By Ben Orcutt

Amendments to the redevelopment plan of the Avtex Fibers site were endorsed Monday night by the Front Royal Town Council, but not without opposition.

Monday night was the first reading of the proposed amendments to the 1997 plan and council members voted unanimously to accept them. The council will vote on whether to adopt the amendments at a future meeting.

The proposed amendments include:

• Developing riverfront activities that are educational and attractive to tourists.
• Expanding the 4.5 acre Ed Stump Park by about 30 acres to include a soccer complex with the acquisition of the additional acreage by the town/and or county.
• Making the "Conservancy Park Master Plan Report" a component of the town plan and encouraging the implementation of the report and the maintenance of the project.
• Designating the area west of the railroad as a preservation area.

" We very much would like your support of this," said Stephen A. Heavener, executive director of the Warren County-Front Royal Economic Development Authority, the entity charged with redeveloping the Avtex site.

Avtex’s redevelopment is multifaceted, Heavener said. The first phase of the project is the 240 acre conservancy park, he said. Heavener said the second phase is the development of the soccer complex and the third phase is the civil engineering design of a 165 acre eco business park.

Abatement of asbestos at the existing office buildings is under way, Heavener said. That work will take two to three months, he said. Plans for the $750,000 redevelopment of the office building the EDA will occupy should be revealed at the EDA’s meeting Friday, Heavener said. FMC Corp., a previous owner of the site, is funding $200,000 for this phase of the project and the EDA will finance the remainder, he said.

"We’re hoping it’s available next spring," Heavener said. There will be 3,500 square feet of office space for lease, he said.

Two residents spoke in opposition to the redevelopment plan.

"We’re opposed to the current plan for the basins," said Elisa Schwartz, who said she spoke on behalf of Maya Whitesparks, Phenix Hearn, and the Women’s Alliance for Environmental Justice and Renewal.

Schwartz was referring to the open basins on the site that contain contaminants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said it will cover the basins. WAEJR is concerned about who will monitor the basins for leakage after FMC’s 30 year obligation is completed, Schwartz said. Heavener said the speculation is "FMC’s going to be around longer that 30 years."

"The toxins that are most disturbing are the viscose materials that are on the site," Ann Anderson of Riverview Shores Drive in Warren County said.

She said her home has been flooded and she is concerned about what could happen if the toxins at the Avtex site are not contained.

"I think it’s presumptuous to be planning all this stuff until you know what the EPA is planning for all of the material," she said.

"I think the key to all of this," Heavener said, "is that all of us, the town, county, EDA , have to work comprehensively."

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