Published: June 27, 2009 07:56 pm      

City Manager sees benefits in keeping BAT facility in town

BLUEFIELD — City residents who don’t want to see another empty building in Bluefield have been approaching City Manager Andy Merriman in support of the city’s efforts to urge state and federal authorities to keep the Bluefield Transit Authority facility where it is.

“We have several people here in Bluefield who seriously don’t want to see the transit authority vacate the present facility on Bluefield Avenue,” Merriman said late Friday afternoon. “They tell me it’s hard to consider moving that facility to a metal building on Route 52, when it is already in a solid building now. With a little bit of investment, the present facility could be improved, and could become a centerpiece for redevelopment in that part of the city.”

The transit system moved into the old Norfolk & Western Railway freight station several years ago when JanPak moved into a larger building also on Bluefield Avenue. The West Virginia Division of Public Transit was working with the Federal Transit Administration and the city to develop a new facility. The state Division of Public Transit and FTA selected a site on U.S. Route 52, about half-way between the city limits and the Airport Road in Brushfork for a new facility. The city became reluctant to commit to the new facility, putting the project into a holding pattern.

“The bottom line for us is that it’s going to lose the city $35,000 a year to provide essentially the same services we’re already providing out of that facility on Bluefield Avenue,” Merriman said. “We would be vacating another building in the city to build a new one outside of the city.”

Merriman said that he hopes to work with the state public transit authority and FTA to resolve the matter. “At this point, it remains on hold,” Merriman said.

In an e-mail message to Merriman, the state Division of Public Transit indicated that the city may have to repay as much as $327,205 to the FTA in funds the federal agency has already invested in property acquisition, appraisal and design for the proposed Brushfork facility.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com