Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 14, 1995 TAG: 9506140061
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Acting on a recommendation by city administrators, City Council on Monday voted unanimously to terminate the $170,000 federal grant that would have reopened a section of the historic Wilderness Road and let visitors ride a replica of the Ingles Ferry to a restored Ingles Tavern on the Pulaski County side of the stream. The city will refund nearly $600 it has spent so far.
"It's the right project at the wrong time," said Bud Jeffries, an Ingles family descendant and president of the Radford Heritage Foundation. Following the vote, Jeffries praised council for its "vision and commitment," but said the city did the right thing by terminating the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act grant.
Council had agreed to kick in $34,000 of city funds for the project, including $5,000 of in-kind contributions, primarily through donation of professional services and property easements.
Planners had hoped the project, adjacent to "The Long Way Home" amphitheater off First Street, would become a centerpiece of tourism development in the city.
In addition to re-establishing the original 18th-century ferry connection 600 feet across the New River between Radford and Pulaski County, the project would have developed an interpretive walking trail to let visitors follow the path westbound settlers and traders took on their way through the New River Valley.
But, the project - first proposed in 1993 and and approved a year ago - ran into several snags, city officials said, not the least of which was money. Community Development Director David Ridpath said the grant budget just wasn't big enough to do the whole job the grant required.
The budget included $24,000 to build the ferry itself, but Ridpath said similar projects elsewhere suggest the vessel could have cost twice as much.
Unresolved concerns over liability questions also plagued the project, he said, noting for one thing that the city has no control over river levels.
City Manager Robert Asbury said Tuesday that pursuing the project at this point would not be not good business.
"If the project is built, it must operate, and there was no certainty of operating and maintenance funds," he said. "My big fear was that ... we'd not be able to operate it and default on our ISTEA agreement."
Asbury said it was only the second time in his long career as a public administrator that he has had to turn away grant dollars of this type.
Officials, planners and affected property owners also worried about the lack of an organization to operate and maintain the project once built and the loss of land ownership and control.
Asbury said that from the outset, there was no clear understanding of federal, state and local commitments and what the project ultimately would entail.
He said the city now will seek "a window of opportunity" to pursue the project again with "a good, concrete plan in place."
"It's an excellent project. It will not be abandoned," Asbury promised.
by CNB