hhstigerfan 12 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 On the Richlands annexation, I can kind of under stand them taking all the area around Doran with the few businesses around there, but why on earth do the town limits go half way up Kents Ridge now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichlandsAlum 678 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I don't know for sure, but I get the impression that Russell County and the towns within it are trying to do what's best for the entire county, whereas Tazewell and it's towns are competing against each other. Hence Richlands building a farmers market because Tazewell has one. Or Richlands annexing a huge chunk of the county in order to gain more land that can be developed... despite the financial strain those new areas are putting on the town. Also Richlands and Cedar Bluff have been bickering over one thing or another for years when they should be working together as one. [/ QUOTE ] I'll go further than "working together." Richlands and Cedar Bluff should have merged a long time ago and then taken in Claypool Hill. A unified municipality comprised of those three communities would be pretty strong overall. Wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to happen, of course. Provincialism remains the rule in Tazewell County. Cedar Bluff's independence and the continuing operation of Pocahontas High School are just two examples. But while the synergy gained when organizations work together is extremely valuable, I don't think the absence of it is necessarily a liability. For example, having a good vertical leap is obviously beneficial to any basketball player, but there are plenty of hoopsters who can't clear a foot and a half who are still recognized as being truly talented. If the folks in Russell have their act together, that is great. But the economic benefits they're seeing are probably due more to geography than politics. Bristol is the engine that's pulling the region, and development will invariably spread northward from there. Tazewell will eventually see some of the benefits, but logically not before Russell. Businesses look for bottom line benefits. To the extent that government entities can provide information or incentives, developers will talk to them. Otherwise, political distinctions are simply lines on a map. Don't get me wrong -- governments working together is always a good thing. But the lack of that kind of cooperation doesn't necessarily present an economic handicap. It's basically the difference between a zero-sum benefit and a bona fide advantage. Following up on that thought, annexation isn't really a huge factor either way from my experience. The benefits gained by expanding tax base are pretty much equal to the cost of providing services. And the cost of providing services continues to go up regardless of the relative size of a community. The recent annexation by Richlands (particularly including Hidden Valley) makes a lot of sense to me, but it's probably a wash in the grand scheme of things. IMO, the most valuable thing that Richlands and Cedar Bluff could do would be to take a long, hard look at the relationship between the two communities and analyze the economies of scale that might be gained by merging the two towns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 It might end up as a wash in the long run but it doesn't look good right now. http://www.richlands-news-press.com/serv...path=!frontpage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichlandsAlum 678 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 [ QUOTE ] It might end up as a wash in the long run but it doesn't look good right now. http://www.richlands-news-press.com/serv...path=!frontpage [/ QUOTE ] In the interest of full disclosure, this is a subject matter that I do know very well. The budget challenges that Richlands is facing are not unique, and have more to do with the costs of providing services (particularly the enterprises of water and electricity) than annexation. The Town should have indexed its water rate structure to more closely match what is actually happening in the economy. To wit: "While state rates have increased 33% over the last ten years the Town's rate increases has been 7% over the last 12 years.[sic]" The cost of wholesale power is also a budgeting nightmare for muncipalities who provide electricity. And those costs will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. I know this firsthand (and for that matter, I know exactly what Richlands is paying as well). Municipalities must then decide whether they will simply absorb these increases elsewhere in the budget or pass the costs along to their customers. These two factors alone pose difficulties in budgeting. The fact that the Town is facing a couple of unfunded mandates from the Commonwealth makes things much worse. Annexation really doesn't have much to do with Tim Taylor's budget woes. It does cost money to run lines to the new citizens. However, those kinds of capital projects are financed, and the taxes and fees that the new citizens pay will cover the costs within a calculated period of time. According to the article, the increased cost for providing water service is due to the increased cost of wholesale electricity. In the short term, that can be blamed on the addition of new customers. However, as I mentioned above, these costs are projected to increase for the next 20 years, so annexation cannot accurately be branded as the culprit. In the short term, annexing Hidden Valley makes sense because doing so automatically expands and improves the Town's taxable housing stock. And right now, the largest appreciation in property value is happening at the residential level. Long term, it's still a wash. Folks who are annexed will see a measurable increase in the amount of taxes that they pay, but they will also see a measurable increase in the quantity and quality of services that they are provided on a local level. Citizens in every jurisdiction are either going to be paying higher taxes and fees or they are going to have to settle for a lower level of service. That's true regardless of whether one is a county, town, or city resident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichlandsAlum 678 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 [ QUOTE ] On the Richlands annexation, I can kind of under stand them taking all the area around Doran with the few businesses around there, but why on earth do the town limits go half way up Kents Ridge now? [/ QUOTE ] This is purely a wild-haired guess, but here goes..... If the Town is running sewer lines to serve the newly-annexed area, they probably need to run them up Kents Ridge to get the benefit of the gravity involved in the topography change. Otherwise, the construction of pump stations would be necessary, and the cost of them would negatively impact the benefit associated with annexing the area in the first place. Again, just a guess. But I'd be willing to bet that the decision is based on one or more of the following motivations: 1. Water pressure 2. Sewer flow 3. The strategic desire to be well positioned for further annexation in the future (either towards Wardell or Claypool Hill) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I'll go further than "working together." Richlands and Cedar Bluff should have merged a long time ago and then taken in Claypool Hill. A unified municipality comprised of those three communities would be pretty strong overall. Wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to happen, of course. [/ QUOTE ] Didn't Richlands show some interest years ago about merging with Cedar Bluff? I think CB refused because they didn't want to be part of a bigger town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichlandsAlum 678 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Didn't Richlands show some interest years ago about merging with Cedar Bluff? I think CB refused because they didn't want to be part of a bigger town. [/ QUOTE ] I think Richlands did approach CB on an informal basis. Might have happened when Doc Willis was mayor of Richlands. CB deep-sixed the idea because they didn't want to lose their "identity." I would hope that issue would be revisited. Unless CB can find a way to annex Claypool Hill, that town's days as a viable municipality are numbered. Besides, that argument about "identity" is specious at best. Technically, I'm from Cedar Bluff myself. But whenever the question arises, I tell people that I'm from Richlands. The pool of people who have actually heard of Richlands is significantly larger than that of folks who possess familiarity with CB. **NOTE: Since my family lived in Doran Bottom from the time I was born until the day after my 5th birthday, I still proudly claim status as a Raven Boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Dang, I am impressed. Those are some of the most intelligent comments I have read on local government. It just goes to show some of the most intelligent folks love high school sports. As for the Richlands boundary going up Kents Ridge my bet is on trying to follow property boundaries whenever possible. You don't want to have part of a tract in town and and part out of town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VHSLhelper 571 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Cue up John Cougar - the walls are tumblin' (and crumblin') down! Central Auto fell yesterday, the Combs (Mountaineer) Bldg. today. Next up : Dr. Arnold's old office (CMCS), Dr. Berry's old house & Rife's Chevrolet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobster 20 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 you will hear is that Ofishe8 is from Richlands! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VHSLhelper 571 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 Fowler Apts. fell today. Rife's looks like Monday - they're still working on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityofRaven 2,457 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 raven boy eh! thats something to be proud of right there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techfan 43 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 Another thing we desperatly need to do is find some loop hole to allow liquor by the drink in Claypool Hill, I know several towns in the county allow that and Charlies avoids the regulation by being in an industrial zone. Even if that means one of the two towns annexing it we need to do it. Think about it all other Walmarts bring in other businesses around them, Applebees at Lebanon and Bluefield, Chillis and about a hundred other at Bristol. All ours has around it is car lots and banks. Liquor by the drink has long been the holding point in Applebees coming to Claypool Hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaverteeth 10 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 You can go to the raven tavern and get a drink! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityofRaven 2,457 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 theres more beer at my apartment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaverteeth 10 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 I work past raven in red ash...there isn't really anything until grundy this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBlue02 11 Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 Me and the Captain are going to sailing tommrrow night if anyone wants to join in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hhstigerfan 12 Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 No liquor by the drink in Tazewell Co. either? Wow, you guys are just as backwards as Russell County after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Now this is funny! An article in this week's Richlands paper says the Farmer's Market (which saw 12 vendors in it's first year) can now be used by select organizations for yard sales. Council has been adamant since day one that they don't want the facility used for that purpose, (they are after all in the middle of "The war on yard sales".) I guess they are finally starting to realize we didn't need it in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hhstigerfan 12 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 That farmers market could turn into a flea market that rivals even the one in Abingdon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityofRaven 2,457 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 no way, the abingdon flea market rivals only that of the raven flea market in its prime and the tazewell one on memorial day, the abingdon one is so awosme lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLU 10 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaveFan09 50 Report Share Posted February 24, 2007 whoa that looks weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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