Action teams to form following community approval
Salisbury residents who participated in the Community Action Planning Sessions, which centered on four focus areas necessary for Salisbury’s future, will reconvene Monday, Aug. 14, and Saturday, Aug. 19, to collectively approve the strategic goals they developed earlier in the year. Citizen action teams also will be assigned to manage accomplishment of the goals.
The Monday, Aug. 14 event will be held at the Civic Center, 315 S. MLK Ave., at 6 p.m., while the Saturday, Aug. 19, event will be held at City Hall, 217 S. Main Street, at 10 a.m.
In April and May residents were encouraged to attend the Community Action Planning Sessions to help advance the vision of a “healthier community that provides a livable environment which is safer, with higher educational achievement, stronger workforce and employment opportunities and better relationships between the community, the City and law enforcement.”
Salisbury residents developed the bulk of the goals in an effort to shape the city’s future for success in each of the following four areas:
- Improved public safety and its relationship with citizens
- Opportunities for children
- Improved community relations
- Workforce development
The vision and focus areas were developed over a two-month period of work sessions in early 2017, featuring more than 20 community stakeholders from organizations including workforce development, religious institutions, the Salisbury Police Department, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Livingstone and Catawba Colleges, and the Salisbury-Rowan NAACP.
Facilitator Brenda Anderson presented preliminary data at the Tuesday, Aug. 1 City Council meeting, where she outlined draft strategic goals for each area within one to three-year periods.
These subsequent meetings will provide residents an opportunity to approve or modify the goals presented, and create citizen action teams to develop specific next steps for achievement.