ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180041
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER|
The good news for residents of flood-prone Dora Highway is that Pulaski officials have arranged for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to seek ways to head off high water in the future.
The bad news is that the engineering evaluation will take at least a year, and probably longer.
"This has been going on for 18 years," Dora Highway resident Jake Blevins complained to Pulaski Town Council on Tuesday night.
Mayor Andy Graham said the town does not have the money by itself that would be needed for any kind of massive flood-control project, flood-proofing of homes, or purchase of property so residents could relocate to safer areas. Town officials have no choice but to seek assistance from other agencies to try to solve the long-standing flood problem.
Other parts of Pulaski have also experienced flooding within the past year from the waters of Peak Creek. The engineering study will cover the entire length of the creek within the borders of the town.
Town Manager Tom Combiths said the staff is also evaluating whether to look into a U.S. Department of Emergency Services program to seek ways of easing flood hazards.
The town itself is not expected to take any flood relief action until the Corps of Engineers study is complete, mainly because there is little it can do at this point. Blevins has suggested some rechanneling of the creek in flood-prone areas.
In other business, council appointed Town Engineer John Hawley to double as acting public works director until Mike Jenkins can return to that job. Jenkins has returned home from a hospital following heart bypass surgery.
Council approved a 4 percent salary increase for Hawley while he is doing double duty, starting Tuesday.
The town is preparing a disposal area on Dora Highway for large items such as appliances, mattresses and similar materials too big to be picked up routinely. The preparation may take 30 to 60 days, Town Manager Tom Combiths estimated, but he said the staff would try to get it ready sooner.
Utilities Committee Chairman John Johnston said the committee is trying to find out why water lines in places like Crestline Drive and South Washington Avenue are not producing the volume of water that they should. The committee is looking at the size of the lines through those areas, as well as water lines feeding into them.
Johnston said the committee is also looking at water projects suggested in a study by Draper Aden Associates commissioned by the town. However, he said, the committee will have to come to council for money to fund them if they are to be done.
The committee is also studying the possible extension of town sewer past Columbia Pulaski Community Hospital on U.S. 11 into Pulaski County, he said. In fact, the town will approach the county to see if it might be interested in participating financially in an extension, because it would serve more county than town residents.
Graham asked the town staff to have the municipal building open for public restroom or water fountain use when concerts are being held in neighboring Jackson Park.
Council members Bettye Steger and Charles Stewart reported on some of the ideas they brought back from a recent Virginia Municipal League meeting in Charlottesville, including a move toward zero tolerance for crime. Stewart explained that as having police crack down on what are perceived as minor offenses, because they tend to contribute to the attitudes leading to bigger problems.
Steger said crime is filtering down to the juvenile level and the availability of firearms is a continuing problem. "It's going to get much worse before it gets much better," she said.
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