Published: March 25, 2009 10:08 pm      

VDOT hearing: Crowd opposes closures

RICHLANDS, Va. —Dozens spoke out Wednesday in opposition to proposed cuts in Virginia Department of Transportation services and programs.

“Closing the Tazewell residency will create gross inefficiencies in servicing roads that are vital to transportation, business, education and medical services in Tazewell County and create an undue hardship on our tax payers of the area,” Mike Hymes, a member of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, said.

A crowd of about 150 people packed the Charles King Community Center on the campus of Southwest Virginia Community College to participate in Wednesday’s public hearing. Members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board have proposed far-reaching cuts, including the elimination of jobs, rest areas and residency offices.

Hymes said Tazewell is the second largest county in the Bristol District with 44,000 residents. Hymes said the closure of the residency office in Tazewell will cost local jobs and impact local services.

Members of the Tazewell Town Council also presented the transportation board members with a copy of a resolution opposing the closure of the Tazewell residency. According to the resolution signed by Mayor Jack Harry, closing the Tazewell residency office would “create gross inefficiencies in servicing the roads in Tazewell that are vital to the citizens of the Tazewell area.”

Several Southwest Virginia lawmakers questioned why the Bristol District was taking a much larger hit than Northern Virginia.

“When I look at this map, I see the cuts in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads are slim to none,” Delegate Charles Carriico Sr., R-Grayson, said. “I remind those people it was the coal and tobacco money that built their dynasty. Now we are getting the shaft.”

In addition to the closure of the residency office in Tazewell, which provides administrative services for both Tazewell and Bland counties, VDOT also has proposed the closure of several rest areas in Southwest Virginia, including the rest area on Interstate 81 northbound at Rural Retreat in Wythe County. A second I-81 rest area in Smyth County also is proposed to be closed.

The cuts are one part of a plan called a “Blueprint for the Future” unveiled last month by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. VDOT has proposed reducing its overall staffing levels by 1,000 full-time employees and 450 wage, temporary and hourly staff during the next 18 months. VDOT estimates that it will have 7,500 employees by July 1, 2010 — a reduction of the more than 8,400 current full-time employees.

Delegate Dan Bowling, D-Tazewell, said he was disappointed that the Commonwealth Transportation Board failed to provide lawmakers with a copy of the plan in advance. Bowling said he found out about the proposed cuts by reading a newspaper article.

“Three residency offices are being closed in the Bristol District,” Bowling said. “I didn’t see any other part of the state with three that are closing. The residency (offices) in the largest counties and areas are the ones being closed.”

Delegate Anne-Crockett Stark, R-Wythe, said the closure of rest areas along the I-81 corridor will create safety concerns for truckers and the traveling public.

“At least every one-and-a-half hour there should be some type of rest area,” Crockett-Stark said.

Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Russell, said he has been contacted by a large number of VDOT employees who are concerned about losing their jobs.

“I can’t even tell you the number of phone calls I’ve had from VDOT employees who are concerned and afraid of what will happen,” Puckett said. “I want to say make sure you do everything you can to make sure our employees are treated fairly and justly.”

Puckett said it will be difficult for VDOT to maintain its current level of standards with the cuts proposed.

Puckett said he is taking “a lot of heat” because the Lebanon residency office is staying open. Puckett, who lives in Lebanon, said Tazewell County has one of the largest populations in the Bristol District, but could lose its residency office.

“The issue to me is fairness, and when I look at that map that was sent to me — the Bristol District — we are taking a 50 percent cut,” Puckett said. “I don’t see much fairness in that.”

Members of the transportation board said a final decision on the cuts and closures could be made by May.