Published: October 07, 2009 10:41 pm      

Ronceverte awash in red ink, city councilman says

RONCEVERTE — Financial pressures are mounting in this city awash in red ink.

Councilman David Smith reported Monday from the city’s finance committee that some of Ronceverte’s bills are going unpaid, the result of a $258,000 cash deficit. The largest outstanding debt is to the county landfill, which the city owes $23,000 in tipping fees.

A major part of the deficit is due to the delinquency of Public Service District No. 1, which owes Ronceverte $138,000 in sewage treatment charges and penalties imposed by the state Public Service Commission, Smith noted.

Despite the red ink, council approved the lease/purchase of a new fleet of vehicles for city employees at a cost of approximately $173,000. The new vehicles include two police cruisers, utility trucks and a dump truck that will have snowplow and spreader attachments.

Assistant police chief J.R. Byer appealed to council to approve the purchase, saying city workers are concerned about their safety in the oft-repaired, aging vehicles they work in.

Part of the cost of the new vehicles, which are being secured from Greenbrier Motors in Fairlea, will be offset by the auction of 13 city vehicles that either are not in running condition or need to be taken out of service, Byer said. By not replacing all 13, the city will save money on insurance, and the newer vehicles should save money on both maintenance and fuel, he added.

Byer’s wife, city clerk Crystal Byer, said repair bills on the aging fleet now run about $3,000 a month, slightly more than the city will pay the financing agency each month under the lease/purchase arrangement.

Councilman Michael Palm questioned, “How did we end up with this many vehicles not running?”

Police Chief Michael Smith said, while he was in the habit of approaching former City Administrator Blaine Oborn when the police department needed something, he didn’t know what procedure the other department heads followed.

When former City Attorney Perry Pauley took over the reins as interim administrator upon Oborn’s resignation in June, Pauley began meeting with all department heads every week, Smith noted.

Crystal Byer said she knew of only a couple of department head meetings held during Oborn’s four-year tenure. Under Pauley’s leadership, “We’re back to having better communication again,” she said.

Looming on the horizon is the need to replace the city’s wastewater treatment plant, due to federal regulatory mandates. An engineer told city council Monday cost estimates have not been finalized, but appear to begin at a low of $8 million.

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Two newly annexed areas are on their way to being assigned a zoning designation, over the objections of neighboring property owners.

Council approved the first reading of an ordinance zoning the Fort Hill area OC — open space and conservation — and the Stoney Glen development R-1 — one of two types of residential zones provided for in the city’s zoning ordinance. The zoning must pass a second reading and public hearing to be enacted.

Robert and Jewell Doering addressed council regarding the zoning of Stoney Glen, which is located in the community of Organ Cave where the couple owns and operates a substantial farm.

The Doerings were the lead plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit filed in an attempt to have the Stoney Glen annexation voided. The suit was dismissed in circuit court last month, but the plaintiffs’ attorney has said he intends to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

“Organ Cave is a rural community ... unto itself of small farms and residences,” Robert Doering told council members, noting lot sizes in the surrounding community are much larger than the 10,000-square-foot size required in an R-1 zone.

With the small lot size, as many as 1,000 homes could be constructed in Stoney Glen, he said, more than doubling the number of housing units now available in the city.

“That doesn’t speak of smart growth,” Doering said. “I can’t understand why the council thinks that’s such a great idea.”

Jewell Doering read a letter written by M.H. Dorsitt, principal planner with Cambria Planning Group of Christiansburg, Va., objecting to that proposed population density for Stoney Glen.

Dorsitt, who recently completed work on a new comprehensive plan for Greenbrier County, wrote that the density should be in keeping with the surrounding area. She also pointed out the residential property would produce less in tax revenue than the city would need for the additional infrastructure and services the development would require.

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In other business:

- Council scheduled a special meeting for 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, to consider a dog curbing ordinance in response to a petition signed by every business owner in the downtown district.

“This is a mess to the businesses and on the sidewalks,” said Doug Hylton, who presented the petition.

An employee of First National Bank told council she has encountered a pile of dog feces more than once right at the bank’s entryway, and several times customers have tracked in animal waste they inadvertently picked up on their shoes.

- During a 55-minute executive session, council came to an accord on the person who will be offered the city administrator post. An announcement will be made once the details are worked out, according to Mayor Gail White.

- According to correspondence from Marty Smith, president of Ronceverte Cable Corp., the television cable company will soon be sold to one of two competing bidders. A public meeting will be scheduled once the deal is finalized.

- White established trick-or-treat hours as 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com