Lori Graham
Contributing Writer
CHRISTIANSBURG – A public hearing has been set for April 23, 2024 for a proposal request to lease land in Christiansburg by H20kies Aquatics.
Council member Johana Hicks requested additional information about the upcoming public hearing during the consent agenda session of the Tuesday, April 9 Christiansburg Town Council meeting,
“Two things that I want to make sure they have for next meeting is, first of all, are we going to have a rental income from them and second of all, if we were to allow for that to happen what will happen with the current contracts and any future things as the usage of the Aquatic Center for this following year,” Hicks said. “Is that going to change the amount of money that we get each year?”
“I wouldn’t think so simply because it is not a lease for operation of services,” said Mayor Michael Barber. “This is a lease for the group to build a building on the ground, for the land.”
“I had our town attorney take a look at the agreement as they proposed, and he sort of cleaned it up a little bit,” said Christiansburg Town Manager Randy Wingfield. “The way he’s drafted it is that basically they would pay a rental income, although we would forgive basically or refund the income based on them staying a nonprofit status. That’s more or less in keeping with the way they drafted it, although that’s completely at town council’s discretion as to how you would want it drafted.”
Hicks commented she would like the council to consider how this might work for other nonprofits as well.
“This can open the door for many other organizations to do the same and how are we going to be able to tell them no,” Hicks said. “That’s just something for us to think about for the next couple weeks.”
New River Valley Agency on Aging Executive Director Tina King also addressed council and community members during the meeting. King thanked the council for providing support to the agency through meeting financial needs, providing excellent board members and many other ways of assisting their group in meeting with the community’s needs.
“The Agency on Aging has been around since 1975 and we’re one of 25 area Agencies on Aging in the state of Virginia,” said King. “We serve the whole New River Valley, which are the counties of Giles, Floyd, Montgomery, Pulaski, towns of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Pulaski, and the City of Radford.”
The core goals for the agency are to support, educate, and advocate for New River Valley residents. These core goals are established through programs and volunteer work, donations, supplies, and funds for seniors and their pets, King said.
“My husband and I’ve been in elder care for 30+ years now and when I first got involved in that I actually did some of that volunteering,” Council member Kim Bowman said. “It was quite alarming some of the situations that you would go into, but I’ve also worked with your ombudsman, and I cannot say enough good things about Janet Brennan. She has been an ally and a friend over the years and she’s doing outstanding work as are you for seniors in the New River Valley.”
The New River Valley Agency on Aging is located at 44 Third Street NW, Pulaski, and can be reached by phone at 540-980-7720. Additional information may be found on their website (www.nrvaoa.org).
