Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 9, 1991 TAG: 9103090206
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A/3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: MARGARET CAMLIN CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Long
City Attorney William Roberts has been asked by council to determine if there is a conflict of interest.
Lexington Zoning Administrator Bill Blatter, Code Enforcement Inspector Phil Ehlinger and a local contractor are receiving $400,000 from the Virginia Housing and Development Authority to bring seven new moderately priced homes to Buena Vista.
Edward O. Henneman, chairman of Threshold, the housing commission, does not believe that Blatter's and Ehlinger's plans for Buena Vista will interfere with their city jobs. "The appearance of impropriety is what concerns us," he said.
Other Threshold members are taking a harder line.
"I was very, very disappointed that they decided to exercise their interest in some other project other than the one they were involved in in Lexington," said the Rev. Rupert Strawbridge. "Everybody was disappointed.
"Personally I didn't feel anything illegal was done," Strawbridge said. "But it was and still is very much a concern."
He and other Threshold members were unhappy that Blatter and Ehlinger did not inform them of their plans; they read about it in the Roanoke Times & World-News last week.
"We felt a sense of betrayal from the standpoint that we weren't notified that they were going to do this," said the Rev. J.B. Harris. "It did appear to have some conflict of interest."
Blatter, Ehlinger and contractor Thomas Kelly applied for the money under the name of Rockbridge Housing Partnership.
Blatter said last week he and Ehlinger are doing the work on their own time as private individuals. There is no conflict with their official Lexington positions because the project is planned for another city, he said.
Ehlinger said the work will not interfere with his and Blatter's jobs; Kelly is responsible for the construction.
"We've got a superb housing program in Lexington; I believe it's one of the best in the state," Ehlinger said. "That's not going to change. We're dedicated professionals in what we do."
Councilman Brian Shaw said he does not believe there was a conflict of interest, but he was concerned about the appearance.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Phil and Bill acted in good faith and good conscience in applying for the grant," Shaw said.
"I have absolute and complete trust and faith in Blatter," he said. "But if we had to do it all over again, we'd tell Phil and Bill, `Don't do it.' "
The two officials told City Manager Jon Ellestad months ago of their plans to apply for the program.
"I didn't believe that there was a conflict, and I've got to live by that decision," Ellestad said Friday.
"The perception in the community is very important," he said. "I regret that there is a perception that there's a conflict here."
Months ago, Ellestad had delegated responsibility for awarding contracts for the city's renovation program to Blatter and Ehlinger.
Now he's decided to "pull that authority back," he said.
Moreover, Kelly will not be eligible to pursue a contract for a Threshold renovation project as long as he is a partner with Blatter and Ehlinger, Ellestad said.
As for the city employees, "They've been doing an excellent job and I think they'll continue doing an excellent job," Ellestad said.
Councilman Sidney Brown believes both Blatter and Ehlinger are men of integrity and he does not believe there was a "subversive motive involved in this."
"I think it's important to come to have some clear reading as to exactly what . . . conflict of interest there might have been," Brown said Friday.
W. Fred Kirchner, another Threshold member, said he was disturbed to find out about Blatter's and Ehlinger's plans in the newspaper.
At first he wondered if the two could be trusted to focus entirely on their work for the city.
But he's had a change of heart. "It's for the good of people who need the housing," Kirchner said. "If that's what needs to be done, then so be it. I . . . forgave them in my mind."
"In our 20-20 hindsight, perhaps we could have notified some key people beforehand," Ehlinger said. "On second hand, we work for the city manager, not Threshold."
The city is renovating dilapidated homes in its low-income Diamond Hill and Green Hill neighborhoods under a $700,000 state grant. Blatter and Ehlinger work directly with the program.
Ehlinger said that although he and Blatter don't receive the state money directly, they will make a profit.
"It's serving a good purpose and helping a college fund for my children," he said. "The city does not pay competitively to what we could do in the private sector. We're moonlighting just like everybody else has to moonlight."
The $400,000 allocation goes to a bank as 7.6 percent, 30-year mortgages for purchasers of the homes.
The three partners plan to bring seven modular homes to the Hillside Subdivision and sell them for an average of $55,000.
***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on March 12, 1991.
Clarification
An article in Saturday's newspaper reported that Lexington Zoning Administrator Bill Blatter, Code Enforcement Inspector Phil Ehlinger and a local contractor are receiving $400,000 from the Virginia Housing and Development Authority to bring seven new homes to Buena Vista.
The three men do not receive the $400,000 - it goes to a bank as 7.6 percent, 30-year mortgages for purchasers of the homes.
Memo: CORRECTION