The Shadow
LOW MOOR - New jobs may be created through the lease of a county-owned building in Low Moor to a Covington businessman.
The Alleghany County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to authorize execution of a lease agreement with Covington businessman Butch Kemper.
Kemper’s company, Dawn Warehousing Inc., will lease the 68,000 square foot building in the Alleghany Regional Commerce Center for $13,000 a month. The building was most recently used by Bacova Guild to augment its operations in Alleghany County.
Kemper said his company’s use of the building will help create six new jobs and sustain 10 existing jobs. Dawn Warehousing may be interested in purchasing the building at a later date.
“I can’t reveal the customer right now,” Kemper said.
He originally met with supervisors in closed session Oct. 6 to discuss the lease agreement. A Tuesday night public hearing on the proposal drew no comments. The public hearing was required by law since the building is publicly owned.
“Even putting one job in the area is a start back to the plus side, in my opinion. Plus, it’s occupying an empty building,” Falling Spring Supervisor Rickey May said.
Supervisors also took further steps Tuesday night toward constructing a regional wastewater treatment plant for eastern Alleghany County.
The Lower Jackson River Wastewater Treatment Plant is being built on farm property near Iron Gate. Tuesday, supervisors held a public hearing on a proposal to issue bonds to finance the construction of the plant’s conveyance system, which will include piping and pump stations. Work will also entail converting Clifton Forge’s wastewater treatment plant into a pumping station.
The wastewater treatment plant, which is being built under order from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, will serve Clifton Forge, Iron Gate, Selma, and other areas of eastern Alleghany County.
There were no comments during Tuesday’s public hearing on the bond proposal. The county is prepared to issue bonds in a maximum amount of $19.1 million to fund construction of the conveyance system.
Jon Lanford, assistant county administrator, said two different funding sources will be used to finance construction of the conveyance system.
The county will utilize a $16.7 million loan from the Virginia Resource Authority. The loan will be for 20 years at 0 percent interest. Lanford said the county is in discussions with state officials to have the payback period extended to 30 years.
The county will also receive a $2.4 million loan from the federal Rural Development program. That loan will be repaid over 40 years at 2.75 percent interest.
Engineering estimates place the cost of the conveyance system at $21.9 million. Lanford is hopeful that bids on the project will come in below estimates.
In a related matter, supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to begin condemnation proceedings to acquire an easement to install piping for the wastewater treatment plant.
The property, located in the Selma area, was formerly owned by CSX. It is now owned by Clifton Forge Development Inc., whose principals are Covington attorney Bill Wilson, Covington businessman Bill Moody and Richard Lawson of Roanoke.
Supervisors initiated condemnation proceedings after Clifton Forge Development rejected a $5,590 offer for the 1.9-acre easement. The offer was based on the assessed value of the property.
Lanford said he has held several discussions with Wilson over the past two weeks and a counter offer from Clifton Forge Development was never made. Wilson did, however, suggest an alternate route for the piping.
Supervisors met in closed session Tuesday to discuss the alternate route proposal.
County Administrator John Strutner said discussions with Clifton Forge Development can continue even though condemnation proceedings have been initiated.
Strutner said the county needs to move forward with constructing the wastewater treatment plant in order to meet a state-imposed deadline.
In other business Tuesday, supervisors:
– Heard comments from Linda Edwards-White, partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau.
Edwards-White said she is interested in working with county officials to increase the return rate of 2010 Census forms.
The forms will be mailed out to households in late February or early March. The return date for the forms will be April 1.
In the 2000 Census, only 67 percent of Alleghany County residents returned the forms to the Census Bureau, which fell below the state average of 70 percent.
Edwards-White said failure to return the forms causes the Census Bureau to send paid personnel to households to obtain the information.
– Approved a $1,000 contribution to the Tour of Virginia Bicycle Race, which will visit the Highlands in April.
May voted in favor of the contribution but said the county must tighten its purse strings in the future.
“It should be up to civic groups, churches, whatever. I’m going to vote yes to this one, but going forward, we are going to have to take a long, hard look at these things,” May said.
– Designated Supervisor Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Barnette as the county’s voting delegate at the Virginia Association of Counties’ meeting, scheduled for The Homestead in November. Boiling Spring Supervisor Dave Price will be the alternate.
– Voted to recommend that James Parker Jr. (Covington District) be reappointed to the board of zoning appeals for five years. The appointment will be made by the Alleghany County Circuit Court.
