Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 23, 1990 TAG: 9005230438
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The idea took form recently during joint committee meetings of the Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Montgomery County chambers of commerce as a way to combine efforts and save money.
Resolutions were sent to about a dozen localities and economic development groups asking for their support.
But who would pay for the study and how much it would cost remain unanswered.
"That is one major obstacle at this point," said Joanne Palmer, co-chairwoman of the joint committee, in an interview earlier Tuesday. "So what if everybody agrees to it. Where's the money going to come from?"
She said the committee is testing the waters to see if local governments like the idea. In addition to Blacksburg Town Council, the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission, and the two chambers of commerce have officially endorsed the idea of a feasibility study.
Mayor Roger Hedgepeth said Blacksburg would be willing to consider putting in its "fair share" if a study were formally proposed - with an estimated cost.
Other jurisdictions have yet to consider the resolution.
Franklyn Moreno, executive director of the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance, said the concept of a regional industrial park has been discussed for years. The alliance markets the valley to prospective industries.
But the ripple effect of AT&T's imminent closing in Pulaski County, putting almost 1,000 people out of work, has jump-started the concept once again.
"It's reinforced the idea that we are in this together, and how we deal with the future together," Moreno said.
The New River Valley has seven publicly owned industrial parks - three in Montgomery County and one each in Pulaski, Floyd and Giles counties and one in Radford, Moreno said.
By pooling resources and joining a regional project, each locality might save money on developing more industrial land - and then share the wealth.
That's one thing the study would lay out - how the costs and revenues could be divided, Moreno said.
It could also catalog how much available land is left in existing industrial parks, and identify the best places in the valley to put a new industrial park.
Moreno said Pulaski County's terrain is probably more suitable for development of large chunks of land for large industries than land in the more hilly Montgomery County.
But, because worker commuting patterns criss-cross the entire valley, he said, all localities would benefit from a new industry - no matter where it was located.
The alliance board will likely consider the resolution at its June meeting.
by CNB