
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990                   TAG: 9003290635
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CITY NEGOTIATORS ARE UNDECIDED ON

Roanoke's consolidation negotiators are puzzled by the Roanoke County supervisors' decision to choose Chairman Dick Robers to represent the county in talks about possible changes in the merger plan.

Councilman Howard Musser said Wednesday the city's negotiators haven't decided whether they will meet with Robers.

"We are trying to determine whether this is a new negotiating team for the county and whether we should meet with him or what we thought was the county's team," Musser said.

"Our approach so far has been to deal with consolidation issues by having the negotiating teams handle them."

Supervisors Bob Johnson and Harry Nickens have been the county's negotiators. But they have opposed efforts by Robers and the two other supervisors, Steve McGraw and Lee Eddy, to seek changes in the plan, which has been approved by both City Council and the Board of Supervisors.

Robers, McGraw and Eddy voted Tuesday night to authorize Robers to meet with the city's negotiators - Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. and Musser - to discuss the proposed changes.

Musser said city officials had anticipated the county's negotiating team would represent the county.

Earlier this week, the city's team sent a letter to Robers saying that it would be willing to consider the suggested changes "as a courtesy to you." The city asked Robers to provide written justification for each of the proposed changes.

"Once we have received your written position papers, the city's negotiating team will be pleased to meet with the county's negotiating team," Musser and Fitzpatrick said in their letter.

Robers said Wednesday he hadn't talked with the city's negotiators and wasn't aware that they might be reluctant to meet with him.

"I haven't heard that. The board was pretty clear in what it said, and that was I was to meet with them. . . . If they don't talk with me, I don't know who they're going to talk to," Robers said.

He said that because Johnson and Nickens oppose the changes, it doesn't make sense for the negotiators to discuss the changes with the city.

by CNB