THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9509290140
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Elizabeth Thiel
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
City Council briefly discussed a proposal to give water bill rebates to Chesapeake residents who have suffered more than two months of extremely poor quality city water.
Council members agreed to delay action on rebates until October to give them time to study a thick packet of background materials.
``I do think it's a worthy proposal,'' said Councilman Dalton S. Edge. ``I hope it shows if government can be nothing else, it can be responsive to citizens' needs.'' Helmet rule rejected
Children 14 and under will not be forced to wear helmets when riding bicycles on city streets.
A proposal to require helmets for kids failed Tuesday by a vote of 5-4. Councilmen John E. Allen, John W. Butt, John M. de Triquet, Peter P. Duda Jr. and Alan P. Krasnoff voted against the idea.
Duda said he was concerned about how the ordinance would be enforced, and whether it crossed the boundary of the city's responsibility.
``I would encourage parents who have children who ride bikes to have their children wear helmets,'' Duda said. ``But I don't know that I can say they have to.''
Supporters of a two-year effort to open a local history museum in South Norfolk thought they had overcome all obstacles. But there may be a new holdup.
Pauline B. Dennis, president of Chesapeake's Museum and Information Center Inc., told City Council Tuesday there have been unexplained delays in starting restorations of the interior of the old Portlock School on Bainbridge Boulevard in South Norfolk, which will house the museum. Museum hits snags
The museum group wants to open the place to the public by the fall of next year. But the designs for the restoration project, which is being handled by the city, are not yet finished. Dennis said she can't get answers from city officials or their Norfolk architects about why the designs have been held up.
``I really don't understand where the problem is,'' she said.
Some private donors to the museum, she said, have put their contributions on hold until the group can get some answers.
Dennis said she doesn't blame council, which already has allocated money for the restoration of the building. But she asked council members for help getting to the bottom of the problems. Sewer line debated
Anxieties about out-of-control growth surfaced Tuesday in a City Council debate over whether to approve Hampton Roads Sanitation District plans to construct a sewer line in the Elbow Road area.
Council postponed taking action until at least November, when a work session will be held on the issue.
City officials said the Elbow Road sewer line will be needed sometime in the future to handle heavy growth in that area and just across the city boundary in Virginia Beach.
But Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff said the city should not agree to the line until it's absolutely necessary, and until the city has adequate roads, schools and other services to handle the development that typically follows the installation of sewer service.
``We all talk about growth,'' he said. ``This is an excellent way to get a handle on our concerns about growth in a totally new corridor.''
Councilman John W. Butt said he does not believe sewer lines automatically bring heavy development.
``I just don't think it opens a Pandora's box,'' he said. by CNB