The sale of Fire Station #9 to Mahlon P. Maxey, Vice President of Maxey Seat Cover Center Inc., went smoothly at Monday’s 7:00 p.m. Council meeting. With council member Anita Price absent, the Mayor and five council members voted unanimously to approve the sale. Fire station #9 is located at 514 24th St. NW, adjacent to Maxey’s business, and was assessed at 8,900 with its use as a fire station. Maxey’s offer of 0,000 was accepted.
The recommendation by City Manager Chris Morrill was to sell fire station #5, located at 215 12th Street NW, to Rebuilding Together-Roanoke, Inc., (RTR) for $12,768. RTR assists elderly and disabled homeowners in maintaining their residences.
There were two other potential buyers who pleaded their case for the building Monday.
Roanoke county resident Jamey Brads, a 1st lieutenant for fire station #5, asked council to consider his offer for the property. In addition to using the fire station for fire department memorabilia, Brads wants to add his certified fire gear repair and cleaning service to the proposal. He upped his offer to $25,000. “I saw no better place to do it than an old fire station and continue to serve the men that served [fire station #5] for so long,” concluded Brads.
Speaking for the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity was Coach George “Killa” Miller. “For more than 75 years the fraternity has assisted Roanoke citizens,” explained Miller. The fraternity plans to initiate a ten block drug educational program using fire station #5.
Mayor Bowers recused himself, which led to the lack of six council members to affirm the successful offerer. The award was set aside until the June 21 council meeting when all council members will be present.
In response to a question posed by Councilman Dave Trinkle, City Attorney Bill Hackworth explained that award of the fire station was a policy decision by council, and not a bidding process. They could “continue to study the matter until [council] votes on it,” said Hackworth.
Another Sale Pending:
Scott and Ascension Horchler want to buy the former Buena Vista Recreation Center for $75,000. Scott Horchler is employed by SunTrust in Richmond, Virginia. According to SunTrust, Horchler has transitioned from a Community Development position to one involving Government Regulations.
In an e-mail, Assistant Manager Brian Townsend said, “The Horchlers propose to continue to use a portion of the building as a ‘reception hall’ in a manner that the building had previously been utilized, and would renovate the remainder of the house as their residence. The property will need to be rezoned to accommodate the use as a single family residential dwelling in part.”
Three of the 12.7 acres will go with the property for that price if approved by city council. The exact use of the building after historic renovation remains unclear.
City manager Chris Morrill advised council in a letter attached to Monday’s council agenda that the property is valued at $250,000 and includes the mansion and three acres. The letter states that a 2003 assessment to renovate the mansion was $285,000.
The entire 12.7-acre parcel is assessed at $764,000 according the city’s GIS website. A public hearing on the sale will take place June 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Activist Decries Gaskins’ Position on Gangs
During the public hearing Jeff Artis of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference took the opportunity to voice his displeasure on retiring Chief Joe Gaskins’ reluctance to acknowledge gangs in Roanoke City. “We know the gangs are here – we know the gangs are engaged in all types of criminal activity,” said Artis. He asked council to “clearly let the folks know in Roanoke that yes gangs are a problem … this is a request for prevention.”
By Valerie Garner [email protected]