Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501260048
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
The county Board of Supervisors approved a contract Monday night with Reynolds Architects Inc. of Blacksburg for architectural and engineering services on the project, which is part of the Virginia Shell Building Program.
The estimated cost of the pre-engineered metal building is $1.28 million. The state will lend the amount of the construction cost to the locality for five years, anticipating that by then the building would be sold to an industry and the state loan would be repaid.
The architect and engineering fee is $44,800. The county must pay for site preparation.
The proposed project schedule puts bidding and negotiations between mid-March and mid-April; construction should start in April and be complete by early October.
The board also outlined its timetable for working on its 1995-96 budget, starting with a look at initial local revenue estimates at its Feb. 27 meeting.
The supervisors plan a special meeting March 6 for preliminary budget discussions with the School Board, which has had level funding from the county for the past two years while state funding has failed to keep pace with costs. The state funding reductions are expected to worsen next year.
Budget requests are to be submitted to County Administrator Joe Morgan by March 27. Morgan is to present budget recommendations to the board April 10. The School Board budget presentation is also scheduled for April 10.
A proposed budget would be advertised May 14, followed by a public hearing at the board's May 22 meeting and final budget adoption June 26.
The supervisors, like the county Planning Commission, endorsed putting the county in the same local calling area as Radford and Christiansburg and Blacksburg in neighboring Montgomery County.
Bell Atlantic had proposed eliminating long-distance to Pearisburg but at public hearings on the plan, Pulaski County residents claimed a closer community of interest with Montgomery County and Radford.
In other business, the board authorized county officials to negotiate arrangements for attorney Sam Campbell to go after delinquent personal property taxes on behalf of the county. Campbell is already hired to collect delinquent real estate taxes.
In collecting delinquent real estate taxes, Campbell said in a letter to the board, he and Treasurer Rose Marie Tickle found that much revenue is also being lost through uncollected personal property taxes, especially in the towns of Pulaski and Dublin. An expanded tax collection program could pay for itself many times over, he said.
Pulaski County also added its voice to localities expressing concern over state budget amendments reducing funds or eliminating programs provided by local governments. The board passed a resolution urging state officials to consider the effects before making cuts.
The board also passed a resolution urging Gov. George Allen to work with other Appalachian region governors for continued congressional support for funding the Appalachian Regional Commission.
by CNB