ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 1996 TAG: 9604090067
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PEARISBURG
SOURCE: CLAYTON BRADDOCK STAFF WRITER
The almost all-new Giles County Board of Supervisors wants to hear again from the public on one of last fall's hot-button election issues: Pearisburg's attempt to annex 2.6 miles of county neighborhoods.
The supervisors last week approved holding another public hearing - a date has yet to be set - at the Giles High School auditorium. A hearing seven months ago in the same room drew about 250 people, most opposed to the annexation proposal.
"We want to get input from the citizens," said Supervisor Barbara Hobbs of Rich Creek, who proposed the new hearing.
The hearing may not be able to avoid the hostilities both the Town Council and county Board of Supervisors had indicated earlier this year they would like to avoid.
The issue has been a contentious one for residents of the six neighborhoods Pearisburg wants to annex initially: Bluff City, Ingram Village, Robin Hood, Virginia Heights, Mason Court and Lilly Fair.
While town officials argue the annexation would result in lower water rates, increased revenue from a wider tax base and more land for development within the town boundaries, the residents say they don't want to pay additional real-estate taxes to Pearisburg. The town is the largest of five in Giles County and accounts for approximately 2,000 of the county's 16,400 residents.
In January, the Commission on Local Government issued a report with a recommended annexation agreement between the town and county. The governments now have the choice of accepting the plan, negotiating further on details, or fighting it out in court.
The long and public clamor - in print, public meetings and large yard signs throughout the town last year - spilled over into the last meeting of the outgoing Board of Supervisors Jan. 1. Residents from annex-threatened areas voiced loud opposition to the old board as the new supervisors watched. The issue played a role in the elections, when only one incumbent on the five-member board won re-election. (Another incumbent retired and three were defeated.)
Ken Vittum, Pearisburg's town manager, was present for the hearing vote last Thursday but did not speak. He said earlier he was concerned that previous hearings were mostly represented by residents of areas under threat of annexation.
Larry Jay Williams, supervisor from Pembroke, opposed the public hearing. "All this will be a waste of time," he said. "We don't need a public hearing. We need to face up to the issues and get on with it."
The supervisors approved the hearing after reading a March 25 letter from Pearisburg Mayor John H. Givens Jr. bearing signs of resolution and conciliation.
The Town Council "had already expressed willingness to accept some recommendations" by the Commission on Local Government, Givens wrote. "The town considers other commission recommendations open for discussion."
But Givens, like members of the Board of Supervisors, expressed concern over the prospect of an expensive, protracted court fight. "Council does not want to exercise legal options that would be costly in terms of financial resources and future relations of both governing bodies," he wrote.
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