The newly formed Warren County Community and Economic Development department has added two staff members to further the mission of comprehensive and strategic development for the county.
Cynthia Jones is the assistant director of the new department, which merged with the county’s planning and zoning department over the summer. Jones replaces Ken Krulik, who retired Oct. 1 after 14 years with the county planning and zoning department. The newly formed department also is responsible for GIS and code enforcement, according to a press release from Director Charla Duncan.
Rachel Wooster started a job as a developer in mid-September.
Jones will oversee the planning, zoning, code enforcement and GIS divisions. She is a native of Nash County and has 19 years of local government experience, having previously worked in Edgecombe and Nash counties and the city of Rocky Mount. Jones is a state-certified zoning official and a member of the North Carolina Community Development Association and the state chapter of the American Planning Association.
“I have no doubt in my mind that Cynthia will be an asset to our community and economic development team,” Duncan said. “As we work toward a new vision and strategy for these department divisions, Cynthia’s talent, experience and knowledge are going to strengthen the work that we are doing for Warren County.”
County Manager Vincent Jones said Cynthia Jones brings a strong planning background to the job. “She will be instrumental in helping us modernize our operations and grow our focus on community development going forward,” he added.
Wooster is a native of Raleigh. She was recently graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in poliical science and public administration.
“Rachel has an energy and enthusiasm for development work that I believe will resonate with both our current and future residents and businesses,” Duncan stated.
“Our goal with community and economic development, especially now that we have countywide zoning, is for our planning and economic development divisions to work with each other and not in silos. As we enter into the beginning stages of our Comprehensive Development Plan update, it’s a perfect time to think about how we want to use our land, how we want to grow, and what actions we need to take to get there,” Duncan said.
Both Wooster and Jones have offices in the Warren County Health Department complex located at 542 W. Ridgeway St. in Warrenton.
Jones can be reached at cynthiajones@warrencountync.gov and Wooster can be reached at rachelwooster@warrencountync.gov.
For more information, contact Charla Duncan, Director of Warren County Community and Economic Development at charladuncan@warrencountync.gov or call 252.257.3115. Duncan’s office is located in the County Administrative Office Building at 602 W. Ridgeway St., Warrenton.