Rowan County Commisioners 2-17-2020 Meeting and West Rowan Library Notes

The Rowan County Commission monthly meeting tonight 2-17-2020 was a very quick meeting - lasting only ten minutes from start to finish.

Chairman Jim Greene opened the meeting, and Chaplain Michael Taylor said an opening prayer. Greene noted that the prayer was for "solemnity" and that the prayer was said "for us and not for you." He was referencing some of the political upheaval surrounding prayers at local governmental meetings in previous years and the shift from board members rotating saying opening prayers to having a member of the religious community on board to do so.

Before moving to business issues Greene noted that the overhead screen was new as was the projector. The old screen had fallen and was damaged beyond repair. The new system was good. Images were clear.

Taxes and expenditures were the key items on the agenda. Commissioner Leslie Hedrick showed a number of graphs showing financial data. She noted that tax collection was "better than expected" for this time of the year compared to previous years. Tax collections were lower in July due a later mailing of tax bills, but residents paying these bills rebounded in August. "We are right in line," said Hedrick who pointed out that taxes and expenditures had increased in the last year as would be expected.

A change order for the Library West Branch was on the agenda for tonight, but it fell under approval of consent. In other words, the library costs will be covered as necessary, and the issue did not need to be addressed in the public forum.

Rowan Public Library West Branch Update Notes

Melissa Oleen, Library Director was present at the Rowan County Board meeting and was kind enough to stay after the meeting to talk about the soon-to-open West Rowan branch.

The change order with the Board was for the ceiling in the old auditorium. Once construction began, it was discovered that there was no insulation between the roof and ceiling. This was starting to cause condensation problems especially with all the rain recently. The county will be adding insulation which will take care of the condensation and also reduce costs on heating and air conditioning.

The heavy and frequent rains this winter have slowed down progress a bit on the library. The tentative opening will be May assuming that things go smoothy as far as work on the buildings and grounds. The plan is to have the facility open in time for the summer reading program.

Summer reading is a program across the county for all ages and has been available to people in the western part of the county through the Cleveland town hall. Participants are invited to read and record books during a seven week time period. Children in the program are eligible to win prizes. This year people in the West Rowan area will have a branch for local check through the county system with the new west branch.

Once the west branch opens, full library programming will be offered in Cleveland. This means that the sessions for children will be available to local kids without having to drive to Salisbury. There will also be other special programs depending on the facility and interests. The old school stage was preserved in a smaller room than previously and will allow for some very nice programming.

Residents who attended Cleveland Elementary School (part of which was used as the shell for the new library branch) will be glad to know that the old hardwood floor in the auditorium was saved and is there for everyone to enjoy when the branch opens.

There will be some kind of open house to mark the opening of the branch in Cleveland, so keep an eye for updates. Plans are in progress currently.

There are a few jobs open at the new facility. Check the Rowan Public Library web page for details if interested.