Scott supervisors OK resolution of non-support for discontinuing roads

GATE CITY — For the past several months, the Scott County Board of Supervisors and VDOT have discussed discontinuing or abandoning certain county roads that are no longer maintained.That discussion came to an end at this month's meeting, when the board passed a resolution of non-support for abandoning or discontinuing any of the routes. VDOT representatives made the original request for the routes to be discontinued or abandoned, noting that none of them have been maintained for more than 20 years and are essentially "paper routes."What were the roads?VDOT had requested discontinuance of the following routes:• Route 664 from 1.04 miles west of Route 665 (Manville Road) to Route 643 (Bellamy Tipton Road), a distance of 1.06 miles• Route 667 from 0.81 miles north of Route 666 (Red Hill Road) to Route 627 (Ruritan Run Road), a distance of 0.25 miles• Route 669 from 3.49 miles north of Route 71 (Nickelsville Highway) to Route 670 (Hales Spring Road), a distance of 1.42 miles• Route 672 from 0.11 miles west of Route 673 (Ponderosa Road) to Route 671 (Snowflake Road), a distance of 0.29 miles• Route 673 from 0.87 miles east of Route 674 (Ponderosa Road) to Route 670 (Addington Farm Road), a distance of 0.93 milesWhat does the resolution mean?The board voted in December to move forward with the discontinuance process for those roads, but the decision couldn't be finalized until VDOT held a public hearing. Before that happened, though, VDOT informed the Board of Supervisors that it had the option to pass a resolution of non-support for the discontinuance."We voted to go ahead and let them do the public hearings, but VDOT reached out and said that he has since learned that we can do a non-support resolution, and we don't take any action," said County Administrator Freda Starnes. "We leave them just as they are."The board unanimously voted to pass the resolution, which will prevent VDOT from holding a public hearing on the routes or moving forward with the process. The roads will continue to be on record but will remain unmaintained.Other actionIn other action during last week's meeting, the board• Honored Grady Gillenwater, who recently retired after 36 years as an employee of the Scott County Department of Public Works;• Approved a resolution of support for the Coalfields Expressway, a proposed highway that would stretch from West Virginia to Pound, Virginia. Supervisor Danny Mann said West Virginia has already completed much of its portion of the road.• Approved a regional jail resolution, which states the Board of Supervisors is in support of Virginia House and Senate budget amendments that would provide $10.6 million from the commonwealth's general fund to increase per diem payments to regional jails. Starnes said Virginia currently pays around $12 per state inmate housed in regional jails. The proposed increase of 18.75% would equal about $2.25 more per state inmate per day. The resolution also states that the Board of Supervisors supports bills that would provide $90.9 million from the commonwealth's general fund to increase the starting pay and implement a progression program for deputies, sheriffs and regional jail officers.• Approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among Lee, Scott, Wise and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton, which states that the localities would charge a data storage center personal property tax rate of $0.24 per $100 of assessed value. Starnes said the goal is to give data centers an incentive to locate in Southwest Virginia. The new tax rate will be officially added when the board sets tax rates in May.