Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 11, 1994 TAG: 9405110095
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
County workers discovered large cracks in the Mid-County Park Pool last week while preparing it for the summer season. The pool, built in the late 1970s, is located off U.S. 460 and County Drive, one mile north of the New River Valley Mall.
Thomas informed members of the Montgomery Board of Supervisors on Friday and publicly disclosed the situation at Monday's board meeting.
The county hopes to recover the cost of repairing the pool through its insurance coverage with the Virginia Municipal League, Thomas said.
The damage "appears to be related to the failure of the hydrostatic relief valve" beneath the pool, she said. That valve is designed to maintain equal pressure between the pool and the groundwater below it.
"It is apparent that the underground pressure floated the pool out of the ground," Thomas said.
The destruction was visible during a Tuesday visit to the park: most of the concrete deck around the diving well of the L-shaped pool has collapsed and a huge crack is visible at the inside of the "L," closest to the office and changing rooms.
Thomas said anyone who has signed up for a swimming class at the pool, or has been hired as a lifeguard or other employee will be notified of the closure. Those summer classes and approximately eight summer jobs will be canceled, she said.
The county's risk management consultant is reviewing County Engineer Randall Bowling's report on the damage before the county begins discussions with its insurance adjustor.
Several board members suggested that the county try to coordinate with the two public pools in Blacksburg or even with private pools to see if swimming lessons and other activities can be rescheduled.
Supervisor Henry Jablonski said he wanted more information from Bowling on what caused the damage and whether the pool's design is flawed.
To repair the damage, the entire pool will essentially have to be replaced, Thomas said, at an estimated cost of $250,000 to $300,000.
In other business, the Board of Supervisors backed store owner James V. Noonkester in his bid to protect his business, A&J Quick Shop, from a planned widening and realignment of Prices Fork Road at Tucker Road.
Armed with a 107-signature petition from adjacent property owners, Noonkester asked the board to support his plan to make Tucker Road a one-way street leading to the west, and to improve the adjacent intersection of Prices Fork and McCoy roads. The intersection is about two miles west of Blacksburg, near Prices Fork Elementary School.
The state Transportation Department's plans to close Tucker Road and take a piece of Noonkester's land, including the site of a sealed, hand-dug well that Noonkester said may be 200 years old.
Noonkester and his wife, Alice - the store gets its name from their first initials - have been in business at the site for 39 years. Noonkester was a member of the county board in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution drafted by Noonkester by a 6-1 vote, with Jablonski opposing it because he wanted to hear from resident engineer Dan Brugh before taking a stand.
The supervisors also agreed to a slight modification in plans to build a regional recycling center adjacent to the Mid-County Landfill. Engineer Joe Draper, also a member of the county Planning Commission, told the board that preliminary design work should be complete by mid-June, at which point the supervisors will have to decide whether to go forward with the project.
Draper, Supervisor Joe Gorman and other officials visited a commercial recycling center in Cincinnati last week for a look-see.
The earliest the 46,000-square-foot recycling center could be opened is September 1995, Draper said.
One key question that wasn't discussed publicly Monday was how a proposed trash agreement between the county, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Virginia Tech could affect plans for the center.
In order for a center where recyclables are gathered, processed and bundled for resale or recovery to be financially feasible, all the local governments must guarantee a flow of trash to the operation.
The effort to link the three governments and the university with the New River Resource Authority in its plans for a new landfill in Pulaski County were the subject of a closed-door session later Monday night. The board took no action on the issue.
by CNB