Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 30, 1995 TAG: 9508300045
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Judge Duane Mink's signature means about 220 acres will change jurisdiction from the county to the town at midnight Friday.
The change will occur after months of negotiations primarily intended to aid development of the county's planned industrial park bordering Falling Branch Road and Interstate 81.
Under the agreement, 192 acres of farmland designated for the industrial park and 30 acres behind the Marketplace shopping center will be affected. Christiansburg gains tax revenue from the industrial park and the prime land behind the shopping center, while agreeing to save the county money by building water and sewer lines to the industrial park.
"It's a win-win situation," Larry Linkous, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, testified during a brief hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court. "It shows a lot of cooperation."
No one contested the plan during public hearings held in June.
Falling Branch is the key to the county's economic development scheme. Efforts to develop it began in earnest two years ago after a fiber-optics firm was lost to Winston-Salem, N.C., because the county lacked readily available industrial sites.
The agreement promotes development of the industrial park - which will benefit the entire area by creating jobs - by sharing the expenses between the two localities, Linkous said.
The park's site is already within the town's utility service area, Christiansburg Town Manager John Lemley said. He estimated the cost of building the water and sewer lines and a 7,500-gallon water tank to serve the park at about $1 million.
Without utility line expenses, building roads and other site preparation costs will be reduced for the county to an estimated $5 million. With the agreement now signed, the county can pursue federal loans to cover those costs.
Title ownership of either tract will not be affected by the agreement. The industrial park will continue to be owned by the county. The 30-acre parcel, which borders the right-of-way of Alternative 3-A (the proposed Blacksburg-Christiansburg connector road), is held by several owners.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***