The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE, Va. (VR)— The Clifton Forge Town Council on Tuesday advanced two property actions, reviewed progress on key water and street projects, and heard public concerns about the town’s approach to licensing food trucks and other mobile vendors.
The meeting began with approval of minutes from the council’s Feb. 10 and March 10 sessions, then moved into a public hearing on the proposed abandonment of an alley connecting Hamilton Street and Jefferson Street and its conveyance to adjoining landowner Wanda Booth.
A representative for Booth said her family has lived at 1113 Jefferson St. for about 50 years and has long treated the alley as a driveway, maintaining gravel to keep mud from being tracked into the home. He asked that the town legally surrender the strip, often referred to as a “paper alley.”
Resident Pamela Lightfoot questioned whether all potentially affected property owners had been properly notified and raised concerns about future access and the impact on garbage collection. Town staff responded that notices and letters were sent based on legal counsel’s guidance. Booth’s representative clarified that only a short section between Hamilton and Jefferson streets was involved and that it effectively affected only Booth’s property. A former neighbor confirmed the alley had little public use.
Later in the meeting, the council adopted a resolution initiating the formal abandonment process. The town manager was directed to determine the alley’s fair market or contributory value to Booth’s lot using inspection and tax records, rather than a full appraisal.
In a second property matter, the council held a public hearing on the proposed sale of three vacant town-owned lots at 27 Mountain St. and zero County Road in the Newtown area to adjacent owner Robert Callaway Jones. Staff said each lot is assessed at $1,000 but is too small to be developed independently and is most valuable as an extension of Jones’ existing property. Jones offered $1,500 total for the three parcels, or $500 per lot. The council approved the sale at that price.
Town manager Chuck Unroe reported that the Smith Creek water line project is in its final days, with crews restoring disturbed properties. Remaining project funds will be used to locate and test valves and shutoffs on mains from the water plant to the Venous Way pump station and to bring a long-idled water tank back online.
Paving work is scheduled to begin next week, starting with the Ridgeway Street bridge near downtown and then addressing utility cuts left from earlier projects. The manager also highlighted recent replacement of an aging water line on Cherry Street.
He said the town’s baseball fields at Matthews, Linden Park and Memorial Park are being improved to support youth sports practices and potential tournaments, and that the Fridays in the Forge event series will return in May with themed evenings and live entertainment.
During public comment, resident Pamela Lightfoot argued that granting business licenses to non–brick-and-mortar food operations, such as food trucks, harms established restaurants and cafes that maintain permanent locations in town. She urged the council to stop issuing new licenses to such businesses. Some council members thanked her for her input but said turning away businesses solely because they duplicate existing services would not be in the town’s best interest.
The council ended the public portion of the meeting by voting to go into closed session under Virginia Code to discuss town-owned real estate.
