By Hugh Fisher
hfisher@salisburypost.com
CONCORD ó Monday night, the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to support a plan for the realignment of Pitts School Road that preserves a historic farmhouse and agricultural land.
The realignment is part of a multimillion-dollar project to widen Interstate 85 to eight lanes between the Interstate 485 and N.C. 73 interchanges.
Two plans for straightening Pitts School Road were presented for consideration, one of which would result in the demolition of a historic farmhouse and the loss of valuable farmland owned by the Barbee family, which has farmed the site for six generations.
Based on findings from the Cabarrus County Agricultural Advisory Board and public outcry, County Manager John Day presented a draft letter to the N.C. Department of Transportation in support of an alternative proposal requiring less land and preserving nearby businesses and the farmhouse.
Not only is the second plan more beneficial to the community, Commissioner Bob Carruth noted, but it will also be about $125,000 less expensive to build.
“This will help everyone,” he said.
In other business before the commissioners:
– Chief Edwin Phillips of the Allen Volunteer Fire Department was recognized on his retirement after over 37 years of service, 28 of them as fire chief.
“It is our distinct honor to recognize someone who has meant a lot to his community,” Bobby Smith, Cabarrus County’s emergency management director, said in remarks to the board.
Smith said he had calculated the amount of money Phillips could have received as a paid professional firefighter at over $1 million.
Laughing, Phillips jokingly asked commissioners for a receipt so he could deduct the contribution on his taxes.
On behalf of the board, Carruth presented Phillips with a plaque recognizing his decades of service.
“We appreciate the sacrifice he’s made and the passion he’s had for the county,” Carruth said.
– Commissioners entered closed session to discuss prices and plans for three possible sites for a satellite county office complex.
Deputy County Manager Mike Downs said the sites in question – at Afton Ridge, the International Business Park and Coldwater Ridge – are all more suitable than the original plan to locate the office complex at the former county fairgrounds.
Carruth related concerns he had heard expressed at the possibility of some offices, especially the Board of Elections, being located too far from downtown Concord.
The board voted unanimously to enter closed session to discuss potential negotiations for land purchases, but Chairman Jay White said no action would be expected before the next regular board meeting.