ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602190020
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Family members whose land faces possible condemnation for a new elementary school in Riner say they'll fight the move every step of the way.
Monday, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors voted to condemn 40 acres of the Ethel S. Salmons trust. The land sits just behind Auburn High and Middle schools.
A memo released Friday by attorney Frank Terwilliger said Ronald and Tammy Salmons, who manage the full 156 acres, were surprised and disappointed by the board's actions.
Terwilliger said the couple thought a compromise was about to be reached, and now "they have no choice but to fight the actions of the county as vigorously as possible."
Roy Thorpe, the county attorney, wouldn't comment on their response.
The board's decision came after months of closed door negotiations - a process Terwilliger termed "unusual."
He said the Salmonses first heard the county was interested in their land through friends, and that they weren't notified by county officials until October.
Then, the county made "an extremely low offer" for the property and chose "to take the most level, developable property and left the less desirable" land that would be cut off from Virginia 8.
Terwilliger said the Salmonses were willing to accept a bid that was lower than their own appraisal of the land, but only if changes were made to the section of land purchased.
Montgomery is offering to pay $109,980 for the acreage. That's higher than the county's December offer to buy 50 acres for $2,200 an acre, which was refused. And it's nearly twice the land's 1994 assessed fair-market value of $1,490 per acre, according to county real-estate records.
Supervisor Jim Moore said the Salmons' assessment and the county estimation were "miles apart"
Terwilliger said he will challenge condemnation by bringing into question the procedures the county took, the necessity for taking the land, the amount of land needed, the price of land and the damage to the remaining property.
The new Riner elementary school is the first of four schools the county School Board hopes to build to control growth in the area. The Board of Supervisors agreed to seek a total of up to $9.6 million in bond sales to pay for the school and related renovations.
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