ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602190091
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
TYPE: LETTERS
Have you had a chance to drive by the old Lowe's building at North Franklin and Cambria streets lately? If you haven't, check out our future Christiansburg Recreation Center.
With the January snowstorm, the building's roof collapsed for the second time. I am certainly no engineer, but this building appears to be unsafe and almost totally unsalvageable. It looks like it was bombed!
After spending several thousand dollars on a study of the town's recreational needs, with a plan already drawn up for a facility on a site already owned by the town, our Town Council surprised us last spring by announcing that it had bought the old Lowe's building at a bargain price of $1.4 million.
Other prospective buyers had rejected the property because of the building's condition - the roof had collapsed once before.
It was estimated that it would take another $1 million to remodel the building to serve as our recreation center. But alas, when the actual bids were received - estimates were in the range of $2.8 million! The original plan was only $3.4 million.
Also, the plan has three basketball courts with viewing only from the ends of the court with support columns on the sides of these courts.
I know our Town Council was trying to do the best for us, but let's face it: This purchase was a BIG mistake. Maybe the council acted too fast; maybe it didn't receive enough information to make an educated decision. It doesn't matter now.
What does matter is that Town Council and the mayor consider such questions as: Who will be responsible if this building collapses again - and there are people in it? Will any insurance company insure this building, and how high a premium would be required? How much more money will be needed to repair it? Is this building even worth repairing?
Isn't it time to say ``enough!''? We, the citizens, deserve more than this. Join me in asking Town Council to either tear down the existing building and construct a new Christiansburg Recreation Center on the present site or sell the old Lowe's property and build the recreation center on the site originally chosen.
N.C. McDonald
Christiansburg
Blacksburg needs parking
There was a time when I might have argued the point that we need to help support our deteriorating downtown shopping areas, but I've given up. Why should I support a network of suicidal merchants? The whole of downtown Blacksburg is apparently involved in some kind of fanatical effort to send as many shoppers as possible to the New River Valley Mall. Or maybe there is a more beneficent [beneficial] motive, like helping bolster Christiansburg's or Radford's downtown area. I don't know; I'm really just guessing.
What I'm getting at is the severe lack of parking in downtown Blacksburg. It's a tired subject, I know, but one that still needs to have certain aspects addressed. It seems that everyone is competing to give Tek-Tow as much business as possible. And they are out of the downtown area as well (with good reason).
The babyish attitudes of almost everyone in town, from churches to merchants to apartment complexes, is unbelievable. They claim they are looking out for their customers, but the overall effect is to scare everyone away.
It would be great to casually go from shop to shop, but between insufficient parking meters and the circling vultures at Tek-Tow, you cannot enjoy the experience. So, unless you need something very specific, like carbide for your caving lamp and you know that Blue Ridge Outdoors has it, then it's not worth the hassle to go downtown, especially when there is a perfectly good mall or Wal-Mart to go to with plenty of parking and no tow trucks.
Richard Hunter
Blacksburg
Condemning farm for school wrong
On Monday, Feb. 12, the [Montgomery County] Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 to condemn the Salmons' property for the new Riner Elementary School.
If the owner was the son or grandson of one of the supervisors, would this acquisition attempt have even gotten out of the first meeting with school officials?
It's hard to believe that of all the farmers who want out of farming, the school system would pick the one who truly wants to farm and on whose [former] land two schools already stand. I also find it hard to believe that the very schools that educated him to be a farmer would now turn on him and say in effect, ``Your business enterprise is of no value to this community.''
Even harder to believe is that this campus idea came from the school system's engineer - not an educator - who had ``traveled all around to different school systems'' and seen it work. His reason was that it would save the school system money, though it will probably cost the taxpayer more.
But the best reason of all came from the parents who supported the idea because it also would be more convenient for them to travel among schools rather than drive down Virginia 8 a few blocks. Wait until the Virginia Department of Transportation lowers the speed limit (backing up traffic even more). When more high-density housing and numerous other residential and commercial projects are in place, we shall see how much time is saved!
Margaret Smith
Riner
LENGTH: Medium: 98 linesby CNB