Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 20, 1991 TAG: 9103200405
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET CAMLIN CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"If it's going to cloud our relationship . . . if it's in some way going to harm the excellent housing program we have in [Lexington], then in our minds it's not worth pursuing," said Phil Ehlinger, the code enforcement officer.
Ehlinger, Building Inspector Bill Blatter and contractor Tom Kelly formed the partnership and applied for a $400,000 allocation from the Virginia Housing Development Authority to bring seven moderately priced homes to Buena Vista.
The money would be made available in low-interest mortgages to purchasers.
But Blatter and Ehlinger recently learned of a Lexington regulation that forbids city building officials from having an interest in any outside construction business.
The restriction was part of city regulations adopted in 1958, which were superseded when the city adopted the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, Blatter said.
"However, in the opinion of the city manager, this particular sentence may not have been superseded and may still be applicable," Blatter and Ehlinger wrote in a Monday news release.
City Attorney William Roberts said Tuesday that not all parts of the local regulations were superseded by the state building code. The prohibition against city building officials involving themselves in outside construction projects was intended to prevent conflicts of interest, he said.
"If we had the public support of Threshold [the Lexington housing authority] and if there were not presently public questions concerning our actions, we would seek to clarify and resolve this issue," Blatter and Ehlinger said in the news release.
"However, we believe that if our participation is debatable rather than totally clear, as we had initially believed, then we should not proceed."
Some members of Threshold and the City Council had raised concerns about public perceptions. Council asked Roberts to determine if there was an actual legal conflict of interest. Some city officials also were upset that they were not told earlier about the two officials' plans.
"We are concerned that this issue has had a divisive effect," the news release read. "We hope that by taking the actions we have, we can all put this behind us and continue to pursue our common goals."
Ehlinger said he and Blatter had received "sincere and open shows of support from many people in the area who felt we should stick with it."
Their divestiture leaves Kelly as the sole partner in the housing venture. City Manager Jon Ellestad had decided earlier that Kelly would not be eligible for contracts in the Lexington housing rehabilitation program while the three men were involved in the partnership. Kelly now will be eligible again for contracts.
It was unclear whether plans for the Buena Vista homes now would materialize because Blatter and Ehlinger's credentials may have been key to getting the state backing, Ehlinger said.
"It was a rare opportunity to make a supplementary income and accomplish a public purpose," Blatter said. "This money would not have come to this area if we had not applied for it."
by CNB