the perfunctory items would be public comment so it wouldn’t get interfere with the items on the agenda that may involve public participation or presenters or so forth,” Post said.

Councilwoman Tamara Sheffield said having public comment as the first agenda item would show the importance of the public’s voices.

“I think that it says that this is the first order of business,” she said. “Nothing is more important than the feedback of our citizens.”

The council agreed also that the public-comment period would be open as long as people were signed in. It will now follow the ceremonial items and adoption of the agenda.

Mike-o Martelli spoke during Wednesday’s public-comment period about the accessibility of meetings for people who don’t work a 9-to-5 job. He said it could be challenging for him to attend meetings if he has an early shift the next day and recommended the council consider a way to include those voices.

As the council began to discuss the time for its Feb. 12 retreat, Heggins echoed Martelli’s concerns, saying the retreat should be partly in the evening hours.

Several others suggested having it start Feb. 11 about dinner time and continue the next day in the morning with a flexible end time.

The council agreed with the exception of Heggins that the retreat should be from 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 11 and continue at 9 a.m. Feb. 12. Heggins said she wanted the second day to start at noon or 1 p.m.

Sheffield said she sees the schedule as accommodating the majority of people since there was a day meeting and night meeting.

The council agreed to go to a vote without Heggins’ support.

City Manager Lane Bailey gave an update on the adopted 2018-19 goals and outcomes and answered questions from the council, which included progress on transportation.

Councilwoman Karen Alexander asked it the staff had looked at providing a way to bring a bus stop closer to the train station, and Bailey said yes.

Bailey also invited Rowan Economic Development Commission Vice President Scott Shelton to give an update on Project Care. Shelton asked for the council’s approval for a public hearing at its Jan. 15 meeting to revise the incentive agreement after the number of jobs projected to come to the area was decreased.

The revised project now proposes the creation of 35 jobs with a $45.2 million investment.

Heggins gave a key to the city to Alex Clark and Alisha Byrd-Clark, who founded Gemstones Academy and COMPASS, for their youth program. Clark was diagnosed with ALS in 2015. Clark gave a call to action to the audience to help the youth of the community.