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

DATE: THURSDAY, February 16, 1995                   TAG: 9502160052
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TOWN COUNCIL VOTES TO BUILD PARKING LOT

Tack on an additional $20,000 - the estimated cost for developing the 111 Church St. site once the existing building there is torn down - and it comes to a price tag of about $7,130 per parking space.

Town Manager Ron Secrist said the purchase price for downtown property - owned by Blacksburg Planning Commission member Georgia Anne Snyder-Falkinham - is a competitive one, consistent with an independent appraisal.

Tech and the town had talked for years about building a multimillion dollar parking deck to alleviate Blacksburg's downtown parking dilemma. Last summer, Mayor Roger Hedgepeth asked Tech to tell the town by the end of the year where the university was heading with those plans.

The town's decision to buy the Church Street property came Tuesday, after Tech said it had put off indefinitely plans to build a deck near the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center.

Ray Smoot, Tech's vice president for business affairs, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Snyder-Falkinham is required to demolish the two-story building located on the property, which is behind the post office, before the deal is closed.

One citizen spoke during a public hearing Tuesday, cautioning the council against overestimating the benefit of the purchase.

John Pettengill suggested the cost-per-parking space would be more than the town expected, and he said the town would be better served if a private landowner decided to build a parking deck.

But Councilman Waldon Kerns, while agreeing with Pettengill that it would be best if the private sector provided for more downtown parking, said that in his six years on council, no such person has stepped forward to do so.

"There must be some economic reason why [the private sector] hasn't done it," Kerns said. "I just think we need to move forward."

The town has identified a need for at least 150 additional parking spaces, and Secrist said Wednesday that staff members will continue to look for opportunities to purchase parking space or to partner with private individuals.

"We're looking at some other scenarios," Secrist said. "It's very seldom that the private sector handles the parking needs. It becomes a little different when you start talking about partnering."

In other business, council granted a 15-year franchise to Booth American Co. to allow Blacksburg Cable TV to operate a cable television system in the town.

The agreement, a 100-plus page document negotiated for months between the cable company, former Blacksburg Town Attorney Richard Kaufman and lawyers hired by both sides, replaces a previous franchise agreement that was one page front and back.

The agreement calls for the cable company to pay the town a $50,000 performance and payment bond and 5 percent of its gross revenues annually, and provides for a 62-channel capacity allowing the town four public access channels.