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

DATE: SUNDAY, May 13, 1990                   TAG: 9005120111
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KIM ZEOLI  SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

MAYOR HAS SEEN CHANGES GOOD AND BAD

Starnes, recently re-elected (he handily defeated Councilman David Worrell), has been Radford's mayor or a councilman for 16 years. There have been some changes he would rather not have seen, changes largely out of the city's control - one being the evacuation of businesses to the malls.

"I think everyone's seen the impact of malls on . . . the business community. With their development, major businesses such as Leggett and several grocery stores in the west end have left Radford to join malls, said Starnes.

To counteract the loss of jobs and businesses to the malls and other factors, Radford has developed an industrial park that will be in operation later this year.

Starnes has also seen growth in Radford's population to 13,700 from about 11,500 when he joined Council in 1974. But, "even with the influx of people resulting from the university, the city of Radford still has a small-town atmosphere," said Starnes.

Because of an increase in Radford university students, Starnes said apartments have been popping up all over the east end. "There never used to be this many apartments in Radford, [but] apartments are needed to house the students," said Starnes.

Students aren't the only ones who need a place to live. To accommodate families, Starnes said two or three subdivisions have been built.

It seems Radford is growing in all areas of population, but the number of school-age children has declined.

"Because of the significant reduction in the number of school-age children who live in Radford, one elementary school has closed. There has also been consolidation of other school buildings," said Starnes.

When Starnes first became involved with city government in 1976, the main issue was stability in city government. "When I first became mayor, Radford was going through some turmoil. . . . There was quite a bit of unrest in the city because key people were leaving city employment. Several key people within the city resigned," said Starnes, "but things have been fairly quiet in recent years."

In today's world, issues have become more extreme. Starnes priorities are city status and the condition of the environment. He said it was hard to pick a main issue between these two.

Radford's independent-city status, along with that of other cities, is being challenged by the Grayson Commission. "The very structure of city government as it exists in Virginia is being challenged," said Starnes. He believes Radford should remain a city and he plans to let Radford's wishes be known to legislators.

Starnes said more also needs to be done to protect the environment: "I've come a long way in realizing the problem that does exist. I've also changed my habits. I never used to recycle anything, but now I do."

Starnes said Council needs to look hard at recycling and waste disposal. "We've got to get into establishing, and we're working on this right now, the regional landfill. Also, we need to get involved with recycling activities."

On taxes, Starnes said Radford has among the lowest tax rates in the New River Valley - real estate tax at 70 cents per $100 value and personal property taxes at $1.40 per $100 value - an attributes this to the city's electrical system.

"The fact we own the electrical system . . . is the reason we've been able to maintain what I consider a reasonable tax rate. Typically that system makes $1 million a year. If we didn't have this money, then the taxes would be higher," said Starnes.

Starnes said the true tax rate is considerably less now than it was 10 years ago. "Even though everyone's house has appreciated so more dollars are being payed, if you equate back to true tax rate 10 years ago, taxes are actually less now."

Starnes will continue to see changes in Radford and be a part of these changes in the next four years as mayor.

Starnes is manager of maintenance for Hercules Inc. He lives in Radford with his wife, Sharron.