SALISBURY — At its first meeting of 2022, the Rowan County Board of Commissioners on Monday will consider a request for the placement of a new cell tower southwest of Faith.

The request comes from Cellco Partnership on behalf of Verizon Wireless. The cellular service provider is requesting a special use permit to accommodate a 165-foot wireless support structure on a 24-acre tract located at 280 Rimer Road. Verizon has identified the need to improve coverage and capacity within the Mt. Hope Church Road area near the town of Faith, which could be accomplished by the construction of the tower.

An identical request was approved by the Board of Commissioners on March 19, 2018, but expired due to the lack of a zoning permit being issued within two years of approval.

Commissioners will meet at 3 p.m. in the J. Newton Cohen Sr. Room on the second floor of the Rowan County Administration Building. The meeting will be broadcasted online at https://bit.ly/rowanboc3pm.The password is 028144. The meeting can be joined by phone by dialing 602-753-0140, 720-928-9299, 213-338-8477.

Also on the meeting agenda:

• Commissioners will consider amending an incentive grant with Hexagon Agility to delay the start of the grant period. The company in March announced an expansion of its Salisbury facility that would create 75 new jobs and result in an investment of $28 million. The company plans to install new equipment and expand their  204,000-square-foot facility by 113,000 square feet as part of the project.

Hexagon originally estimated a substantial portion of the project to be completed by the end of 2021, but availability of materials are causing substantial delays for the project. Hexagon now estimates a substantial completion date of Dec. 31, 2023.

As a result, Hexagon is requesting that the board delay the start of the grant period from fiscal year 2022-23 to fiscal year 2024-25. The grant approved by commissioners will have Rowan County return 75% of the company’s paid taxes over a five-year period.

• The board will consider awarding the firearm of deceased Rowan County Master Deputy Billy Marsh to his surviving spouse, Nicole. Marsh died in October after contracting COVID-19. He had been a full-time deputy with the sheriff’s office since 2015 but had worked there part-time since 2012. In addition to his wife, Marsh is survived by a young daughter.

• Commissioners will consider scheduling a public hearing for Jan. 18 to consider a rezoning request from property owner Jaypal Kalagiri to operate a cricket field and private club on his 35.5 acre parcel of land located at the 2100 Block of Glover Road in Salisbury. The request is to rezone the property from rural agricultural to rural agricultural with a conditional district to operate the field.

• Commissioners will consider selecting Vector Fleet Management to provide fleet maintenance services to the majority of Rowan County vehicles. While the board will consider the official contract at a later date, the agreement will include personnel of 1.5 positions for management and 2.5 positions for mechanics. The cost of services will be $662,340 in the first year, $678,898 in the second year and $695,870 in year three. In total, the services will cost $2.04 million over three years.

• Commissioners will consider approving an extension of premium pay until June 25 for first responders who either are or may be in direct contact with a person infected with COVID-19. The board initially approved premium pay in August from Aug. 8 to Jan. 8, which included a per-pay-period amount of $153.20 for full-time employees and 10% for part-time employees. The premium pay applied to job titles in the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Services division.

In addition to extending the pay, commissioners are also being asked to include the positions of emergency services training officer, telecommunications deputy chief and telecommunications section chief as those receiving premium pay.

• The board will consider approving change orders for contracts with four different foster care agencies that provide services to the Department of Social Services. Each of the original contracts were not to exceed $60,000, but since more services are required from each agency, the change would allow the contracts to increase to no more than $160,000.

• Commissioners will consider approving change orders for work being done by Dellinger related to the construction of a Chemical Booster Station. The station is part of the county’s solution to the elevated levels of lead in drinking water found in some homes in the Dukeville community, which relies on Salisbury-Rowan Utilities’ Northeast Water System. The change orders are to cover a generator and associated work in addition to additional metering pump monitoring. If the change orders are approved, the total cost of the project will be $819,723.

• The board will consider approving a proclamation declaring Jan. 17 at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The board would typically meet on the 17th, but moved its second meeting of the month to Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.

• Commissioners will consider a request for a special use permit from Russel Woolf and Danielle Soroka to accommodate a 2,400-square-foot residential storage facility that would be located on a parcel diagonal to their house in the Waters Edge neighborhood near High Rock Lake. The storage facility would be used for personal belongings.