Heather Bell
RADFORD – The City of Radford has sent a response to Pulaski County in the wake of the county’s lawsuit against the city seeking to end a revenue sharing agreement in place since 1978.
The city’s attorney has sent a “Demand Letter to the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors requiring the county to comply with its obligations under the revenue sharing agreement concerning the Fairlawn area,” the city has announced. “In addition, the city has prepared and submitted its response to the county’s lawsuit for filing in the Pulaski County Circuit court.”
The letter explains the history of how the agreement began.
“In 1978, a portion of the Fairlawn area of the County from Memorial Bridge to the intersection of Route 11 and Peppers Ferry Road (the “Fairlawn Area”) was the subject of a proposed petition by the county’s own residents to request that the city annex the Fairlawn Area,” writes Radford City Attorney Mike Bedsaul. “This was due, in part, to the desire of the Kroger grocery store to relocate and expand its operations from the city’s side of Memorial Bridge to the county’s. The county, however, did not have the infrastructure to support Kroger’s expansion. Recognizing the mutual economic benefits to be promoted by the development of the Fairlawn area, the county and the city sought legislation from the Virginia General Assembly to authorize voluntary revenue sharing between the two localities.”
“On March 28, 1978, the General Assembly approved Senate Bill 547 (“SB 547”). SB 547 authorized the county and the city to voluntarily negotiate and enter into an agreement that would provide, among other things, for the city to relinquish its right to annex the Fairlawn Area and to oppose annexation petitions by county residents; for the county and the city to share in agreed upon revenues from the Fairlawn area and the benefits of its future economic growth; and for the transfer of infrastructure by the city to the county to support the Fairlawn area’s expansion,” Bedsaul writes.
The revenue-sharing agreement stemmed from that legislation.
“Following the adoption of SB 547, the county and the city entered into an agreement, dated Nov. 28, 1978 that provided for “sharing of governmental revenue and the benefits of economic growth” in the Fairlawn area; specifically, the agreement required the county to share 28 percent of local sales tax revenues with the city,” Bedsaul writes. “The agreement also required the city to relinquish its right to annex the Fairlawn area and oppose annexation petitions by county residents. In addition, the agreement required the city to sell water lines, fixtures, and equipment to the county, as necessary infrastructure to support the development of the Fairlawn Area. Following public hearings, the governing bodies of the county and the city unanimously approved the agreement.”
