Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 13, 1995 TAG: 9506130086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The expansion will include 270 acres at the Falling Branch Industrial Park along Interstate 81 and a 30-acre retail hotspot between the Marketplace shopping center and a planned U.S. 460 bypass connector.
The move is designed to speed the development of Falling Branch, which Mongomery County made a priority two years ago after losing a fiber-optics firm to North Carolina.
At a joint meeting, Town Council and the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors both approved pacts to enlarge Christiansburg in return for the town's agreeing to pay to extend water and sewer service to the industrial park. The council's vote was unanimous; the supervisors voted 5-1, with Joe Stewart of Elliston in the minority.
The approvals followed a six-minute public hearing where the number of "public" - just 12 - equaled the number of officials. Only the council members and supervisors spoke.
The boundary agreement - it's considered an "adjustment," not an annexation - will still have to go before the Montgomery County Circuit Court for approval this summer. The separate utility pact is contingent on the boundary issue being settled.
The agreements will let Christiansburg earn tax revenue from the area beside the Marketplace shopping center that's home to two major retailers. It also gives the town a tax-revenue stake in the plans for Falling Branch.
The county owns 165 acres next to Falling Branch Elementary School and I-81 and plans to begin building roads and grading the land as soon as a federal financing deal is approved. It will then attempt to sell the land to businesses.
Supervisor Nick Rush called the agreements the most efficient way to build the park's infrastructure and bring jobs to the county.
Christiansburg Mayor Harold Linkous said the agreement shows the town and county can cooperate on what will become an asset to economic development efforts.
Supervisors Ira Long and Joe Gorman said the county will be able to equip the park with water and sewer service without having to borrow $4 million to do so - a major plus. Christiansburg's leaders say they can build the system for far less than that and have budgeted slightly more than $1 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
In an unrelated matter, the county Board of Supervisors agreed to appoint two of its members to a four-person committee to make recommendations on a school-building study. The School Board-sponsored study recommended paying at least $34 million to build four new schools over the next five years to relieve overcrowded classrooms.
The other two committee members will come from the county School Board.
The Board of Supervisors said it "supports the intent" of the study.
by CNB