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Assistant City Manager Darren Rhodes presented Albemarle City Council an update on the city’s strategic plan at the board’s Aug. 5 meeting.
“The purpose of our strategic plan comes down to the three A’s,” said Rhodes. “These are accountability, articulation and alignment.”
Rhodes noted that public input through community surveys is key to the plan, with city staff and city council also involved in the process.
“By refining the plan each year based on that information, it keeps us accountable,” he said. “Articulating the plan communicates the vision of the plan and puts it into words and actions, with alignment being the state of agreement among departments, citizens and the elected body on what the priorities are each year.”
Rhodes went on to review the successes of the plan during the preceding fiscal year before listing the goals for the year beginning July 1, 2024, including:
• Organizational capacity improvements through investment in the city’s workforce to enhance operations and efficiency.
• Safety and security improvements through enhanced resources and practices to protect residents and safeguard the city.
• Infrastructure investments to ensure reliable and consistent delivery of city services.
• Identify community and economic growth opportunities to guide growth and facilitate economic development for all residents and businesses.
• Inclusive community engagement that will enhance programs and services for citizens of all backgrounds, lifestyles and generations.
Councilman Chris Bramlett expressed interest in several details of the plan, but stopped short of asking for in-depth discussion during the meeting.
“I just want to raise a few points,” he said, “but I don’t want to get into discussing them here, or we’ll be here all night.”
Specifically, Bramlett noted the redevelopment efforts of the former police headquarters, as well as organizing meetings with county commissioners and school officials.
“I’m very interested in what kind of process you’d put in place for revitalizing the former police department building,” he said, adding that he supports efforts to share growth data and educational needs with the county school board and commissioners.
“I’ve preached for years that the biggest drawback to economic development in Albemarle is our school system,” said Bramlett before adding, “I’d encourage you to get on that…we’ve got to influence them on behalf of the City of Albemarle to do something about our schools.”
In other business, the council:
• Unanimously approved a text amendment to allow “Drop-in Short-Term Child Care” as a permitted use by right in various zoning districts.
• Unanimously approved a special use permit for construction of a new church facility (Vortex Church) at the intersection of Northeast Connector and Mountain Creek Road.
• Set a public workshop for 5 p.m. Sept. 3 to discuss potential parking changes along North Third Street near the Stanly County Senior Center.
• Discussed formation of an appeals board in the Public Housing department.
• Received updates from Senior Planner Brittani McLendon on the second phase of the city’s historic marker program, and the city’s recent designation as a Certified Local Government Program.
• Council members welcomed new City Manager E. Todd Clark and expressed appreciation to Rhodes, who had served as interim city manager following the retirement of Michael Ferris.
• Conducted a closed session to discuss economic development, real estate, and to consult with the city attorney.
• Followed the closed session by discussing ways of more efficiently conducting council meetings to reduce time spent.
The next meeting of Albemarle City Council will take place on Aug. 19 at City Hall.

Toby Thorpe is a freelance writer for The Stanly News & Press.