Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 7, 1995 TAG: 9502070056
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
The town has a $500,000 investment in that building, Graham told the town's Public Operations Committee Friday, and should give it the support it needs or close it.
He suggested that Town Manager Tom Combiths assign someone from the town's administrative staff to work with the museum volunteers on selling note cards, train souvenirs and other items, receiving donations, handling cash and other matters.
``We don't pay them a nickel ... Bless 'em, they're saving the town money,'' he said of the volunteers, but he believed they were largely working in the dark. ``We're wasting our time until we assign somebody.''
Graham also wanted more signs at the former Norfolk Southern depot building pointing out the museum's entrance.
The subject will come up today during Pulaski Town Council's regular meeting. The operations committee also will recommend to council that the town join Dublin and Pulaski County in enforcing the requirement for town or county vehicle decals.
Pulaski Police Chief Herb Cooley said he, county Sheriff Ralph Dobbins and Dublin Police Chief Russ Gwaltney had discussed the regional enforcement, which would allow any of the three law enforcement agencies to cite motorists for not having a decal from any of the three jurisdictions. The governing bodies of the three jurisdictions would each have to adopt an ordinance allowing joint enforcement.
Cooley said the joint enforcement could bring in more local revenue if it made more people buy decals.
Combiths reported to the committee on concerns of the Pulaski Business Alliance, which represents many merchants in the downtown business district.
The concerns included parking enforcement, a desire for more police officers visible downtown, overflowing trash containers and street cleaning.
Combiths said it has been hard to keep regular parking enforcement on Main Street because of police training requirements and the fact that several officers have been sidelined by injuries. He said enforcement would continue to fluctuate because of those factors.
The Police Department is checking with surrounding localities to see what their penalties are for overtime parking. Pulaski parking tickets are only $2 ``and that's cheap parking downtown,'' Cooley said.
The trash problem, Combiths said, occurs because people living in apartments above stores also use town receptacles and cause them to get full quickly, even with weekly Public Service Authority pickups. The town will see how much more expensive two weekly pickups would be.
The cleaning problem has stemmed from breakdowns of the town's street sweeper. Combiths said cleanup would be carried out by other means until the town can buy a new sweeper.
At its 4 p.m. meeting today, council also is scheduled to hold a public hearing for a conditional use permit for Bill C. and Joan P. Raykes. The couple wants to operate a new and used car and light truck sale, service and repair shop on Bob White Boulevard about 400 feet south of the intersection of Bob White and Warden Springs Road.
by CNB