Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509230005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But this week, the Boones Mill town councilman sold something else: the town's need for help.
Randolph's persistence paid off.
Gov. George Allen - to whom Randolph sent handwritten faxes every day this week - took action Friday to try to help the town.
The town needs assistance because its water system - which sputtered and coughed for several years - finally died last week.
The entire town - which includes 300 water customers - has been without water for extended periods over the past few months.
The system's main problem isn't the water source but the condition of the line that brings water into town from the top of a mountain. The line is about 50 years old and is made of asbestos cement, a building material no longer used to carry water, according to state officials.
"It's beyond repair," Randolph said.
Town Council met Sunday and voted unanimously to declare a state of emergency.
Randolph is chairman of a committee formed to find a way to finance a new water system, which will cost an estimated $250,000.
And that's one of the main reasons the council decided to take drastic action. The emergency declaration - if agreed to by the governor - allows the town to tap special grant funds from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
Randolph said the available funds expire on Oct. 31.
That's why he sank his teeth - and his sales skills - into the situation.
Afraid that the town's request would get lost in bureaucracy, he fired off a string of handwritten faxes to Allen's office.
"I started off trying the formal approach," said Randolph, who added that town Vice Mayor Kevin Goode has worked as hard on the problem as he has. "But you've got to keep on these people if you want results."
Friday, Randolph's fax - with his handwriting slanted on the page - read:
"To Governor George Allen:
"A follow-up to my recent faxes and phone calls. Our emergency situation does not allow us to fight a fire in our town. This seriously affects the lives and property of our citizens. Please Help."
State Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount, and Del. Allen Dudley, R-Rocky Mount, communicated back and forth with Randolph and state officials this week.
Friday, Dudley got word from the governor's office that the state will send a team of experts to Boones Mill on Monday to assess the problem.
"Don't laugh at Phil Randolph," Dudley said. "You've got to compliment him on sticking with this thing. That's what Boones Mill needed was someone who would pick up the ball and pursue the issue."
David Caprara, director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, said the state team will be made up of representatives from his department as well as the state Health Department and the federal Farmer's Home Administration.
Funding options and the level of assistance needed will be discussed after the team assesses the town's water system, Caprara said.
by CNB