Published: July 08, 2009 07:26 pm      

Cedar Bluff officials hoping to expand town boundaries

CEDAR BLUFF, Va. — Town officials are hoping to expand the municipal boundaries of Cedar Bluff by taking in a large portion of the Claypool Hill community.

The Cedar Bluff Town Council is petitioning the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors for a boundary adjustment plan that would take in the Claypool Hill Mall, several hotels, a strip mall, an industrial park and other areas of Claypool Hill with a Route 3 Cedar Bluff address, Town Manager Jim McGlothlin said.

“It does take in the Claypool Hill Mall, and the industrial park area,” McGlothlin said. “If you are traveling 460 out of Cedar Bluff, it’s actually both sides of the road all the way up including the red light.”

McGlothlin said the boundary adjustment entails about a thousand acres of land currently in the county.

“We went through this full-fledged process with the Gateway area, and pretty much this would be the same case,” McGlothlin said. “We would provide full town services, which would be your street lighting, garbage and police protection. So it would be pretty much the full town services that are provided elsewhere.”

McGlothlin said the existing water and sewer lines in the area targeted for the boundary adjustment are owned by the Tazewell County Public Service Authority. McGlothlin said the town would have to work out an agreement with the PSA for the water and sewer lines. McGothlin said the town also is hoping to acquire the existing fire department substation in Claypool Hill, which could become a part of the new Cedar Bluff Fire Department that is currently being developed by the town.

“We intend to put a new fire station right here in the downtown,” McGlothlin said. “Tremendous progress has been made. Since council made the decision to start the fire department, we are having weekly meetings. We have about 40 people at each meeting, and we have 62 signed volunteers. We are already beginning training classes. I’ve been amazed by the progress we’ve made in the past two months.”

McGlothlin said the new fire station will be located on the corner of Cedar Valley Drive and Central Avenue in the town.

While some county officials have argued the new fire department could lead to increased ISO ratings for homeowners, McGlothlin said the new fire department will actually help to lower ISO ratings in Cedar Bluff, Richlands, and for everyone else living within a five-mile radius of the town.

“Another fire department can’t do anything but improve everybody’s ISO rating in the area,” McGlothlin said. “So we are hoping Cedar Bluff and the surrounding area will have a better ISO rating as a result of this new fire station.”

McGlothlin said the town is still awaiting additional dialogue with the supervisors over the boundary adjustment plan. An earlier boundary adjustment sought by the town, which would have bright Richlands High School and the Gateway Shopping Center in the town limits of Cedar Bluff was rejected by the county. A similar boundary adjustment sought by the town of Richlands was approved.

County Administrator Jim Spencer said officials are seeking additional information from the town regarding the Claypool Hill boundary adjustment proposal.

“The county needs additional information,” Spencer said.

Spencer said the boundary adjustment covers a large tract of property extending toward Route 19 and 460, including the Claypool Hill Mall. He said the supervisors have not took action on the proposal at this point.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com