Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509180017
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
WYTHEVILLE - Wythe County officials must decide next month whether reducing their machinery and tools tax rate would gain revenue for the county in the long run.
Representatives of the Klockner Pentaplast plant in Rural Retreat are considering a $6 million expansion that would add 100 jobs, but only if the county's machinery and tools rate is reduced to 95 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Under that rate, said Harry J.G. van Beek, Klockner president, "we would still pay twice the amount of machinery and tool tax that we are currently paying in Louisa County."
The county Board of Supervisors had already reduced the rate from $1.87 to $1.25, but van Beek indicated to board Chairman Mark Munsey that this was not enough. Munsey said his discussions with van Beek indicated that Klockner was considering sites in Tennessee and North Carolina for its expansion.
"The expansion would involve a $6 million plant expansion, adding $20 million in machinery and equipment, and increasing payroll to approximately $3.5 million annually," van Beek said in a letter to Munsey. "Based on the expansion plans, the proposed tax rate will not reduce the amount of taxes that Klockner is currently paying in Wythe County."
Klockner now pays more than 19 percent of all machinery and tools tax revenue collected in Wythe County. The percentage will be even higher in 1995, county officials said.
The board has set a public hearing on reducing the rate to 95 cents for its Oct. 10 meeting. Commissioner of Revenue Mary "Sis" Cassell said the reduction would reduce the amount of machinery and tools tax revenue from all industries countywide by $107,000 next year.
But revenue would increase when the expansion is complete by $23,093 in a single year, said county Administrator Billy Branson. That would soon offset the loss, he said, without even counting the impact of the new jobs.
Under those conditions, said Supervisor Olin Armentrout, "I could be for it ... I just want to be sure that, countywide, we really have a gain."
"What they're asking us to do is invest in the future," said Supervisor John Davis. "I have to think it's a good deal, myself."
Jail squeeze back on agenda
WYTHEVILLE - Wythe County is having to face the need for a new jail once more.
The existing jail, built in 1926 for up to 14 prisoners, often houses 40 or 50 prisoners.
Sheriff Wayne Pike said the jail is in the best shape it has been in for years, but there is only so much that can be done to the aging structure. He said the main problem is lack of space.
The Department of Corrections has cited shortcomings in the facility, and county officials are aware that it will eventually have to be replaced.
Some of them thought their problems were solved when it appeared that Corrections Corporation of America, a Nashville, Tenn.-based private prison firm, was going to build a 1,500-bed medium-security prison in Wythe County. As an inducement for county cooperation, CCA was offering to add a holding facility for county prisoners.
But CCA was recently eliminated from the list of bidders being considered by the state for the 1,500-bed prison. It is still in the running for a 1,000-bed minimum-security prison that could be built in Wythe County, if CCA gets that contract, but CCA has not offered the jail inducement on that project so far.
A number of county residents are opposed to any kind of private prison in Wythe and have made repeated trips to Richmond to lobby legislators and Corrections officials against it.
It has been estimated that a new jail could cost the county $4 million. Wythe had joined with several New River Valley localities in a study of a regional jail, but voted Aug. 10, 1993, to withdraw its participation when the state required further studies before agreeing to pay half the costs of that project.
A regional jail authority has now been formed by representatives from the city of Radford and counties of Pulaski, Giles and Grayson to build the facility in Pulaski County.
Free clinic opens Wednesday
WYTHEVILLE - The C. Brock Hughes Free Clinic will open with a ribbon-cutting at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday at 750 W. Ridge Road.
Wythe County's first free clinic, named in memory of a Wytheville physician, has been created through the efforts of an organization called Helping Overcome Poverty's Existence.
HOPE was organized about two years ago by citizens in Wythe and Bland counties who were concerned about medical care for people who could not afford it.
Further information on the clinic and dedication can be obtained by calling 228-5493 or 688-4111.
Closed wayside's potential cited
PULASKI - Two Virginia Tech graduate students say a 20-acre overlook atop Draper Mountain on U.S. 11 leading into Pulaski holds much recreation potential for residents and motorists.
"In fact," said Pulaski County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jerry White, "they say the Draper Mountain Overlook and Wayside can be interpreted as a small-town version of the Blue Ridge Parkway."
Harry Gleason and Andrew Britton made the study with their faculty adviser, Elizabeth Gilboy of the Community Design Assistance Center, part of Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies. The supervisors commissioned the study in response to local interest in the wayside.
The Virginia Department of Transportation closed the wayside in recent years because of lack of use and vandalism. But the students believed it could be fixed and maintained with citizen interest like that which has led to revitalizing the historic section of downtown Pulaski, restoring the Old Courthouse after a fire, and refurbishing a former train station as a Pulaski landmark.
A citizens' committee sparked interest in reopening the wayside, and its members have committed themselves to help with site improvements over several years.
Those plans include preventing vandalism; seeking in-kind government and business resources to improve the wayside; building a walking trail across the crest of Draper Mountain to Peak Knob; and adding a bike path connecting to New River Trail State Park, Jefferson National Forest and the Pulaski train station.
But all that is in the future. "The existing overlook parking areas have been neglected, resulting in potholes, overgrowth of vegetation and use of the area as a dump," the students reported. "The foundation and fireplace are all that remain of the caretaker's residence, while other site structures are in varying states of decline. Trails are in varying states of decline, depending on their use by hikers or deer. While the trails generally do not suffer from erosion problems, several of the trails are in danger of being lost because of overgrowth by tree seedlings. Connecting paths and dry laid stairs are lost beneath accumulation of leaf litter and brush."
They found most of the site's stone work in good condition, and suggested building on the existing character of the overlook and wayside. They urged that "any physical changes that take place should respect and reinforce the existing historic and architectural character of the site," White said.
by CNB