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The Christiansburg Town Council Candidate Forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, co-sponsored by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and the Montgomery County/Radford City/Floyd Branch of the NAACP, was held at the Town of Christiansburg municipal building Thursday night.
About 50 residents and observers, along with Mayor Richard Ballengee, attended the forum. Six candidates are vying for three Town Council seats; the election will be held on May 6th, at the Christiansburg Armory. Candidates were given questions on a rotating format, so that each would have their turn at different intervals.
Sam Bishop, Bill Chafin, Henry Showalter, and Jim Vanhoozier are in the race with incumbents Mike Barber and Steve Huppert. Carl McDaniels moderated the event.
The forum was staged with two-minute response times to seven questions, two more that were answered orally that were available via print, before the verbal comments, ending with two-minute closing remarks by each candidate.
Many candidates concurred that Christiansburg's growth was at a good level, but some expressed concerns about improving growth management. Congested intersections, lack of crosswalks, and slow progress on the multi-year downtown revitalization efforts were of great concern to many non-incumbents. Recycling efforts and increased green-space, including more parks for children, were some of the discussion points. In order to manage the Town in a possibly poor nationwide economy, lessening capital outlays and other expenditures were mostly agreed upon by the candidates.
The latest reports of violations of laws that prohibit non-public access, closed-door meetings and disclosures to the public were a sore point for many. At least one incumbent admitted that the Town attorney advised Council that laws had been violated. Henry Showalter said that he didn't "believe in hiding information; we must have full public disclosure and access." Sam Bishop said that he wanted to be the eyes and ears of all, especially for the many that could not attend Council meetings and planning considerations.
Controlled-growth and attracting more tourism was a hope for many. Steve Huppert said that he was helping to plan downtown festivals, including car-shows, over the summer. Mike Barber said that "I love Christiansburg; my family lives in Christiansburg, and we want the best for all."
Regarding a question about changing elections from May to November, Bill Chaffin stated that the Town Charter would have to be changed, if elections were to be held in November, along with regular elections. Several candidates expressed interest in changing to November, so that a larger vote-count could come about. Some candidates took a "wait and see" stance, wanting to evaluate Blacksburg's results, since their Council has voted to move elections to November. Others said "why wait; we're not Blacksburg; it will take too much time to "wait and see."
A myriad of opinions regarding preservation of Historic Districts culminated with a general leaning toward concerns about private ownership rights and responsibilities.
The aquatics center budgeting and planning was a rather controversial issue, regarding current Council's estimate of $100,000.00 per year to manage the $15 million-dollar facility. Vagueness about the "estimate" was of concern; some thought that the cost would be much more, in actuality. Some questioned Town resident’s access to the pools, as Christiansburg hopes to keep the center busy with swim-meets. An access fee will charged for residents to use the pools, when available.
The friendly post-forum groupings exemplified the hopes that many expressed: Christiansburg Town Council and residents must work as a team.
The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County will sponsor another forum this Monday night, April 14, which will feature the five candidates running for the three open seats in the Town of Blacksburg. The forum starts at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Blacksburg Municipal Building. EverythingNRV will web-cast the event live.
Click here to see more photos from last night's event in our photo gallery. Photos by Larry Middleton
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