Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993 TAG: 9301140270
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
COUNTY, EXPLORE WORK ON AID PLAN
The scenario by which Roanoke County could start funding the Explore Park on a regular basis already is taking shape.Over the past few weeks, Explore supporters and county officials quietly have been kicking around a plan that could provide the living-history state park with up to $150,000 each year and enable the park to step up its fledgling construction program.
County officials stress that no promises have been made, and any appropriations to Explore also depend on whether the state continues to cut back funding to local governments.
But they've outlined this sequence of events:
The county is asking the General Assembly to allow it to raise the lodging tax from 2 to 5 percent. That would generate about $300,000 a year in increased revenues, and the county would like to invest at least part of that to generate more tourism dollars, County Administrator Elmer Hodge said.
"The board would like to give half of the increase to tourism in general and the other half to the Convention and Visitors Bureau for marketing, if possible," Hodge said.
Supervisor Harry Nickens, whose east county district includes Explore, isn't quite so generous. He thinks the board might be inclined to give only half the anticipated $300,000 in new revenues to tourism and tourism-related activities.
Either way, the key is what those other tourism activities would be.
There's some talk of setting up a radio station that tourists driving by on Interstate 81 could tune into to hear about attractions in the valley, said Hollins Supervisor Bob Johnson.
But the most frequently mentioned source of funds is Explore, whose leaders Tuesday sounded a wake-up call for valley governments to start contributing to the project if it's ever going to become a major tourist attraction.
"The board has chosen Explore as its No. 1 economic development priority," Hodge said, "and they know at some point they're going to have to put money into it."
The question is, how much and for what?
Explore leaders' preference would be for valley governments to help underwrite their operating expenses, which now run about $500,000 per year.
The state board that owns and governs the park has virtually no money in the bank, and hasn't been funded by the state since 1988. Instead, the park's operations are being paid for by the River Foundation, the non-profit group of Roanoke business leaders who founded the project.
The foundation's budget is eaten up by operating expenses and the park's growing educational program, leaving little money for construction.
In recent weeks, one of the valley's biggest tourism boosters, Roanoke developer David "Mudcat" Saunders, who sits on a state tourism board, has been lobbying supervisors to talk up the possibility of splitting the new revenues between Explore and the visitors' bureau advertising campaign.
That violates one of the first promises made by Explore's original project director, Bern Ewert: namely, that Explore would never ask local governments for operating expenses.
But the project has been reshaped under Cutler, and many of the valley's elected officials weren't in office when Ewert made his promise. Some said Tuesday they weren't bothered that Explore now might start looking to them for money.
"I think these are different circumstances," said Windsor Hills Supervisor Lee Eddy, who said he wasn't ready to support an Explore appropriation - but wasn't going to reject it out of hand, either.
Nickens, who was in office when Ewert made his pledge, expressed no concern either. "I don't see the county government taking affront by that."
Nothing is likely to happen anytime soon. Even if the General Assembly gives Roanoke County permission to raise its lodging tax, the supervisors may not act this year, Hodge said, because some have promised not to raise taxes in 1993.
That would delay any possible action until 1994, and even then it would take awhile before the county had the money on hand to give out to whomever the supervisors decide.