ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140029
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RINER
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
A new wrinkle has developed in plans to open a new elementary school in Riner by September 1997, this time having to do with how to provide water and sewer service to the tract behind the existing Auburn High and Middle schools.
On the one side, the Montgomery County Public Service Authority says the School Board should include a 100,000 gallon or larger water tank for fire protection and an upgrade of the existing, small sewage treatment plant in Riner as part of its plans to build a new, 600-pupil elementary.
On the other, school facilities official Larry Schoff, in a Dec. 8 memo, has suggested the county PSA is trying to boost sewer and water capacity in the name of the new school but actually to help provide future service for new homes in the fast-growing Riner area.
The key questions include: who foots the bill?; and could such costs be included in a Virginia Public School Authority bond sale in the spring?
"We all agreed we've got a problem," said county Supervisor Jim Moore, one of two supervisors and two School Board members who have been meeting this year to investigate potential school sites. "It's a good thing it's come on the table."
The issue came up at a county Public Service Authority meeting Dec. 4 and at a site committee meeting two days later. No solutions have been reached.
In September, the Board of Supervisors agreed to borrow up to $8 million to pay for the new school, which would replace the existing Riner and Bethel elementaries. The board also authorized spending up to $1.3 million to buy land and design the new school, the first of four schools called for in a five-year building plan approved by the School Board nearly a year ago.
Since then, the county has started negotiations with Ronald Salmons, the owner of the 156 acres of farmland behind the current school complex along Virginia 8. The county is seeking 50 acres for a campus-like complex that could include a future high school, officials have said. On Monday, the Board of Supervisors discussed potential school sites in Riner and Shawsville in closed session.
The sewer-and-water issues for Riner came up last month when the School Board's engineer wrote a letter to the county Public Service Authority requesting all excess capacity at the current Riner sewage plant be reserved for the new school.
In response, the PSA concluded the request would push the 35,000-gallons-a-day sewage plant to 80 percent of its capacity. Any more growth would require an expansion or addition that could cost from $250,000 to $1.9 million. Moreover, the existing water storage tank in Riner would have insufficient capacity to supply water to fight a major fire, the PSA concluded.
School officials say it would be proper to use the bond funds only for utility costs linked to school use. They believe the fire-protection need could be met with a less costly 20,000 gallon tank for school use only.
"It appears [the PSA is] requesting the expansion of current systems to meet their future needs with the school as the justification and funding source, even though the current systems could meet the needs of the school" with the exception of the fire protection, Schoff's memo concluded.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 linesby CNB