SALISBURY — Over the course of Jan. 24 and 25, the Salisbury City Council had its annual retreat for staff leaders to come together at city hall to discuss Salisbury’s long-term strategic plan, multiple big picture topics and what lies ahead in 2024. 

City Manager Jim Greene said it’s the city’s objective for their three to five year strategic plan to receive final approval from council in Feb. Raftelis, the firm Salisbury hired to manage their strategic plan, had their Executive Vice President Michelle Ferguson and Consultant Janae Janik present where the plan is now and what the next steps entail.

“Your strategic plan is really the opportunity to begin to move in the direction that can help create the change that you all are interested in when it comes to tackling these really big, hard, gnarly challenges that you all face,” Ferguson said. 

The key focuses areas that were mentioned at the retreat included healthy, safe and engaged neighborhoods; economic and workforce development; public safety; organizational excellence; sustainable infrastructure; and cultural amenities. 

Later on in the day, attendees of the retreat took a trip to Concord to tour their streetscape and to hear from their planning, parks and recreation, and solid waste staff on the obstacles they faced as they began to expand and improve on their own city. People were split up into groups and toured Concord’s downtown area that’s currently under construction.

After the tours, everyone convened at the Cabarrus Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to find out more about the lessons Concord learned while implementing their enhancement projects. Those involved making business owners aware of what was going on, figuring out funding, working closely with contractors, and sometimes adjusting to what was initially intended.

Looking back

During the retreat Mayor Karen Alexander kicked things off with a presentation on Salisbury’s year in review for 2023. 

“(The year) 2023 was a dynamic year for the city of Salisbury,” Alexander said. “Our accomplishments this past year are nothing short of impressive as a team. As we continue to navigate the after effects of the pandemic and prepare for the growth at our doorstep, public safety, infrastructure, growth, neighborhoods and housing, downtown initiatives, quality of life, and grant opportunities are areas of critical importance for our community.”

Day two

On the second day of the retreat, Finance Director Wade Furches gave a financial review of last year and what this year will bring. Furches said the 2023 available general fund balance was a little more than $28 million. Some of the future fund balance needs listed were the Empire Hotel, downtown streetscapes, the Wells Fargo building, and more equipment. The city’s enterprise funds consisted of Salisbury Rowan Utilities, stormwater and mass transit. In the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, Furches believes Salisbury needs to prepare for more growth, staffing challenges, rising costs, revenues plateauing and decreasing and inflation. 

City staff talked about the 10-year housing strategy and the goals that were outlined covered forming housing options for all incomes, increasing possibilities for vulnerable populations, restricting “concentrations of poverty” and maintaining existing affordable housing. 

As Salisbury’s population rises, the solid waste division will have more demand. For the 2025 fiscal year budget, it was recommended that additional staff be hired and more equipment be purchased. To cover these costs, “potential increases in solid waste fees or a tax adjustment” could be made.

Rod Crider and Scott Shelton of the Rowan Economic Development Council went over the county’s scoring system when deciding incentives for companies who wish to relocate here. Investments, jobs created, average salaries and what type of industry all play a role in scoring. Staff will consider doing a similar scoring system for businesses coming to Salisbury. Advanced manufacturing, information technology and distribution are the “targeted industries” the county wishes to partner with.

The Rowan EDC brought up the fact that the city might want to bring back its industrial building revitalization grant program to revamp “underutilized corridors and older industrial buildings.”

“This is the kind of program that could address those start up or entrepreneurial companies,” Alexander said.

A few of the concrete plans Salisbury is moving forward with is the Kesler Mill study, the 10-year housing strategy, and upgrades to the Salisbury Civic Center. When asked about how she thought the retreat went, Alexander praised those who participated and contributed to making Salisbury a better place to live.

“It was highly productive and council worked really hard. It was intense and it was very interesting to go to another city and hear from those department heads,” Alexander said.