Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But unlike the countywide tax that county staff members proposed for upkeep of the ponds, that cost would be borne only by those who want the service.
It would work something like this: Before the county would take over inspection and upkeep of a detention pond, 75 percent of the subdivision's residents must petition the county to do so.
County Attorney Paul Mahoney, who worked with the county engineer to come up with possible solutions to the problem, estimates that maintenance work on each of the county's 25 detention ponds would cost about $3,200.
That cost would be passed on to homeowners, possibly on their real estate bills.
The supervisors voted 4-1 for the county staff to work out the details of that plan and report back with a final recommendation at the board's Oct 24 meeting. They may conduct a public hearing on the proposal as well.
The county has required residential developers to build detention ponds since 1990. The question of the ponds' maintenance became an issue more than a year ago when residents from the King's Chase subdivision off Starkey Road Southwest went to the county looking for help.
They were upset that the maintenance responsibility had been passed to them with no guidelines for how or when the maintenance should be done.
And while some homeowner associations, which are usually formed solely to oversee pond upkeep, had assumed that responsibility, others ignored it.
Some residents also question why they alone should pay for a detention pond when they aren't the only ones to benefit from it.
Supervisor Lee Eddy, who voted against the plan, echoed that concern. He favored taking the money from the county's general fund, as it does for its drainage program.
The drainage program was implemented just after the 1985 flood. Each year since then, the county has spent about $250,000 in neighborhoods with storm water management problems. The county installs pipes and improves drains in those neighborhoods. The program is financed by a $5 surcharge on the county's motor vehicle decal fee.
``The county has an obligation to make sure these ponds are maintained, because they benefit not only the people within the neighborhood, but the people downstream as well,'' Eddy said. ``It's not a fairness thing at all. The entire county has a responsibility to look after storm water.''
But the other supervisors objected to Eddy's idea - as they did to the staff's recommendation for a general tax on all county residents with developed property.
They cringed at the thought of charging all residents for what is primarily an urban problem.
``There's no way that the people on Bent Mountain or in Mount Pleasant are going to gain any benefit from this,'' Supervisor Harry Nickens said.
Rain runoff becomes a problem when areas are paved over or covered with other material that water cannot penetrate. The water must go somewhere - downstream.
The supervisors' discussion lasted more than an hour - and this is an issue that promises to come up again.
Federal legislation exists that would require localities with populations of fewer than 100,000 to test their storm water for pollutants. Also, the Fifth Planning District Commission is studying regional storm water management.
by CNB