ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 15, 1997 TAG: 9701150100
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: LESLIE HAGER-SMITH STAFF WRITER
The Radford City Council deferred a decision Monday on the now-controversial expansion of a New River Valley garbage authority until after Dublin's make-or-break vote.
The delay followed a public hearing that gave advocates and critics a time to sound off before City Council. After several years of negotiations, the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority is poised to join the New River Resource Authority, an alliance of localities just opening a new Cloyds Mountain landfill near Dublin.
The Radford public hearing followed a similar event in Pulaski County last week, where critics charged that the proposed expansion would dilute Pulaski's voting strength in the authority and perhaps open the door to the county's becoming a dumping ground for out-of-state waste.
NRRA Executive Director Charles Maus underscored the benefits of an expanded membership and shed light on Montgomery's seemingly belated participation. Presently, the NRRA consists of Radford, Pulaski County and Dublin.
Four years ago both Giles and Montgomery counties were invited to explore participation in the authority. But doing so required Montgomery to form its own authority, including the county government, the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and Virginia Tech. The NRRA then restarted discussions with the allied Montgomery localities in late 1995.
Expanded membership, Maus said, has been a goal of the NRRA since it was created 10 years ago. Economies of scale are expected to result in better and possibly new opportunities for waste reduction, recycling, composting and other programs while at the same time reducing costs for all users.
Pulaski County businessman Andy McCready, who opposes Montgomery's inclusion, followed Maus. He said the agreement is written in a way that would allow NRRA members to accept waste from outside jurisdictions to reduce overall tipping costs. He asked pointedly how much control Dublin would have if such "imports" became profitable to the authority.
Under the new proposal, Pulaski County, Radford and Montgomery County would each have three representatives on the authority. But that would mean Pulaski would lose one member and Radford would gain one, leaving a potential majority of votes - six - from outside Pulaski County.
Radford City Attorney John B. Spiers responded to McCready with equal directness, saying he assumed McCready was there "to learn as well as to speak." The articles of incorporation, the original user agreement and all subsequent agreements require such transactions to have the unanimous approval not only of the NRRA board but also of the governing bodies of every member locality, Spiers said. He has continued working with the other members to identify ways "to lend comfort to the town of Dublin with respect to the unanimity required."
If Dublin does vote against the plan, it would halt the expansion in its tracks.
In other business, it took the Radford council three split votes to agree on an estimated level of growth in revenues and expenditures for city-supported operations in the upcoming fiscal year. Councilman Dave Worrell proposed 5 percent, characterizing past estimates as overly conservative.
"I do not believe it is fair to ask the staff to continue to scrape and penny-pinch to do a good job," he said. "The city of Radford is in superb shape financially" and loosening the purse strings would amount to a show of good faith to city workers. Councilman Bill Yerrick backed his sentiments but the motion was defeated 3 to 2.
Yerrick gave it a second try, citing the need to "leverage funding" of several upcoming projects, among them a new courthouse, a recreation center and a parking lot to revitalize the east end business district. His motion in favor of a 4 percent increase was also defeated 3 to 2.
In the end, council held with member Polly Corn's assessment that "You can't get blood out of a turnip." There has been no significant growth in the city's revenue base in the past decade and there is no reason to expect any soon, she said. Council fell back on the director of finance's estimate of 3 percent, and the motion passed.
In other action, council voted unanimously to appropriate $1.3 million of previously approved funds for construction of additional computer laboratories and classroom additions to the city schools. The improvements, prompted by a combination of new technology and a rise in enrollment, are largely complete.
A request for $405,408 in unspent funds from last year's school budget generated more discussion. Superintendent Michael Wright said that it would pay for, among other things, roof replacements at three of the city's four schools. Two of them got new roofs as recently as 1987, a fact which left council members dismayed and disbelieving.
"If we as homeowners had to replace a roof every 10 years, we'd be up in arms!" said Mayor Tom Starnes. The Public Safety Building, he pointed out, is about to get the first roof replacement in its 102-year life. After considerable discussion, however, council unanimously supported the request.
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