Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 4, 1992 TAG: 9203040153
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
It wasn't.
"There will be a public hearing on this, but it hasn't been scheduled yet," authority board Chairman Todd Solberg told the crowd of about 40 people Monday night.
The meeting room in the county courthouse was too small for the unexpected crowd and the meeting was moved to a larger room.
The water-line opponents had turned out because a newspaper had reported it would be a public hearing.
Actually, the agenda said a public hearing would be scheduled at Monday's meeting. The board set the hearing for its next meeting on April 6 at 7 p.m.
The confusion had caused Gary Gibson, the utilities director, to post a notice that no public hearing was scheduled for Monday. Still, the audience was given a chance to speak and two people expressed their discontent.
"We'll call off the petition [opposing the water line] if you rescind the water line or make all people of Montgomery County pay the same for water," said Gary Creed of Elliston, referring to the anticipated $5 to $8 monthly increase in water rates to finance the line.
"If the system has to be replaced, the Elliston-Shawsville area should have its own water-treatment facility," said Annette David of Elliston.
New federal drinking water regulations taking effect next year require the authority to provide a new source of water for the area. Other options include building a line from the New River for $1.7 million or constructing a reservoir on Brake Branch for $4 million.
Solberg told the rest of the board he hoped to have some information sent to water customers before the next meeting and also planned to have experts available.
The board decided to go ahead with design work on the water line if it's approved after the public hearing. Of the six board members at the meeting, Joe Stewart, who represents the Elliston-Shawsville area on the county Board of Supervisors, opposed starting the engineering before receiving final word on expected Farmers Home Administration loans and grants.
In other business, the board:
Decided to double the capacity of the Shawsville waste-water treatment plant to 200,000 gallons a day at a cost of $520,000.
Applied for $700,000 in federal Community Development Block Grants to help pay for a sewer line in the Merrimac area of the county near the Upper Slate Branch. Loans, grants and local funding will be used to complete the $1 million project, which will serve about 350 homes and replace a sewage lagoon at the Oak Forest Trailer Park.
Paid $12,000 for engineering studies on extending a sewer line to Prices Fork Elementary School. The school system has offered to pay construction costs for the $135,000 project if the authority helps with design costs.
by CNB