E-911 Renovation Proceeds; Tracking Equipment Eyed

by Scotty Wampler
Staff Reporter
  Renovations to Buchanan County’s E-911 office are progressing nicely, Director Greg Clevinger said recently.
 Fresh paint, new sheet rock and the installation of four computer workstations top the list of improvements made to the Slate Creek facility.
 Approximately $212,000 worth of new software and equipment has been purchased to date -- tools that will be put to use at each workstation following the renovation work.
 “One dispatcher will actually have four computer screens in front of them,” Clevinger previously said.
 Clevinger confirmed much of the wiring and other miscellaneous electrical work is finished, adding they’re currently working on getting the building’s emergency phone systems in place. Once that happens, Clevinger said, the high-dollar equipment will be installed.
 The office also is continually providing county residents with their newly-assigned physical addresses. Residents interested in obtaining their new address are free to call E-911 anytime, Clevinger said, and a representative will provide them with that information.
 “We’ll be happy to give anybody’s physical address that wants it,” Clevinger said.
 To receive the maximum benefits of the service, Clevinger stressed, residents also need to call and update the E-911 office any time changes are made to their contact information.
  The transfer from a route address system to house and building numbers in Buchanan County will benefit residents in several ways. Primarily, it will make fire and rescue calls virtually effortless for local emergency personnel, Clevinger said.
 In the future, sophisticated software programs will give E-911 the capability of tracking emergency personnel when they’re out on call. Dispatchers will be equipped with some of the most advanced emergency-response software and systems available.
 The facility’s renovation is expected to last no longer than 75 days.

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$659,305 Bid Awarded for New Gym

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
   A $659,305 bid to build a new gymnasium at the Poplar Gap Park was approved Monday during a continued meeting of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors.
  The bid, adjusted down from $712,000, was submitted by J.A. Street and Associates.
  County Engineer Billie Campbell told board members he had reviewed the bid submitted and in order to get the cost down, he recommended the board delete a $52,695 expenditure to finish a second floor over the locker area.
  The bid approved included $67,674 for general requirements; $30,038 for site work; $342,973 for the gym; $162,482 for the concession/restroom/locker addition; and $56,138 for furnishings.
  In discussing the bid, Campbell noted some board members had suggested there might be savings realized if county employees did the site work, however, Campbell said due to liability issues and the size of the concrete slab to be poured, he recommended the contractor be responsible for that portion of the job.
  The adjusted $659,305 bid, Campbell pointed out was for a turn-key project.
  South Grundy Supervisor Roger Rife made the motion to accept the adjusted low bid and after some discussion, Garden Supervisor Buddy Fuller seconded the motion.
  Fuller suggested perhaps county crews could be used to put together the building.
  Rife said while county employees were certainly capable, the way they are moved from project to project makes it difficult for them to accomplish much, especially on a project the size of the gym project.
  "It is a problem," Fuller agreed, "but if we get them on a project like this, they’ve got to stay on it."
  Rife reminded the supervisors of the promise the board made when the Vansant gym was dismantled as the school property was sold.
  "We promised to replace this gym," Rife said. "It’s one of the things we used to sell that property. We sold the property; I think we should replace the gym. The only other gym we have is at Big Rock. If we’re gonna have the programs, we gotta have a gym somewhere."
  The vote to approve the gym was 7-0. Rocklick Supervisor David Ratliff and Hurricane Supervisor William P. Harris expressed some reservations about the bid and its cost, but ultimately agreed that despite the cost, the agreement had been there to replace the gym.

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Car Tax Relief Reimbursement Extension Looms
Delinquent Personal Property Taxpayers May Still Qualify for Help

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
   Delinquent personal property taxpayers in Buchanan County may still be eligible for the state to pay a percentage of their car taxes due to anticipated action by the Virginia General Assembly.
  Buchanan County Treasurer Bill Keene said it now appeared the General Assembly would take action to pump in as much as $31 million to keep an original September deadline in place.
  Last week, Keene said he had been told revised state estimates showed the car tax money available from the state was likely to be dried up by as early as June 12 or June 13, 2006.
  Keene said last week he had received an e-mail from Hanover County Treasurer Scott Miller, who also serves as president of the Treasurers Association of Virginia, informing him and treasurers statewide that the tax relief money set aside by the state is nearly gone.
  "Only $7,378,317 remains," Miller said. "At the current rate to date since December, this will be exhausted by June 12 or 13."
  By June 6, the state money available had further dwindled to $1.1 million, however, the state Department of Accounting has been given approval to continue reimbursements up to another $31 million.
  "These funds have been jointly agreed upon by the General Assembly and it’s only a matter of time before it is official," Miller wrote in a second e-mail.
  Assuming it is all approved, then the new state funds should carry out the relief until the original expected deadline of September 1.
  Regardless, however, Keene said the bottom line for taxpayers who are delinquent already remains simple, "pay now to avoid losing your car tax relief."
  Once the state money is depleted -- whether it is now or in September, or sometime in between -- delinquent personal property taxpayers will become responsible for paying 100 percent of their car taxes with no relief available from the state. Currently, the state pays 70 percent and the local taxpayer, 30 percent.
  Changes in state law will see the split gone for delinquent taxpayers, when they do pay after the state money is used up. Instead of only paying 30 percent, they will pay 100 percent of their car taxes, plus penalties and interest for paying late.

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