Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 13, 1994 TAG: 9404130107
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The board voted 7-0 to request assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The supervisors declared a state of emergency just days after the ice storm brought down tree limbs and knocked out power to thousands across the New River Valley.
As part of the application process, the supervisors had to formally document the request for help in a resolution.
The county is estimating the cost of the cleanup at a minimum of $260,000, and will seek reimbursement for 75 percent of that, or approximately $195,000, said County Administrator Betty Thomas. Other costs may be added to that figure as the damage-assessment process continues, she said.
The estimate includes $225,000 for debris handling and tub grinder operation at the Mid-County Landfill, where most of the storm debris from Blacksburg and Christiansburg has been turned into mulch. It also includes $19,700 for debris removal on school system property, $10,600 for the Public Service Authority, $5,500 for tree replacement at the Montgomery Courthouse and Mid-County Park and $1,500 for the Sheriff's Office.
Montgomery County is one of 63 Virginia localities that qualified for disaster aid in connection with the February storm.
The county did not pursue aid for the second major ice storm, which struck in early March. President Clinton on Monday declared 29 Virginia localities, including Radford and Pulaski County, eligible for aid in connection with that storm.
Also Monday, the Board of Supervisors heard from Ellen Davenport, public policy coordinator with the Virginia Association of Counties.
Davenport touched on a pet peeve of several board members when she mentioned a summit meeting on the so-called "unfunded mandates" handed down to local governments.
Davenport's group is sponsoring the summit Tuesday in Richmond, featuring U.S. Sen. Dirk Kempthorne, R-Idaho, patron of one of the major bills to address the issue of rules or programs passed down from the federal government to the state and local governments without corresponding money to pay for them.
"I think it's a major issue these days ... it's something we've all had adverse comments to in recent years," said Supervisor Henry Jablonski, who last month attended a national conference on the issue in Washington.
Davenport earned a special bonus for her visit with the board. Jablonski gave her a "Stop the Mandate Madness" button he picked up last month.
by CNB