SPENCER — One month into his appointment to the town of Spencer’s Board of Aldermen, Rashid Muhammed said he is looking to bring the town “back to the basics.”

Muhammed was appointed to the board in June after the resignation of Howard White, who was appointed in January to fill the spot of Kevin Jones. Jones had been elected to the Rowan-Salisbury Schools Board of Education in November.

White’s resignation came amid turmoil between the town board and then-Town Manager Terence Arrington, a dispute that led the NAACP to pursue an investigation into town hiring practices and treatment of employees.

Muhammed’s concept of “basics” is this: “I want to improve communication between town employees and citizens and to encourage more people to be involved within the community,” he said.

“As a resident and as an alderman, we can agree to disagree, but we must respect one another, first and foremost,” he said. “All town employees and elected officials should be professional — no excuses.”

The 41-year-old Livingstone College graduate and youth counselor with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said he is hoping to use his background in human relations to facilitate improved relationships and communications both internally and externally.

“I hope to utilize that to bring awareness to these issues and, more than anything, be able to position people to enhance their quality of life,” he said.

Muhammed said the town needs to get ready for coming growth. The town has a steady flow of visitors because of the North Carolina Transportation Museum, but with e-commerce retailer Chewy’s distribution center on the way, more preparation is needed, he said.

“These people need a convenient place to live, not just visit,” he said. “We have a lot of potential within the town and things we have to take care of here, right now, so that we can progress.”

Muhammed said his vision is to turn Spencer into a place that people don’t just visit but a town where they do business, spend money and — in the best case — one where they relocate.

A necessary part of reaching this dream is developing vacant property as well as beautifying existing neighborhoods, Muhammed said.

Asked about outstanding projects along Fourth Street and Park Plaza, Muhammed said the same about both efforts: too much time has elapsed while these areas continue to suffer.

In the case of Fourth Street, the project is a matter of great importance, he said.

“The safety or our residents and visitors continues to be at risk,” said Muhammed. “We don’t need to just patch it up. We need a complete resurfacing, and we need to do it in a timely fashion.”

As for Park Plaza and the town’s plan to relocate its offices and Police Department there, Muhammed sees the same delays.

“That area has been vacant for too long,” he said. “There need to be businesses in place of those vacant spaces. I want to see lights on instead of off. There’s so much potential just sitting there. That alone could make the town thrive.”