Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 25, 1994 TAG: 9408250073
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CLIFTON FORGE LENGTH: Medium
Tom Dean, the authority's chairman, confirmed he and other authority members have met with CSX officials within the last two months to discuss the future of the land.
Dean said CSX has indicated that it plans in about two years to level buildings formerly used for railroad shops. That should free about 12 acres that could be used as a building site for a new industry that could bolster the city's financially strapped economy.
A CSX spokesman in Baltimore said the company is trying to determine how much land it will need in the future and how to restrict the land it releases to ensure no negative impact on the company's rail operation.
CSX Transportation, the railroad unit of CSX Corp. of Richmond, still runs about 30 trains a day through Clifton Forge.
The economic development authority said a construction materials handler is an active prospect for a portion of the railroad land. That firm would employ a dozen people.
When CSX started removing some of its track in the city several years ago, the value of the land fell and its tax obligation shrank. The company paid about $61,000 in taxes in 1988 to Clifton Forge when its land there was valued at $5.1 million. The value of the land dropped to $4.4 million last year, and the company's tax obligation was about $53,000.
With little industry, the city government has been forced to balance its budget on real estate taxes. Currently, all of the city's real estate tax income goes to pay for the city's financial obligation to Alleghany Highlands schools.
The city's $1.20 per $100 real estate tax rate is the 11th highest among Virginia's 41 cities.
Dean said the authority hopes to reclaim land that has been the core of the city's economic viability for about a century.
"There is some ground out there that is part of our heritage," Dean said. "We need to reutilize that real estate to re-create Clifton Forge, which is no longer a railroad town."
In its heyday, CSX and its predecessors employed 2,700 people in Clifton Forge, current population 4,679, which rests in Alleghany County near the Botetourt County line. The railroad now employs only 19 residents full time.
Land once covered by railroad tracks would be attractive to industry, Dean said, particularly if the railroad keeps a main track running through the city. The land being discussed would run alongside the main railroad line.
James D. "Doody" Morris, who became mayor July 1, said he thinks City Council would support a move to obtain the land once it is abandoned.
"We want to be in touch with the railroad about releasing this land," Morris said. "The new council is more for developing this land. I think the time is right for development."
In addition to the rail line, Clifton Forge has easy access to Interstate 64, and U.S. 220 is being expanded to four lanes just outside the city.
One stumbling block in the negotiations could be the environmental suitability of the land for development. While some tracts have been tested and found to be environmentally sound, some authorities are concerned that after a century of use, the soil beneath the tracks may have been contaminated by spills.
"The question is always the environmental quality of the land," said interim City Manager George Brown, a former Martinsville city manager. "Somebody who originally dumped the material would have some responsibility for cleaning it up."
State Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle, said he hopes CSX will be a good corporate citizen and will help Clifton Forge regenerate its economy.
"When you have a city that is built around the railroad, I think it can help it redirect its economic development," Trumbo said.
by CNB