ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 24, 1993                   TAG: 9303240273
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


COUNTY NOT FAVORING SUBSIDY FOR EXPLORE

Roanoke County will have no trouble finding ways to spend an estimated $300,000 in new revenue earmarked for tourism-related projects next year.

The question remains, however, how much money the county will give to Explore Park, considered the county's No. 1 economic development opportunity.

A majority of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors said Tuesday they did not favor supplementing Explore's operating expenses.

Their comments came after the board voted 3-1 with one abstention to increase the county's motel tax from 2 percent to 5 percent. The General Assembly has stipulated that any added revenue - estimated at $300,000 a year - must be devoted to promoting tourism.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to consider increasing its donation to the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and to pay its share of a radio signal aimed at Interstate 81 travelers.

Vinton District Supervisor Harry Nickens has proposed using part of the $300,000 to help operating expenses for Explore, a living-history state park in eastern Roanoke County that is scheduled to open to the public next year.

Explore officials say annual help from the county would enable them to devote their limited private contributions to a $15 million first phase, which would include an environmental center and frontier farm village.

But three supervisors - Bob Johnson, Fuzzy Minnix and Ed Kohinke - say they do not support an annual subsidy for Explore. Windsor Hills District Supervisor Lee Eddy said he could not make up his mind until he had more information.

Johnson and Kohinke said they would consider using part of the motel tax revenue to help with Explore with specific public improvements, such as utilities. They also said the money could reimburse the county part of the $350,000 it has appropriated for improvements to Rutrough Road, which will be used as a temporary entrance to Explore.

Supervisors will decide how to spend tourism money in May, when they approve the county's budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

In other action, the board expressed its appreciation for 200 volunteer firefighters and rescue squad members who helped county residents get through the blizzard that struck Western Virginia this month.

County Administrator Elmer Hodge said the county spent about $45,000 in overtime and other expenses related to the snowstorm. The total would have been much higher, he said, without volunteers staffing fire stations and rescue halls around the clock.

Johnson expressed disappointment that the media give the volunteers no recognition for their positive efforts, but is all too quick to question them when things go wrong.

He was alluding to a recent fire at the Holiday Inn-Salem that drew attention to the sometimes slow emergency response of some volunteer crews.

In other business, the board:

Voted unanimously to retain a real estate tax rate of $1.13 per $100 in assessed value in the coming fiscal year. Most landowners will pay slightly more anyway because of assessments that rose 2.5 percent overall for residential property.

Agreed to retain a personal property tax rate of $3.50 per $100 in assessed value.

Voted to refinance $37 million in existing general-obligation bonds to take advantage of historically-low interest rates. The move will give the county a one-time savings of $1.1 million after it pays bond issuance costs of $336,270.



by Archana Subramaniam by CNB