West Rowan News, Events, and Fun

    Town board of Cleveland, North Carolina met today Friday 3-25-2022 at 3:30 p.m. for a special called meeting. No one was present other than board members, the town clerk, and this writer from West Rowan News, Events, & Fun. The meeting started at 3:37 and lasted less than 40 minutes. Items on the agenda included four expenditures which required town board votes. Two were approved unanimously, and two will be held over. The first item up for vote was $5000 for a line item to the budget for Miller/Davis which is a PR firm out of Salisbury. The company built the town web site to replace the existing one. The $5000 was added to cover training and maintenance. Maintenance would include adding items to the web site or making changes.  Last February, the board voted to pay $7800 for set up of the web site and $4664 for maintenance at the monthly town board meeting.  The second item on the agenda was the electronic/digital town board sign which will replace the exist...

  Cleveland, NC town board met tonight 3-14-2022 with things more like our old "normal." Commissioners were back at their desk, citizens were in rows with no spacing, and no one wore masks after many, long months of Covid precautions.  The town welcomed new hire Financial Officer Rebekah Brown who started at the last meeting as an observer. She joins Kelly Rodgers at Town Hall. Brown grew up in the area as did Rodgers. In other employee business, John Ritchie's contract was extended at full-time through June 30 due to medical concerns in the wastewater treatment department. After June, he will shift to part-time status per the last town board meeting.  The town voted for a new contractor for chemicals at the wastewater plant. The change results in a savings of $5237 per year per Commissioner Gerald Osborne who said that commissioners should be looking at annual cost savings in all areas.  The mowing contract for the town was approved for this year. The town voted to ...

The town of Cleveland, NC will be adding sidewalks on Main Street from School St. down to where Cline's Oil operated across from Freighliner (Dahlemer). Some residents have been wanting sidewalks on the main road for years. Tonight the board voted to install those for $38,000. The portion of Main St. with sidewalks added will also be in the next round of lights added. The plan is to have decorative light poles in any portion of Cleveland with sidewalks.  The vote on sidewalks came near the end of the meeting during the Other New and Unfinished Business portion of the agenda. In addition, Mayor Pat Phifer shared the names of the bands scheduled for Dancing on Depot. They are as follows: April 2022 - Divided by  Four (out of Salisbury) May 2022 - 7 Roads June 2022 - Catalinas (out of Union Grove) July 2022 - Red Dirt Revival August 2022 - a mountain group or maybe gospel   September 2022 - Mother Trucker The cost for the first three bands is $6900, so the board voted ...

  Tonight marked the official last town board meeting for town clerk/financial officer Cathy Payne who is retiring after 28 years. Payne was officially thanked at the board meeting by three previous mayors, the current mayor, and Nancy Brown. She was also given a plaque in appreciation of her many years of service to the town.  Since a new financial officer has not been hired, the board voted that Pat Phifer would fill that position in the interim so that checks can be signed. Phifer, Osborne, and Gabriel can sign checks. Gabriel was added to the town of Cleveland safety deposit box which is currently listed with Payne and Jim Brown.   The board approved the amount of $453,000 for the upgrade of the Brevard pump station refurbishment with a 10% contingency. This was approved by all board members. Per board member Gerald Osborne, this will complete the upgrades which have been in progress for eight years. Board members voted unanimously to have the town logo placed on two ...

Two public hearings were handled in short order at the Nov 2021 monthly town board meeting of Cleveland, NC. Issues had been discussed previously, and no one attended to ask questions or to bring up concerns, so both items were approved.  They include: 1. The barber shop building across from the post office can be used as a single family dwelling on the second floor. 2. Changes were made to zoning for electronic message boards. Per Commissioner Bryan Little (who is on the zoning board as well as on the town board), sizes for signs were changed to better reflect what is available on the market. The limit on the size for the lighted part of a message board will now be 4x8' (32 square feet) with a monument sign base.  Zoning Fines Kick In with New Zoning Rules No one signed up to speak directly before the meeting, but business owner Coty Speight had signed up for the agenda to request consideration on a $1750 fine (at $50 per day) for not meeting zoning requirements as they perta...

Tonight 10-11-2021 was the monthly town board meeting in Cleveland, NC. A number of topics were covered, but most were ongoing business or items requiring follow up.  Two items on the agenda will require public hearings, and those will be combined with the next town board meeting in Nov which will be at 6 pm. Town board members voted to move meetings from November 2021 through March 2022 from 7:30 back to 6:00, because it is getting dark sooner now and Standard Time will go back into effect next month.  Items to go up for a public hearing: 1. Zoning text amendment so Leo White (our local barber) can use the second floor of the barber shop as a single family dwelling/apartment.  2.  Amendment to current zoning pertaining to electronic message boards so that the town's new message boards will meet zoning.  A discussion of an electronic message board for the town of Cleveland centered on an estimate in hand that was over the limit for brightness. More estimates wil...

The big item of business of the night at the monthly Cleveland, NC town board meeting 9-13-2021 was money for road work The board approved $238,602 with $93K from general funds to Angel Paving. Roads included for work are in the Hill and Dale subdivision and also Smith Rd. These roads have not been overhauled for 25 plus years according to estimates by town board members. Barn Quilt Cubes - Add Cost of Installation  Mayor Pat Phifer told town board members that the barn quilt cubes which were approved last meeting will cost $3400 more than voted on. The extra money is for the installation at $340 per cube pole. The $8282 was for the actual cubes. The total of the project is now $11,682. "I made that mistake, " said Phifer. The board voted to pay the extra. Decorative Street Lamps in Town - Legal Contract Concerns  The bulk of the meeting was devoted to the contract for the decorative lights. Duke Energy had sent a contract for the town to sign. Commissioner Gerald Osborne had...