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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 12, 1994                   TAG: 9410120081
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GROUP: DON'T FORGET BOND REFERENDUM

Concerned that an increasingly bitter fight over a U.S. Senate seat may overshadow other issues, a citizens' group Tuesday urged Roanoke voters not to forget that important public works in the city also are on the line.

While the contest among Democratic Sen. Charles Robb, GOP challenger Oliver North and independent Marshall Coleman is attracting most of the attention, the election also will decide the fate of $23 million worth of school improvements, street repairs and road upgrades.

The 14-member Roanokers Promoting Progress called attention to the bond referendum at a news conference at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

Most of the members are business or community activists or former city officials. The chamber has passed a resolution urging residents to vote in the referendum's favor.

"This is a win-win situation for Roanoke city citizens," said Lou Ellis, a banker with First Union National Bank of Virginia and chairman of the group.

City Council in July unanimously approved putting the bond issue to voters. In a typical bond issue, the city borrows the funds for capital improvements and pays them back over a lengthy period, usually 20 years.

The $23 million is the amount the city can borrow without raising taxes to repay the loans.

The largest single chunk of the bonds, $7.17 million, would go to city schools. Another $5.2 million would be spent on bridges, $4.3 million for streets and sidewalks, $2.3 million on buildings, $1.6 million for work on neighborhood storm drains, $1.5 million for parks and $850,000 for economic development projects.

Among the projects the funds would pay for are a linear rail park, a new fire station on Peters Creek Road, part of the city jail annex and repairs to the 25-year-old Roanoke Civic Center.

City voters never have turned down a bond referendum, said City Manager Bob Herbert, and most have been approved by wide margins.

by CNB