ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610250048
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: DUBLIN
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
As it turned out, a decision to locate a regional jail in a section of Dublin's industrial park was never in doubt.
"The deed's been done. It was done in November when we gave these folks [the New River Valley Regional Jail Authority] an option on this land," Town Councilman Dave Farmer told about 80 people who tried to persuade the council Wednesday not to make the necessary zoning change.
The opponents presented petitions opposing the jail with signatures from 295 Dublin residents, 364 from Pulaski County, and another 125 not identified by jurisdiction.
The authority plans to break ground on the 240-inmate facility in July and have it in operation for the counties of Pulaski, Giles, Grayson and Bland and city of Radford in 1999. The Floyd County Board of Supervisors also voted 4-1 earlier this week to join the project, Floyd County Administrator Roy Crawford said Thursday. "I've notified the authority of our decision just yesterday, in fact," Crawford said.
But to meet the construction schedule, building plans for the Dublin site must start almost at once.
"The whole project has been planned around this site," said Assistant Radford City Manager Bob Lloyd, the authority chairman. "We did so on the strength of the agreement that the authority and the town of Dublin had in November, almost a year ago now I don't know what would happen to the project if we suddenly don't have a site."
A likely possibility would have been the loss of $10 million in state funds, sending the entire project back to the drawing board. The project, which has been years in the planning and organizing, is the last to qualify for 50 percent matching state construction money.
But council voted 5-1 to approve the zoning amendment necessary to allow a jail in its industrial park, despite a warning from Jim Jones, a resident of the Staff Village neighborhood, which adjoins the jail site. "And this is a promise," said Jones. "I will personally work to see that everybody who votes for this is voted out of office at the next election."
Peggy Hemmings cast the negative vote, "not because of the threats that I have received but because of the people I represent that have come to me over the weekend."
Town Mayor Benny Keister said the council looks at the jail "as an opportunity to spur economic development."
He and Councilman Benny Skeens visited Winchester where a similar jail was located in an industrial park. Skeens said they talked to citizens and representatives of the other industries and got only positive reports of the jail's effects.
The Town Council had held a public hearing last Thursday on a zoning amendment to allow a jail in its regional park. Some 70 people, most from outside the town limits, showed up to protest.
Town Manager Gary Elander noted at this week's meeting that council had publicly discussed the project for a long time, and granted the authority an option on the property 11 months ago. It later agreed to an authority request to expand the site from 25 acres to more than 27 acres. Council was apparently taken by surprise at the sudden opposition.
"We knew about the jail. We're not against the jail. We're against where the jail is," said Cindy Wenrich, who also lives in the Staff Village. "My beautician told me. It's pretty bad when a beautician has to tell you where a jail is."
Bill King, with the architectural firm of Thompson & Litton, the authority's consultant on the project, said the site is about a quarter of a mile from Staff Village.
Project opponents produced copies of a Sept. 9 letter to Lloyd from Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, offering to help try to secure a site on federal acreage that had contained the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Lloyd said the authority had never been able to get the required approvals from the Army and it was too late now.
Lloyd said the jail would bring water, sewer, electricity, natural gas and road improvements, which the town could also use in the industrial park. He said the authority moved the site as far northwest as possible "and we did so at some expense" to keep it away from homes. "We're committed to this site," he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB