SALISBURY — City Transportation Director Wendy Brindle announced that she would be retiring in May and took time on Tuesday to introduce the city council members to Jared Mathis, who would be taking over the department after her retirement.

Brindle has served in multiple capacities with the city for over a decade, having served as an engineer, the director of engineering and finally the director of the transportation department. On Tuesday, she announced that former N.C. Department of Transportation Engineer Jared Mathis would replace her when she officially retires on May 1.

For now, Mathis said that he was working under Brindle to get the lay of the department, learning as much as he could before the change went into effect.

“I want to thank Wendy for sticking around for a few extra months to teach me and just guide me in the right direction to get familiar with the processes,” said Mathis.

Mathis is a Rowan County native who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before working with the city of Concord as an engineer. He would then go on to the NCDOT, where he would work for seven years as both a designs and then contract engineer.

“He spent his last seven years at (NDCOT), where he advanced rapidly and was the division 10 contract engineer before moving here. He also held several titles including innovation coordinator, Title VI liaison and bid review chairman,” said Brindle.

Mathis is currently a resident of Granite Quarry, where he lives with his family and serves as the vice-chairman of the town’s planning board.

“I want to thank the council members and city manager for giving me this opportunity, getting to interview for this. One thing I do like to pride myself on is making a difference wherever I’m at. It’s kind of a family rule of ours, so I look forward to making a difference and I look forward to working with each and every one of (the city council members),” said Mathis.

The transportation department is responsible for traffic engineering and planning within the city limits, including planning and engineering for special projects and private development as well as governing the city’s street lights. 

Council introduced to Parks and Rec Assistant Director Brawley

During the meeting on Tuesday, the members of the city council were also publicly introduced to new Salisbury Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Rakeem Brawley, who was officially named to the role in November of 2024.

“My roots started here in the city of Salisbury, so being able to come back has been a blessing and something that I’ll treasure forever,” said Brawley.

Brawley was introduced by Parks and Recreation Director Keisha Coxe, who he said was “one of the best in the business” and someone he was looking forward to continuing to learn from.

Brawley comes to Salisbury from the town of Mooresville, where he worked for 10 years, ending as a recreation supervisor. Before that, he received a bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University and a master’s degree from North Carolina State University.

Brawley lives in Mooreville, where he serves on the Mooresville Graded School District Board of Education.

“Salisbury is one of the most welcoming (teams) that I’ve been a part of and I’ve been in five municipalities so that’s kudos to you all. And when I look at it, I’m just excited. I feel like the city of Salisbury has endless opportunities,” said Brawley.