West Rowan News, Events, and Fun

Cleveland NC zoning/planning board met tonight Dec 15, 2022.    Members present included: Jim Brown Chip Adkins Bryan Little John Brown Grayson Phillips Gaye Shelton Travis Elliot (owner and manager of Tobo's) asked for a conditional use permit to serve beer at Tobo's (restaurant) during lunch hours at 210 Amity Hill Rd, Cleveland (behind the new Food Lion).   Elliot said that he is currently open to 2 pm Tues - Sat. He said that he plans to be open one night a week in the future, probably Friday or Saturday. He said the restaurant would not be open late hours; he plans to close at 8 pm when adding evening hours.  Zoning board took eight minutes from opening to vote unanimously to approve beer/wine on a conditional basis for Tobo's. Adkins made the motion to approve, and Phillips seconded.  Zoning business was closed and planning opened with one item on the agenda, to change parcel 251, tax map 078 from General Business to Central Business.  Little sai...

The Cleveland, NC zoning board approved a 70 x 90 metal building for Tar Heel Materials & Building. The company is located at 725 Kesler Road which runs from Old 70 Main St over to Statesville Blvd.  The new building will have a solid back and eight garage doors to a loading dock. The height is 18 foot and 22 foot with the roof. The building will be 49 feet off the back property line and will not be visible from the road. A burm is already in place as well as mature trees in the 30 to 40 foot range.  Commissioner Chip Adkins noted that the current burm is looking "a little rough." A company representative said that it is hard to landscape with the current fence which was put in by the state but is not maintained by the state.  On a side note, it was confirmed that the burner/incinerator (previously approved by zoning) will be another fifteen weeks; The delay is related to the general delay of construction and other goods currently. Commissioner Bryan Little made a mot...

  Town board of Cleveland, NC had a special called meeting today 8-27-2021 to vote on a barn quilt trail and for cube barn quilts to mark stops on the trail.  Mayor Pat Phifer said that the meeting was at 3:30 on a Friday, because Commissioner John Bradfrad was only available at that time. This did exclude Commissioner Bryan Little who was at work during the time of the meeting.  Phifer brought a map of the proposed walking trail which included mostly churches and old schools. Here are the locations on the map from 1 to 10 (which are not marked on the map). 1. Cleveland Town Hall 2. Old West Rowan Middle School/Old West Rowan YMCA 3. Old Rosenwald School 4. Third Creek AME Zion Church 5. Allen Temple Presbyterian Church 6. Cleveland Barn Quilt at Cleveland Post Office Bld 7.. Cleveland Presbyterian Church 8. Cleveland First Baptist Church 9. Park on School Street or West Branch Rowan Public Library (Old Cleveland Elementary School) 10. Library/Cleveland Community Fire Dep...

    Town board members unanimously approved getting started on sewer and water projects that have been on the table for months at the monthly board meeting for August 2021.    Board member Gerald Osborne has been the lead in looking at current needs and building a multiyear plan for the future.  Doug Chapman of McGill Associates was at the meeting to discuss the overall project which includes repairs/improvements as well as major upgrades. The major rehab, he said, would be cost effective (versus starting from scratch in a new location) and based on the old Brevard St. Station which was built 39 years ago. There would be a riser and new pumps added where the current pumps are located and a second chlorine contact basin. A new splitter box would allow the town to close off a basin and work on the extra one as needed.  Chapman said that the town needs to look at and consider capacities at this point. For example, Daimler (used to be Freightliner) has a capaci...

  A special called meeting took place at town hall in Cleveland, NC at 4 p.m. today Wednesday June, 30, 2021. The first order of business at the special meeting was to approve contracts for two bands for summer concerts - Dancing on Depot. The contracts just specified the summer dates and pay at $2500 per band.  The two bands contracted were: The Chocolate Chip and Company Dirty Grass Souls The vote was unanimous to approve the band contracts. After a closed session to discuss hiring, the board named Frank Nolen to work for Cleveland maintenance. This is pending the standard health and drug checks. This closes out hiring for maintenance for the town.

Cleveland Community Volunteer Fire Department meets yearly, and today was a beautiful day for the annual meeting which was held in the big garage area housing the firetrucks with the doors open and warm breeze blowing. There were around twenty people present as the voting portion came to a close.  Captain Ron Herion welcomed visitors to the station and gave an overview of the process and details on the new fire station.  Board members voted in today included: Brian Fero Kenny Payne Ryan Haglan Jimmy Roberts Board members serve for three years with four rotating off or up for reelection every year. There are not term limits, so if locals wish to vote for additional terms for a board member, that is okay. The board is made up of twelve members total. Milestones for the Year at Cleveland Fire Dept. Captain Brian Fero gave the yearly round up. All told, there were 538 calls for the past year. Rescue techs were able to take part in trainings, and a new truck was added. The new truc...

  Cleveland, NC town board met today 2-19-2021 at 3:30 p.m. in a special session by Zoom. The meeting was to sort out a new wastewater treatment contract and to take bids for town mowing. Commissioners in attendance included Brian Little, Richard Taylor, and John Bradford. Patrick Phifer, mayor, was also at the meeting. Travis Summit was visible on Zoom for part of the meeting. Gerald Osborne had reviewed the wastewater contract prior. The contractor said that items 8 and 10 on the contract were problematic due to insurance. A lawyer advised against adding the town to the contractor's insurance. Also, Phifer had discussed the wastewater employee mowing the grass and doing weedeating at the water treatment facility. The contractor was fine about doing that, but insurance was an issue.  Commissioners voted to accept the contract with items 8 and 10 removed. Town maintenance will probably mow at the treatment facility as well as at the town park.  The cost of the service was...

The monthly Cleveland, NC town board meeting was by Zoom tonight. The signal was not good, so it was hard to get a connection, and then there was no audio until around 7:54. Pat Phifer said that there was no audio, because the commissioners were in closed session to discuss personnel.  Zoom visitors messaged about the lack of audio, but there was no response. I drove up to town hall to let them know about the audio problem, but they were not answering the door. When the audio was turned on, the commissioners were asked if they had any reports.  John Bradford did not have anything to report. Richard Taylor indicated that the ball will be rolling soon on the park. He gave some details which were not loud enough to make out. Travis Summitt gave the police report. There were 44 somethings, 3 arrests, 43 stops, and 68 citations. There was a question from someone about the number of stops. It seems like citations would be a lower number than stops. I'm not sure due to poor audio on ...

  A public hearing on amendments to zoning (related to alcohol sales and food trucks) held at the beginning of the Cleveland, NC town board meeting tonight Monday 12-14-2020 did not draw a crowd. In previous years, meetings that included decisions on alcohol drew more attention in the Cleveland, NC area. Two individuals signed up to speak to the issue of alcohol sales in town limits. Linda Dilliard (Frankie's Chicken & Ribs) said that she really needed the income from alcohol sales to stay in business. She is open only three days per week now due to Covid-19. Another restaurant, China Garden, which is across the parking lot, just closed shop due to the economic challenges with the coronavirus. The Asian restaurant featured a buffet (and shifted to by-the-plate for a period) which complicated seating, spacing, and limits on numbers of customers.  The second speaker was the brother of Dilliard, and he seconded the request and need for another sales revenue.  Changes in ...

  The Cleveland, NC town board held a "special meeting" today at 3 p.m. at town hall. All members of the board were present except Commissioner John Bradford who had forgotten about the meeting which was set up Monday at the Town Board monthly meeting. It was unclear what the topics of the special meeting might include. No agendas were provided. The time was used by Miller & Davis PR firm of Salisbury, NC to pitch for their company to build a web site for Cleveland, NC and for the firm to maintain the space.  The cost estimate from Miller/Davis is $31,150 for a year of web building and updates. The company thinks set up of a web site for Cleveland would run about $7,850 (one time) with a $450 yearly upkeep fee. Miller/Davis would anticipate needing to do four hours of work monthly on the web space at a cost of $250 and $350 to keep up social media. Part of the yearly cost would include a video which is planned and two or three others over time.  Per the representative...

Last night the Cleveland, NC zoning/planning board met at the Cleveland town hall. The meeting was scheduled for last week, but the meeting room was needed for voting 2020. Zoning included no business; planning focused on alcohol sales for area restaurants and details for food truck guidelines. The planning board finalized some of the wordings on the rules/guidelines for alcohol sales in town limits. The information will go on to the town board and to an open meeting for residents to respond.  Food trucks took more time. Fees, rules, and bad behavior were the main concerns.  The town clerk had gathered some data about fees charged by local towns that allow food trucks. A board member asked about a "happy medium." The clerk said the $50 for an annual permit and/or $25 for a single event were common amounts.  Board member Jim Brown said that the fee should be at least $250 and that "fifty dollars is chump change."  Bryan Little (town board and zoning/planning) said: ...

  Commissioners discussed the use of Covid-19 funds at the September monthly Cleveland, NC town board meeting. Possible expenditures with the government funds include a $25,000 walk up window at town hall or an $80,000 drive up window. The amount of funds in total granted to Cleveland is $61,619. Town employees have purchased laptop computers with some of the Covid-19 relief monies. The town plans to apply the rest of the funds to payroll pending decisions about how to spend the money. Board members indicated that they needed another meeting to make decisions and iron out details.  Car Canopy at Town Hall Commissioner Richard Taylor brought estimates and drawings of awnings for a carport area behind town hall. The lower estimate was for 28 feet of covered parking while 32 feet of parking coverage would cost twice as much coming in at $7000. Taylor said that Mayor Pat Phifer prefers the more expensive option. Phifer was not present at the meeting. The initial reason for purchas...

      What would you do if someone in your family or a close friend had a medical crisis? Would you know where to go? Would you know who to talk to? Are you aware of the services that are available for your loved one? Have you had the conversations that ensure that the wishes of those closest to you are carried out? Medical care can be complicated and especially so during this age of coronavirus.  Carolina Cares and Rowan County EMS are holding a FREE workshop on Wednesday August 18 at the Cleveland Town Hall from 1:30 to 3:00.  The workshop is ideal for anyone living with chronic medical concerns and for family members who may be working closely with a sick relative or friend. The focus is on planning ahead, so it's better to attend and get information before an emergency which can obviously happen to any of us at any time. At the session, attendees will learn how to assemble a full care team. Anyone can have top notch care if he/she knows how to find and navig...

The Cleveland, NC monthly town board meeting was held as scheduled and was inside for July. Board members and residents in attendance did wear masks due to coronavirus concerns. Cleveland has had a number of open town positions which is rather unusual in a town of this size. Openings were filled in maintenance and the police department. More details will be available tomorrow, so be sure to check back. Changes were made to current job descriptions. The major change was an addition to include "equivalent law enforcement supervisory experience." This was added to the portion that addresses educational requirements. It would balance education with experience on the job. The big ticket item on the agenda for the month was a lift truck. The truck would be used to put up flags at the 4th of July (and Christmas decorations etc). There were safety concerns about the current way of putting up town decorations. Cost of the truck which was approved was $25,500 for a used truck which was...

The Cleveland Town Board met tonight 5-11-2020 for the regularly scheduled town board meeting. The meeting last month (April 2020) was cancelled due to coronavirus concerns. The meeting tonight was closed to the public but broadcast over a loudspeaker due to coronavirus. Residents of Cleveland, NC (or other interested parties) are allowed by law to attend town board meetings, and those wishing to attend tonight could park in the parking lot at town hall and listen to the meeting over a loudspeaker at the front door of the building. There were four people who attended the meeting - three in cars and one on foot. Three stayed for the duration with the meeting ending around 8:19 p.m. with a temperature of 55 degrees outside.  Someone checked the speaker about 7:28 p.m. and raised the volume for the 7:30 meeting. The sound did not carry to the parking lot. It was possible to hear Mayor Pat Phifer if standing or sitting on the sidewalk, and it was possible to hear the town clerk most of...

Cleveland, NC town board members voted last night to send a request to the zoning committee for beer and food trucks within town limits. Current zoning laws in Cleveland disallow the sale of alcohol at restaurants and also for having food trucks in for events. As Mayor Patrick Phifer pointed out, the old ice cream trucks with the loud, clanging bells that senior members of the community may recall were not legal. Of course, things were much different years ago. Linda Dillard, on behalf of Frankie's (new Cleveland chicken restaurant), asked the board to go over the process for getting the sale of beer in town. She noted that patrons of Frankie's would like to have a Michelob with chicken. She said that food sales would remain the bulk of sales and that the restaurant planned to limit beers to "one or two." This may sound odd to people outside the area, but another restaurant in the zip code area does have a policy of not more than two beers per patron which has...

Tonight was a busy night at the Town Board Cleveland, NC with a large number of issues addressed and voted on. New Mayor Pro Tem Travis Summitt was nominated and approved as Mayor Pro Tem of Cleveland. Light Around Town Cleveland will be getting signage and decorative lights soon as well as LED lights in town buildings. Signage in Cleveland will be paid for by the county and will have a Rowan County theme. Signs specific to the West Rowan or Cleveland area will be unique and may be color coded with Cleveland having a light blue  color like the West Rowan High School color and signage. The project is in progress through the county, so it may take some time to get specifics. The town of Cleveland will be paying for decorative lighting for the key business areas or areas with sidewalks. The lights will be put in by Duke Power, and it is expected that Duke Power will include more lights on poles than are currently installed. The town is planning to do the lights in two...