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

DATE: SUNDAY, January 30, 1994                   TAG: 9401300095
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WOW! IT'S JUST LIKE A REAL OFFICE

Later, she worked out of a converted school classroom.

Finally, after 21 years, Smith is in a bona fide office building: the four-story Roanoke County Administration Building.

"It's an actual office. I love it," said Smith, the county's chief deputy treasurer.

Morale has been high since Roanoke County completed the relocating of administration offices to the former Travelers Insurance building off Virginia 419 near Tanglewood Mall.

The most welcome change is the natural light that pours through a band of windows running the length of each floor. Many of the 150 employees assigned to the new building toiled in the windowless basement of the old Mount Vernon Elementary School on Brambleton Avenue.

"I love my space," beamed County Planner Janet Scheid, who has two large windows in her office on the second floor.

Workers, some of whom are still unpacking, say they also appreciate the new building's spaciousness.

In the Engineering and Inspections Department, clerks and building inspectors no longer bump into each other when they need a file. In the Finance Department, workers no longer sit side-by-side in cramped cubicles.

"We can spread out," accounts payable clerk Lois Jenkins said.

The move, completed Jan. 14, has drawn some complaints.

The heating and cooling system has been out of whack, with workers in one corner complaining about over-zealous heaters, while their colleagues on the other end of the building brace against arctic air blowing through the vents.

Crews have not been able to balance the system because ceiling tiles have been removed in some offices for last-minute plumbing and electrical work.

Another gripe has been the apportionment of space. Although every department has more room, employees cannot help noticing that the fourth floor - where County Administrator Elmer Hodge has his office - is awash in extra space.

"I knew they would have more space," said one employee, who asked not to be named, "but I was shocked to see how much space was actually wasted. The only way they can use that space is to have aerobics classes up there."

Most fourth-floor departments have entranceways so large that much of the space is not used. The county attorney, economic development chief and county administrator have some of the largest offices in the building.

Two offices are vacant, and a storage room appears large enough to hold two or three mid-size cars.

"I'm not going to give you a quote about the fourth floor," said Treasurer Fred Anderson, whose office is on the first floor. "My feelings are well known about the, uh, executive suite."

Hodge defended the space allotment, saying many of the decisions were made by representatives from all departments.

Accessibility was a high priority, which meant putting the departments the public visits most often on the first two floors.

The building is supposed to meet the county's needs for 20 years, and Hodge said it was natural that room for expansion would be concentrated on the top floor.

Assistant Engineering Director George Simpson, who headed a team of employees that planned the move to the new building, said the comments he has heard have been overwhelmingly positive.

Simpson knew there would be a few gripes.

"It's like getting a new car," he said. "You grumble because this or that doesn't work just right, but you tend to forget about what you were driving before."

The Board of Supervisors paid $2.4 million for the building in November 1992. The county financed the deal with bonds issued by the county's Industrial Development Authority.

The board budgeted $420,000 for renovations. Hodge said the county kept cost down by keeping many of the existing interior walls in place and getting help from county vocational students for some of the renovations.

The idea behind the move was to consolidate county offices under one roof and stop spending money for office space that a few departments were leasing.

The administrative departments moved to the new building on Nov. 19 and the remaining departments moved on Jan. 14.