By Meg Hibbert
Contributing Writer
At the Nov. 10 meeting, after hearing concerns from citizens about errors in the proposed Comprehensive Plan, Salem City Council delayed a vote until Dec. 8. The vote was 4-1, with Mayor Renee Turk dissenting.
Council also appointed two to the Salem City School Board.
“We’ve had two years of people meeting on this and talking about the proposed Comprehensive Plan, and I’m ready to vote,” Turk said. To the speakers who had voiced concerned, she added, “Bullet point those proposed changes and send them to us between now and Dec. 8.”
A copy of “Back to Salem’s Future Comprehensive Plan 2045,” with maps and details for proposed land use, housing, redevelopment, open space, transportation and goals for development and growth can be found on the city’s official website.
One of the major changes in the proposed plan was shifting from a Mixed Use category for Broad Street to Residential.
In the public hearing, three residents raised concerns about the Comprehensive Plan.
Broad Street resident Chris McCart urged Councilmembers to read the edited document she and others had noted typographical errors and other questions.
Another Broad Street resident, Stella Reinhard, asked for “another couple of months for citizens to review.”
Frequent Citizen Comment speaker John Breen asked “How can you adopt this unless you know how it impacts the current plan?”
After a 45-minute closed session, Council returned to open session to appoint two members to the Salem City School Board. Member Andy Raines was reappointed. He is currently chairman of the School Board. Former Salem City Police Chief Mike Crawley was appointed to the board.
After Crawley retired June 1, 2024, after almost 25 years with Salem Police, he joined the Roanoke Police Department as Deputy Chief. He was Salem’s chief for eight years.
Eight women and men applied for the School Board for two positions that expire at the end of December. In addition to Raines and Crawley, they were Bryan Beemer, Stephen Biscotte, Kim Blair, Corley Farber, Deborah Sams and Zack Smith. Current member Stacie Danstrom did not apply for another term.
In another action after the closed session, Council appointed Kim Blair to replace J. David Robbins on the Economic Development Authority.
During the regular portion of the 90-minute meeting, Council also approved:
* Vacation of an unused section of Penguin Lane;
* Authorizing City Manager Chris Dorsey to finalize and execute documents related to an energy storage project agreement for a battery and energy storage facility within the existing electric substation at 407 Electric Road;
* Changes to the way plats and subdivisions are reviewed, removing Planning Commission review and leaving it in the hands of staff.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.