Catawba County Board of Commissioners next meeting is set for 7 pm on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 1924 Courthouse, 30 North College Avenue in Newton, NC.

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners will hold a unified public hearing on a) an amendment to the Sherrills Ford Small Area Plan to permit greater residential density based on the availability of public facilities (public water and public sewer), consistent with other accepted small area plans in the county; b) a request by Key Harbor Communities, LLC and Key Harbor Holdings, LLC to rezone approximately 701 acres in the Sherrills Ford Small Area Planning District from R-80 Residential to Planned Development/Conditional Development; c) a request by Carolina Centers, LLC to rezone approximately 182 acres at and around the intersection of Slanting Bridge Road and Highway 150 East from R-80 Residential and Rural Commercial to Planned Development/Conditional District; and d) a development agreement, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §153A-349, related to the above rezoning requests, and will consider awarding a contract for the design of an expansion to the Southeastern Catawba County Wastewater Collection System, including design of lines running from the Southeastern Catawba County area to the Town of Catawba’s wastewater treatment facility, and lines running from the Southeastern Catawba County area to the Town of Mooresville’s wastewater treatment facility, as a backup plan, when the Board meets beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 16, 2007 in the Robert E. Hibbitts Meeting Room on the 2nd floor of the 1924 Courthouse, at 30 North College Avenue in Newton.

The Board will also hold a public hearing on a proposed name for an unnamed street in the Catawba Township; and consider awarding bids for the construction of the Southeastern Catawba County Water Supply Loop, Phase II; a recommendation from the Catawba County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for funding of programs serving youth; a letter of commitment to fund the replacement of the heating, venting and air conditioning system at Jenkins Elementary School in the County’s fiscal year 2007-2008 budget; a request to declare certain library books as surplus so they may be sold by the Sherrills Ford Friends of the Library to raise funds for the library; and the proposed sale of real property owned by the County in Newton, which would result in additional parking space for the Main County Library. The Board will also hear a presentation from Mr. W.R. Lutz on a new book: A Century of Achievement, 1904-2004, Startown School.  Full agenda

Your next opportunity to properly dispose of household hazardous waste will be on Saturday, May 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the Government Center in Newton.

Catawba County will hold its spring Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, May 5, 2007 in the parking lot of the Government Center off Highway 321 Business in Newton.  A wide variety of household products and used electronic equipment will be accepted for proper disposal.  HHW Collection Day brochure

The Catawba Tax Link program has won a 2007 Acts of Caring Award from the National Association of Counties.

The Tax Link program, now in its third year of operation, provides free tax preparation services for low income families in Catawba County, using volunteers from Catawba County Government and staff and students from Catawba Valley Community College and Lenoir-Rhyne College.   Full story

The Catawba County Library System has named a new Youth Services Librarian! 

Amy Dawson, who is based at the Main Library in Newton, will be primarily involved with community outreach and youth programming. She will also assist with posting youth information on the library's website.  Full story

Registration has begun for the North Star Foundation Celebrity Challenge Golf Tournament, with procceds to benefit the Children's Advocacy Center, located in Conover.  

The tournament will be held on Monday, April 23, 2007 at Rock Barn Golf & Spa.  The format will be four-person Captain’s Choice and teams will have a celebrity or professional as an additional player. One of the confirmed celebrities will be Dwight Clark, a former San Francisco 49ers football player best known for “The Catch,” a game winning reception from Joe Montana that earned the 49ers the 1982 NFC Championship.  Full story

How might Catawba County better assist you through new technologies?  

In just the past few years, Catawba County has used new technology to provide such improved services as a 24 hour Permit Center help line for scheduling of various kinds of inspections; a new online job application feature for Catawba County Government jobs; an enhanced online deed search, RSS feeds of County news and even this e-mail newsletter! 

As Catawba County prepares to update its Technology Strategic Plan, we'd like to hear from you!   Do you have any ideas about ways technology can be used to improve County services for you and your neighbors?   If so, contact Catawba County's Chief Information Officer, Terry Bledsoe, at tbledsoe@catawbacountync.gov or by phone at 828-465-8497.