Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 18, 1993 TAG: 9310290353
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Botetourt's southern end has become increasingly popular as a bedroom community, and the county has become increasingly important, because of its available land, as a lure to industry in a Roanoke region that needs it. Increased commercial development also has accompanied residential growth.
In the Amsterdam District, incumbent Democrat Robert Layman has strongly supported economic development in the six years he has served on the board, this year as its chairman.
Layman, who has run the John Deere dealership in Buchanan since 1972, is a lifelong resident of the district, where his family operates a farm. He touts the increased business investment the county has seen during his tenure, and points to the Jack C. Smith Industrial Park in Bonsack, developed in cooperation with Roanoke County, both as a plus for Botetourt and as a contribution to regional economic development.
Layman's opponent, Republican Bob Barrows, suggests indiscriminate growth has become a negative for county residents. A self-employed engineer who develops experimental aircraft in Fincastle, Barrows has been a county resident since 1976. He doesn't like the changes he has seen.
Barrows points to the rapid commercial buildup that has spawned congestion at the Cloverdale/Troutville exit off I-81. While he says there is room for industrial growth, particularly in the northern part of the county, his general theme is one of preserving the status quo.
Barrows regards the personal property tax as unfair, and wants to eliminate it. He would depend on the county's real-estate reassessments, combined with a cut in spending on economic development and anincrease in business taxes, to make up for the lost revenues.
All of which is interesting, but as unrealistic as the dream of a Botetourt that does not change. A housing mini-boom already has occurred in the county, creating demand for commercial development and public services. A healthy regional economy depends, too, on the county as an active partner in industrial development.
To be sure, Barrows is raising important issues. The interstate exit has, indeed, grown out of control. Botetourt's bucolic atmosphere is, indeed, a big part of its attractiveness as a place to live. And not all development helps the region's overall economy. (For example: A major new industry, Lawrence Transportation Systems, is moving 200 jobs to Botetourt - but it's moving them from Roanoke.)
Botetourt's leaders need to guide its growth more carefully than they have, so as to preserve the quality of life its residents cherish while remaining a partner in regional development.
Of the two candidates, though, Layman has the broader experience and know-how to wrestle with these issues.
He's as conservative fiscally as a member of either party can be. Indeed, Botetourt's real estate tax rate of 75 cents per $100 assessed value has not increased in 12 years, nor has its personal property tax rate. Higher tax bills simply reflect the rising value of property in the county.
And Layman seems to recognize the value to all localities of regional cooperation. Besides the industrial park, Botetourt has worked with Roanoke County to build and operate the Blue Ridge Library and the Read Mountain Fire Station. In the past, the two counties also worked cooperatively to bring sewer and water lines to a poverty-stricken pocket in the Hollins area where homes had no indoor plumbing.
As an incumbent, Layman can share in the credit for expansion of the county landfill, the long-needed sewage treatment plant built in Eagle Rock to the north, and the county's sensible decision to build a new middle school in its fast-growing southern end.
He also shares in whatever reverberations still might be felt from district residents' passionate opposition to Roanoke Cement Company's now-abandoned plan to burn hazardous waste at its Botetourt plant. The county since has passed a siting ordinance to give it more control over such plans.
Layman could pay closer attention to quality-of-life issues, to ensure that the inevitable development in Botetourt County doesn't damage its livability. But his record as an incumbent has been one of competent public service, and he deserves re-election.
Keywords:
POLITICS ENDORSEMENT
by CNB