Troutville Town Council voted 5-0 to table a proposal to extend the town’s corporate boundaries until there’s more study done.
The decision, Council member Harry Ulrich said when he made the motion early in Monday night’s regular council meeting, came about because of discussion at a July community meeting about the proposal. Ulrich’s motion was followed by a number of questions from community members who had heard council was either going to vote to move forward with the proposal, that it had already been tabled or might be tabled or dropped.
Those comments had Ulrich on the defensive and telling the audience of about 30 people that he didn’t know where the information came from. He said he’d been approached by Roanoke television stations, and by Monday afternoon was asking their news departments to clarify that no decision had been made about the proposal that was on the council agenda to consider whether to table the issue for further study. Still, several residents who live in the area proposed to be brought into the town were critical of what they considered misleading information and wondered why town council officials hadn’t been more forthcoming. Ulrich told them council has no control over the media.
“We’re so far away from making a decision on this. We never told anybody we’re making a decision on this tonight,” Ulrich said. Ulrich said there was a lot of misinformation out in the community and town officials were not trying to “sneak something by you.” “We want your input on this again,” he said, noting there will be another community meeting once the town has completed what he called “further study.” “We’re not even close to talking to the Board of Supervisors about this, yet,” he continued. Both Town Council and the Board of Supervisors have to agree for a boundary adjustment to go into effect, and that has to be approved by the Botetourt County Circuit Court.
Ulrich said there’s no timetable on how long it will be before council returns to the subject, but he promised the community would be informed when council was ready for another community meeting. Paul Graybill, who lives in the area that’s part of the proposal to have included in the town boundaries, asked council to drop the idea. He said council should work on solving the issue of having some property that’s already split by the town’s existing corporate limits and not try to add 2,600 acres to the town. Ulrich reiterated that the reason the town is interested in extending the boundaries is primarily to be able to extend its water system. He said development will be coming to that area and as it now stands, the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA) has the right to extend water into the areas outside of town not already served by the town’s water system.
“We know in the future there will homes down that way. We want to get our lines in the ground. This county is growing,” Ulrich explained. Ulrich said that the town cannot extend its water system now without approval from the WVWA. “We’re trying to service new residences. If we don’t, then the Western Virginia Water Authority will do it and it’s going to cost you more. “Eventually, there’s going to have to be water in those areas,” he continued. Ulrich said there are a number of people in the area the town is considering for inclusion in the corporate limits who want the town to extend the boundaries and water system. “It may be we don’t do this. It may work out that we do do it. We’re not that far yet,” he said.
A map of a proposed boundary change shows possible new town limits that extend as far northeast along US 11 to Troutville Elementary School and take in Stoney Battery Road. I-81 would be the western boundary, and the proposed new corporate limits would go south to Humbert Road and take in Mountain Pass Road from there back to the current town limits on US 11. Council is proposing increasing the geographic size of the town from 440 acres to 3,093 acres and adding approximately 305 households to the 198 households in the current town limits.
The document says the proposed boundary adjustment will encompass the majority of the town’s established and planned water service area. In other business, council heard about a program offered by the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project Inc. (SERCAP) that brings college students into rural communities to do service projects, generally during spring break. SERCAP has a Roanoke office and representative Beth Pusha explained the program to council.
Town Ambassador Lee Minnix told council plans for a mural on the “Moomaw Wall” on US 11 are moving forward. She’s collecting donations to have the mural painted and hopes to have it done by the end of October. The Troutville Fire Department is working with the American Red Cross to provide free smoke detectors for homes in the Troutville/Daleville area. They will be offering the detectors on September 8 and will help install them for those who need assistance. Firefighters are also taking training on the department’s new ladder truck that’s expected to go into service by the end of the year.
