Photo courtesy of Barry Rakes
By Matt de Simone
Fincastle Town Council meet last week at the Fincastle Volunteer Fire Department meeting room to discuss updates on the courthouse construction, Big Spring Park activities, and a proposed change to the date of the town’s annual fireworks display.
Courthouse demolition work has officially begun on the main building. Residents saw the rear walls of the courthouse knocked down last Thursday and began taking to social media posting photos. The street closure of North Roanoke Street between Main and Back streets began on April 7 and will be closed for the next year indefinitely. Upcoming demolition work will involve explosives to get some of the rock loose, according to Town Manager Melanie McFadyen. She added that the blasting “will not be loud.”
According to the blast plan, Rock Tec Inc., will drill and blast rock encountered on the project beginning Wednesday morning. All blasting will be conducted by an experienced blaster in compliance with all Federal, State, and local regulations. Due to proximity to homes, roadways and utility lines in this area great care will be taken to ensure minimal traffic disruption.
Surrounding businesses and residents were given a 48-hour notice ahead of the minimal blasting that will occur. The Botetourt Sheriff’s Office will be responsible for closing the streets prior to blasting and the fire marshal will be responsible for making sure buildings are cleared during that period of work. McFadyen said that monitoring equipment will be placed around the town at historic structures to read the measurements of the explosions to make sure there is no damage to those structures.
A preliminary town budget has been written up. Town Council will give an overview at the May meeting that will also feature a public hearing on the matter. Council will then put it to a vote at its June meeting. Mayor Mary Bess Smith said that she planned on sharing the preliminary budget with the town finance committee this week to make any “tweaks.” Smith said that there will not be an additional property tax for the upcoming year.
Photos courtesy of Town of Fincastle
Big Spring Park saw 25 volunteers help clean up the trail last Saturday morning cutting down vines, removing invasive plants, and creating brush piles that will soon be removed. The effort was organized by Town Council in preparation for the warmer weather. On April 23, students from James River High School will work on the outdoor classroom, spreading mulch, staining benches, and other small projects involving Breckinridge Elementary students.
April 26 will see a “Book Trail” begin at the park in coordination with the Fincastle Library. Sarah Rodgers, Fincastle Library director, spoke about the book trail with council sharing that laminated pages from “Unplugged” by Steve Antony will be set throughout the trail so families can read the book while walking along the trail. “Unplugged” is about the joy of disconnecting from technology and embracing the great outdoors. The project was funded by the Friends of the Fincastle Library and Rodgers shared her appreciation of the Friends and the town for helping with the project.
The town is shooting for Sunday, July 6, as the date for this year’s fireworks extravaganza at Breckinridge Elementary School. This date will not only lower the cost of the show for the town, but may also provide an opportunity for the town to get more fireworks that the provider may not use earlier in the week. Council member Paige Ware shared that she thought that holding the show on July 6 may be a better attended event with everything else going on in the surrounding areas.
The next scheduled regular meeting of Fincastle Town Council is May 8.
