At Tuesday's Christiansburg Town Council meeting, the rubber stamp so many claim rules the town was absent for the most part.
A rezoning request for 2880 Roanoke recommended for approval by the town's Planning Commission was unanimously rejected by council due to concerns brought forth by citizens about stormwater. Even after being told by the Town Manager they "could not impose more stringent stormwater requirements than the State." This vote appeared to be in response to an applicant who had made multiple similar requests for smaller, adjacent properties piece by piece over a period of time. The stormwater issues experienced by the citizens may also have been contributed to by other area commercial development. And they even followed parliamentary protocol, having a motion and second on the floor, when a speaker wanted to interject from the audience and was told the Public Hearing had been held on March 3rd.
The Street Committee, composed of council member Brad Stipes and Jim Vanhoozier, reported to the full council that they had been looking at Community Development Block Grants and would be returning with recommendations for pursuing some of these, along with specific uses. Stipes stated these grants would not require matching funds from the town and represented $100,000 to $120,000 the town could have been receiving but had not bothered. These grants are generally for very specific uses in designated areas and require some amount of administrative oversight. The Mayor noted applying was the easy part but worried about staffing to manage the funds, if received...another good indicator a full organizational chart, showing the number of personnel by department with related accountabilities is an absent tool which should be made available to council members. Grant administration is not rocket science and until you are managing millions in annual grants, it isn't a full time job -- just small tasks.
A decision to allow additional tailgate type street parties put the Mayor in a tough spot -- his became the tie breaker, casting a rare vote. This allowed these events to continue being planned. What was at issue was the sale of alcohol as a means to raise the funds which pay for all downtown street events, such as the car cruise ins seen last summer. One interesting note was that public spaces -- streets and sidewalks -- are perceived to be "town" property. Another interesting note was that a Christiansburg Reunion, a proposed annual family event pulling friends and family back into the community for a weekend, wasn't presented under the umbrella of the new Events Coalition which is coordinating the cruise ins and tailgate parties.
In giving an update on the aquatic center, the town manager stated interior work was proceeding. When asked for an update on the lease with Virginia Tech, council was again told it was in the hands of the town's attorney. When asked for an opening date, the manager's response was "summer." This indicates an opening anytime after June 21st and before Labor Day.