The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE - Clifton Forge Town Council held a public hearing and the first reading of three ordinances Tuesday night at the Clifton Forge Public Library.
If passed after a second reading scheduled for January 26, the ordinances will make Clifton Forge a much safer, cleaner and beautiful town.
The three ordinances deal with junk, excessive weed and grass growth and open storage of inoperable motor vehicles on residential, commercial or agricultural property.
The ordinances were read by Andy Morris, code enforcement officer, who also answered questions about the changes and noted the changes were necessary because the ones in the present code are not strong enough to stand up in court and the ones presented have been upheld in court cases in other localities.
The junk ordinance is designed to regulate the open storage of rusted junk, machinery, equipment, appliances, trash and debris and reads in part, “It shall be unlawful for any person to place or leave on any property in the town, any dilapidated furniture, appliance machinery, equipment, building material or other items which is either in a wholly or partially rusted, wrecked, junked, dismantled or inoperative condition and which is not completely enclosed within a building.”
If the town removes the item, the owner will be charged $150 and, if not paid within 30 days, a lien will be placed on the property.
The inoperable vehicle ordinance is designed to regulate the open storage of inoperable vehicles on residential, commercial or agricultural property.
It reads, in part, “It shall be unlawful whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee or otherwise, for any person, firm or corporation to keep, except within a fully enclosed building or structure or otherwise shielded or screened from view, on any property zoned for residential, commercial or agricultural purposes, any vehicles which are inoperable. The placing, draping or securing of a tarpaulin or other non-rigid cover, over and around an inoperable vehicle shall not be sufficient to comply with the requirements of this section.”
An administrative fee of $150 will be charged to and paid by the owner of the inoperable vehicle or the owner of the property where the vehicle is located and may be collected as taxes and levies.
The third ordinance deals with the regulation of excessive overgrowth of grass and weeds.
The ordinance reads, in part, “Any grass, weeds, brush or similar vegetation in excess of six inches in height, notice shall be served on the owner, or the occupant or both to cause such grass, weeds or similar vegetation to be cut and removed from such land or premises within 10 days from the date of notice and failure to comply constitutes a Class 3 misdemeanor.”
The town may contract for the cutting of the weeds and grass. In that event, the cost and expense, including a civil fee of $150, will be charged to the owner or occupant of the property.
These will take effect if approved on second reading, which is scheduled for January 26.
Council also held a public hearing on changing the zoning of property owned by John Grimes, located at 1501 Campbell Lane from conservation district to R-1 (residential) to allow a summer residence to be built on the property.
During the hear-the-public session, Carl Brinkley stated he was concerned with personal property taxes.
Brinkley said, “If the state government abolishes the personal property rebate to localities, which is being seriously discussed as a way to help balance the state budget, I feel the citizens of Clifton Forge should be preparing for a major tax increase.
“Being saddled with double taxation on personal property, namely automobiles, will create a serious burden on our citizens in Clifton Forge.
“To give an example of this potential added tax, I have taken my own particular situation. I own a 2001 Toyota Camry, 10 years old, a 2005 Toyota Corolla, six years old, and a 1984 Dodge pickup, too old to worry about. The present tax levy by the county for the vehicles is $413.01. The state tax relief is $282.61.
“I paid the county $130.20 in personal property taxes for 2009. The town tax levy for personal property taxes on my vehicles is $432.94. The tax relief received from the state is $290.91. I paid the town $142.03 in personal property taxes for 2009.”
Brinkley concluded, “If the state abolishes the rebate, by tax burden will increase $282.61 in the county and $290.91 in the town for a net tax increase of $573.52 annually.
“There are too many of our citizens in town that cannot stand to bear this additional tax burden, especially our citizens on fixed incomes who will not receive any increase in pensions. I hope the members of council will keep this in mind during budget preparation time and will be proactive in their thinking when preparing the budget. Don’t wait until the ship is sinking before you start bailing water.”
Others that spoke out during the hear-the-public included Jeff Irvine, who said he was not satisfied with the snow removal on the upper part of Commercial Avenue during the last snowfall.
John Hillert, president of the Masonic Theatre Restoration Committee, thanked the town for the support the theatre received last week and announced the theatre will be closed for two months and in that time, several meetings will be held with the public to get its input on the restoration.
Mayor Don Carter announced the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting and grand opening for the Old Forge Coffee Company on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at 400 E. Ridgeway St.
It was announced that Appalfolks recently presented the town two checks, one for $107.50 for one-half of the profit for the STARS program on October 10 and $49.99 for one-half of net concession income.
Town Manager Tracey Shiflett announced that he had contacted Jerry Van Lear, who in turn had contacted the VDOT district planer who will provide a brief analysis that may give some ideas of which direction the town could choose to take on turning Ridgeway Street back to two-way traffic when the Main Street bridge is constructed.
At the end of the meeting, all council members gave praise for the activities that were recently held at the theatre and the fine job of John Hillert and his committee.
Mayor Carter said he was disappointed that no Covington or Alleghany County officials attended the affairs at the theatre, remarking that Clifton Forge is a part of the county, too.
Council then went into closed session to discuss legal and personnel matters.
