Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 3, 1993 TAG: 9308030047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They also said it's inappropriate for Bowers to bypass them and talk directly with their constituents.
"I think he's doing it for show," said Hollins District Supervisor Bob Johnson. His district includes the Woodlands subdivision, where Bowers will meet with a group of residents Wednesday night.
"I don't think this is the proper time, avenue or forum" for discussing consolidation, Johnson said. "He is causing trouble by continuing to stir the pot."
County residents are free to meet with anyone, Johnson said, but he questioned whether Bowers will provide them with objective information on merger.
Supervisors Chairman Fuzzy Minnix said he would never meet with city residents without first checking with city leaders and inviting them to attend. "I think that would be the proper protocol," he said.
Supervisors Harry Nickens agreed. He said some city residents asked to meet with him last year when City Council was considering a proposal to adopt a modified-ward plan for electing council members.
"I declined because I didn't feel that it was my prerogative to come into the city and meet with them on issues," said Nickens.
Johnson has not been invited to Wednesday's meeting, but he said he will attend if asked.
Bowers said he's going to the meeting mainly to listen. Kathy Castle, a partner in a tourism business, is hosting the meeting.
"This will be a conversation, not a debate. It is an informal get-together. I want to hear what county residents are thinking," Bowers said.
Bowers said he's willing to meet at another time with Johnson or other county officials who want to talk about reorganizing city and county governments.
But Johnson said he doubts Bowers has studied the consolidation issue in detail, particularly the 1990 agreement that was rejected by county voters.
Johnson recalled that Bowers was forced to resign from the consolidation negotiating committee because he admitted encouraging scraps between the city and county to build support for merger.
Dick Robers, former chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said Bowers is free to talk to whomever he chooses in the county.
"Certainly, he has the right to talk to county residents and get their sentiments," said Robers, an advocate of consolidation.
"I don't know that there has been any change in the attitude of county voters, but I can see that [Bowers] might want to find out," he said.
But Robers said there is a risk in Bowers' strategy because he incurs the antagonism of county leaders. He said it may not be the best approach to build support for merger.
Nickens predicted that Bowers' efforts will be counterproductive. It's not going to change county voters' minds and it might cause some to be even more opposed to consolidation, Nickens said.
Bowers said he's not wedded to consolidation as the only solution to the dilemma facing the Roanoke Valley because of slow growth and the concentration of low- and moderate-income residents in the city.
He has also raised the possibilities of the city trying to regain the right to annex and giving up its charter to become part of the county. City Council has asked City Attorney Wilburn Dibling for legal opinions on the annexation and charter issues.
Don Terp, an anti-consolidation leader in the county three years ago, said county residents are upset that Bowers continues to press the issue. He said he has been flooded with phone calls recently from angry county residents.
"He's completely out of place and it's doing damage" to city and county relations, Terp said. "He is using the old rifle technique of trying to pick off one group after another."
Bowers has predicted that county voters would approve consolidation if another referendum were held now, but Terp and county leaders disagree.
Johnson has criticized Bowers for making a new push for consolidation without even a courtesy call to county officials to alert them to what he planned to do.
"He's burning bridges as he goes," Johnson said.
But Bowers defended his actions, saying he made his recommendations during his state of the city address that focused on issues facing the city.
"I think that was the appropriate time and place to do it," he said. As mayor, he said, it is his responsibility to recommend actions on issues that face the city. And he said it was appropriate to make them to council first.
by CNB