THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130274
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BEDFORD, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
The last time Virginia voters approved a municipal merger was 20 years ago, when Nansemond and Suffolk merged, but failures haven't sidetracked big plans by Bedford and Bedford County.
And they really mean big.
By consolidating Bedford County into a single government, Bedford's corporate limits would envelop 770 square miles, ranking it fifth nationally in geographic size, slightly less than No. 4 Jacksonville, Fla.
The new and expanded Bedford would be nearly three times as large as the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain and half the size of Rhode Island. It would be twice as large as the sprawling confines of Suffolk.
Bedford County Supervisor Gus Saarnijoki predicted the consolidation referendum will pass because the county and city already share some services, including schools, which are traditionally a big source of arguments in merger talks.
Still, some local government experts agree consolidation is always a hard sell to voters.
``The forces for change will really have to make their point,'' said Nelson Wikstrom, an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University.
``Unless people can be convinced that consolidation is pragmatic and it won't hurt them, they'll tend to favor the status quo,'' he said. ``That's why it's been so difficult to bring about changes in government in the past.''
Wikstrom is writing a book about regionalism and consolidation and served on a committee that studied an unsuccessful proposal to create a limited regional government in the Richmond area this year.
But he said the General Assembly and the governor are more sympathetic than ever before to consolidation and to projects such as regional jails, and that could help the Bedford plan. The proposal requires special legislation and approval of the Commission on Local Government before it can be put to a vote.
Consolidation talks in Bedford began earlier this year when a Forest couple submitted a petition to both governments citing the need to protect Bedford County from annexation by the city of Lynchburg to the east or the town of Vinton to the west.
Bedford and Bedford County have until February to prepare a consolidation plan for voters to consider in a November 1995 referendum. The consolidation talks have been held in private this month by a joint team consisting of locally elected officials along with government administrators and attorneys.
Under an outline approved by the local governments last month, the combined area would technically become a shire, a semi-independent government similar to a town. It would retain its own elected representatives and provide its own services.
Details such as political structure, land boundaries and shared services probably will not be released until the consolidation team presents its plan to the General Assembly in February.
Because it would be a city, the consolidated locality would be protected from possible annexation by Lynchburg or Vinton if a state moratorium on annexation ends in 1997. by CNB