STADIUM SEATS APPROPRIATION CUT TO $5,000

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

DATE: TUESDAY, April 13, 1993                   TAG: 9304130274
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium
STADIUM SEATS APPROPRIATION CUT TO $5,000
In an unusual move, city council cut in half a $10,000 appropriation toward the installation of aluminum seats at Radford High School's Bobcat Stadium.
Council OK'd the ordinance last month and seemed poised to routinely approve the ordinance on its second reading Monday. Then politics intervened.
Before moving to approve the reduced amount, councilman David Worrell said he'd learned "during the past several hours" that the $10,000 version would not pass. Council's vote last month on first reading was 3-2, with Mayor Tom Starnes and Councilwoman Polly Corn casting the dissenting votes.
As she did last month, Nancy Cogswell, who is president of the Band Boosters, asked council to reconsider and vote against the measure "in good conscience."
"I still don't think this is an acceptable amount," she said of the $5,000 figure. She said spending money on the seating project reduced funds available for social services.
Council approved the $5,000 appropriation 4-1, with Corn voting no. Ordinances that pass a first reading vote almost routinely receive second reading approval. Frequently, council agrees to dispense with the additional vote altogether.
A citizens group had been collecting donations for the seating project, which is partly complete. In January, council agreed to consider chipping in to help finish the job.
In other business, council unanimously approved the first reading of its $39.2 million budget for the 1993-94 fiscal year. A public hearing preceding the vote drew no comments or questions from either council members or the audience. While the new budget will represent an 8.5 percent increase in spending over the current fiscal year, all city taxes, fees, and utility rates will remain the same.
Since figures from a recently revised $7.4 million school budget were not yet folded into various city budget line items, the budget council approved was somewhat out of balance. Last week, the school board cut approximately $175,000 from its budget to bring it into line with city council's allocation. City funds pay just over half of the schools' operating costs.
On another matter, council approved for bidding the individual components of a project to build new softball fields on a donated tract along the New River. The project is estimated at $216,768, which exceeds available funds by almost 14 percent. Once bids are in, council will decide which project components stay and which will be dropped to bring the total cost in line.
Council put off action on funding improvements to the city's animal shelter. Earlier this year, council members heard from Humane Society members who cited an urgent need to complete portions of the facility. Council members will convene to inspect the animal shelter at the start of their April 26 meeting before deciding what to do. Police chief A.C. Earles has estimated it will take $4,121 in materials and labor to complete the shelter's dog runs and cat isolation room.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB