ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606030087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
Still in its infancy, a coalition intended to bring Catawba's civic leagues closer together has latched onto an issue that threatens to drive them apart.
The Catawba Coalition of Civic Leagues had agreed to sponsor an informational meeting Tuesday so county residents could meet with Salem officials and decide whether to pursue a citizen-initiated annexation suit. The plan was for the coalition's members to then meet and vote on whether to endorse an annexation petition drive.
But Salem officials now say they cannot attend the meeting without poisoning the annexation process, and civic leaders are unwilling to circulate petitions without a commitment from Salem to pay the legal bills.
Coalition President Bob Crouse now says his group will not vote on the annexation issue.
"For all intents and purposes, we're in a very quiet mode," he said.
At the coalition's May 20 meeting, Crouse said, five of the eight member leagues were interested in pursuing annexation, while three had yet to vote on the issue. He said none had voiced opposition.
However, leaders of four civic groups said they have yet to poll their members, and all four expressed reservations about annexation.
"I talked to a few people, and they weren't the least bit interested in [annexation], so I dropped it," said John Reed, president of the Mason Cove Civic League. "We're on the wrong, or right, side of the mountain."
In other words, Mason Cove is one of the civic leagues that is represented by the coalition, but the Mason Cove area would not be included in the proposed annexation.
Without outside financing, Reed said annexation is a "dead issue."
"The county is not going to want it. They're going to fight it, and they're going to fight it with my tax dollars," he said. "I think [annexation supporters] are crazy, anyhow. Salem used to be a great place, but it's getting bigger."
Carol Reynolds, a member of the Catawba Valley Civic League, said she and her neighbors also have little to gain.
"We're kind of stuck out here in the boonies," she said. "I wouldn't want to be jumbled in, because we're not going to get any of the benefits."
Leaders of the North Lakes and Fort Lewis civic leagues confirmed that their members have not voted on annexation, either.
The issue has brought to a head concerns that the coalition is too political.
"I'm kind of getting concerned with the political ramifications about it," said King Harvey, president of the North Lakes league.
"Our group feels like this coalition needs to be a nonpartisan party," agreed Opie Tiller, president of the Little Brushy Mountain Civic League. "Other than to be an information vehicle, I don't think it should be involved."
Although Crouse has been cautious in his public statements about the coalition's position on annexation, he discussed the issue last month with Salem City Councilman Sonny Tarpley and annexation proponents Charles Landis and David Shelor. At the coalition's last meeting, he raised concerns among some civic leaders by bringing along his personal attorney, Douglas Brinckman, to provide legal advice to the group.
"I don't know why we need a legal adviser," Reed said later. "That's one of the things that kind of turns me off about this organization."
Brinckman represented Crouse in a 1991 legal dispute with Roanoke County over personal property taxes. Crouse ultimately won a ruling that taxes imposed on his motor home and boat were improper because both were based at his weekend home in Craig County. However, the controversy contributed to Crouse's loss in a bid for commissioner of revenue that same year.
Last year, Crouse made another unsuccessful attempt to win public office in a contentious four-way race for the Catawba District seat on the Board of Supervisors. Shortly after the November election, the coalition held its first meeting. Two of the three losing candidates, Crouse and Warren Brown Jr., were named president and vice president of the new group.
Spike Harrison, who won the election and is not part of the coalition, nevertheless says the group has not become a vehicle for his former opponents to settle grudges against him or other county officials.
"It gives the perception of that, but it hasn't operated that way," he said. "It hasn't operated well at all."
Troubling signs emerged before the group even existed. The concept of an umbrella group for civic leagues in the Catawba District actually grew out of the campaign, with Crouse and Brown bickering publicly about whose idea it was. Brown said he and Crouse have simply agreed to disagree on the origin of the group they now lead.
"I don't discuss whose idea it is with him," Brown said. "I know it's my idea."
Brown said he began organizing the group after his failed campaign. In the process, he ran into John Huffman, president of the Red Lane Extension neighborhood group and now executive vice president of the coalition. Huffman also was trying to recruit members for a coalition, so the two men agreed to work together.
About 70 people attended the coalition's first meeting at the Holiday Inn in Salem. Brown said he was concerned about some "shady things" that took place at the meeting, including pre-printed bylaws distributed before anyone had time to discuss how the group would operate.
Brown said he had intended for the group to improve relations between Catawba residents and county government, but he believes the bylaws suggest a more antagonistic approach.
The purpose of the coalition, according to its bylaws, is to "make every effort to work with public officials in a cooperative approach." However, the guidelines also state that the group "will also take a more assertive approach if it becomes evident that those officials have failed to make a wholehearted and serious effort to deal with problems."
The bylaws also allow any civic league member to join the coalition by paying the $10 annual dues. Those members have the same voting power as the eight civic league presidents who each represent dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people. Because there are 29 dues-paying members, the civic league presidents are actually a minority.
"A little group of people from some little hot spot can come in, pay their $10 and vote," Reed said.
"Some people felt like it was not the best way to do it," Tiller said. "Unless a situation arises, you don't know whether it's the best way to do it. Now that a situation has arisen, I'm not sure it is the best way."
"I carry the weight of 700-some people," complained Harvey, the North Lakes president. Although his group is counted as one of the eight member leagues in the coalition, Harvey said North Lakes has never paid its dues or attended a meeting because of its concerns.
The coalition also has not rotated its meetings throughout the district. It holds all meetings in Glenvar.
In spite of the inner wrangling, many coalition members still believe the organization should exist.
"It's better than not having it at all because we were each acting individually rather than acting together," said Barbara Buckley, a resident of the Woodbridge area.
Winton Shelor Sr., president of the Fort Lewis Civic League, said the coalition worked well during the recent school bond referendum. It gathered information about school projects and county finances for dissemination to the civic leagues, but stayed out of the limelight.
Yet the annexation issue has proven to be an entirely different situation. With the coalition's handling of the issue creating confusion among its own civic leagues, Catawba residents who aren't in a league are baffled.
"We're learning about what we're doing after the fact, and I fear it's being stirred by a small number of people," said Roanoke County Sheriff Gerald Holt, a Glenvar resident. "It seems to be a mystery to myself and other neighbors. We wonder if this is a special-interest group or a representative of the civic leagues."
No one denies that a deep dissatisfaction remains among many Catawba residents. They believe they pay a disproportionate amount of the county's taxes and receive too little in return. They want more money for their schools and roads; instead, they've received unwanted industrial development, the Smith Gap landfill and the Spring Hollow reservoir.
What Catawba residents want is lower taxes and more services, Reed said, and, with or without the coalition, they're not likely to get their wish.
"You can't have both, so therein lies the problem," he said. "I think people send out mixed goals."
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