Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 17, 1990 TAG: 9003172383
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Joel Turner Municipal Writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
City Manager Robert Herbert has requested a closed meeting with City Council on Monday to discuss the terms of the local cooperative agreement that is required for the project to proceed.
City officials had hoped the agreement could have been signed by March 1, although construction won't begin until March 1991.
The city can't begin acquiring land and easements until the agreement has been signed.
Kit Kiser, chairman of the city Flood Plain Committee, wouldn't disclose details of the negotiations, but he said Friday that city officials will seek council's advice on several issues.
City officials haven't received a draft copy of the agreement, Kiser said, but they have met with the corps.
"We think we know what the corps' position is going to be on some issues and we want to discuss it with council and our attorney and determine what our position should be," Kiser said.
Apparently there is no disagreement on sharing construction costs, but sources said the differences involve the city's liability.
The city's share of the $34.3 million cost is $14.3 million. City voters approved a $7.5 million bond issue last year to help pay the city's share. The remaining $6.8 million will come from several sources: earlier appropriations, land donations and state recreation funds.
The corps reportedly wants the city to assume most, if not all, of the liability.
Officials said earlier that the corps wanted the city to assume all costs and liability if old disposal sites for hazardous and toxic waste are uncovered by the contractor when the river channel is widened.
City officials don't think it was the intent of Congress to require local governments to pay all costs for cleaning up hazardous waste that might be uncovered.
In both cases, the plans have been changed so the riverbanks won't be graded in the areas where the dumps are located.
Four potential hazardous-waste sites were identified: the old American Viscose plant in the Roanoke Industrial Center, an old city landfill where Tinker Creek flows into the river, Roanoke Memorial Hospital and Appalachian Power Co.'s substation near Ninth Street Southeast.
After further investigation, the corps said, there doesn't appear to be any problems with the Apco and Roanoke Memorial sites because underground storage tanks for fuel that were located in these areas were removed in 1986 and 1987.
The city and corps have been trying to reach a compromise on the hazardous-waste issue, but sources said there are also differences on liability on other aspects of the project.
The project involves widening the river channel and construction of flood walls at several places along the 10-mile stretch of the river within the city. It also includes a 4.6-mile bicycling and jogging trail.
by CNB