Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 28, 1993 TAG: 9307280158
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"Montgomery County has just helped the economic development efforts of Virginia Beach and the city of Salem to the detriment of Montgomery County," Bob Rogers of Architectural Alternatives told the Board of Supervisors on Monday night.
Rogers said he has concerns about the hiring of Design Collaborative of Virginia Beach to design the new Blacksburg branch of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library and a Salem firm to design a new health and human services building in Christiansburg.
The supervisors Monday approved a $20,577 contract with Kinsey Shane and Associates of Salem for the initial design of the building planned for Pepper Street near the current Social Services building.
The new building will house the Health Department, the Social Services Department and possibly other county agencies.
County voters will be asked to approve a bond referendum this fall to pay for construction of the library and the health and human services building.
"Does it make any difference that employees of local firms have contributed substantially through leadership positions and dollars to Montgomery County improvement efforts?" Rogers asked.
The county should recognize that working and volunteering locally gives local firms a better understanding of the county's needs, he said.
Rogers asked why the primary criteria to get the job seemed to be previous experience in designing a building of the exact same type, such as a library. The experience of local firms "should at least have a hearing," he said.
Rogers said now is the time, while memories are still fresh, to suggest changes.
Separate building committees reviewed competitive proposals submitted for each of the buildings. Ten proposals were received for the work on the health and human services building.
The committees measured the proposals against the criteria, including experience in the particular building types and knowledge of local conditions.
Supervisors' Chairman Ira Long said Tuesday he had not given Rogers' criticisms much thought since Monday night's late-running meeting. But he said he would rather have seen a county firm get the contract if it had worked out that way.
Supervisors Henry Jablonski and Nick Rush voted against awarding the health and human services building contract to the Salem firm.
Jablonski said he agreed that the requirement for a designer to have experience on the particular building type probably should have been written differently.
If only people who have built before are chosen, then no one new can ever be picked; and sometimes new people have the freshest and most creative ideas, he said.
Rogers said he also is concerned that only four weeks have been alloted for preparing a preliminary design for the health and human services building. The site is complex and borders a historic area. The county should not "just slap up a building," he said.
Rogers also questioned why the county was going forward with construction before a New River Valley human-needs study has been completed.
In other action Monday night, the supervisors:
Agreed to ask the state Department of Transportation not to issue any permits for new commercial entrances along the Virginia 177 corridor until the board amends the county's comprehensive plan to coincide with the corridor agreement reached between the county and Radford.
Heard about a proposed meeting of the chairmen of the supervisors and the School Board, the county administrator, the school superintendent and the county's and school system's finance directors to discuss consolidation of the school system's and county's finance departments.
Approved a transfer of roughly $44,000 so Sheriff Ken Phipps can hire two additional full-time correctional officers.
Appointed Michael Lee, Jeannie Ayers, Pete Catelli III and Joseph G. Painter Jr. to the county Office on Youth Advisory Board and County Planner Joe Powers to the New River Valley Rural Planning Organization Technical Committee.
by CNB