August 11, 1999

Questions about how $100,000 in federal grant money will be used to redevelop the Avtex Superfund site dominated Tuesday night's meeting of the Avtex Multi-Stakeholders Group.

Last month, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol M. Browner said Avtex is one of 10 federal Superfund sites around the nation eligible for grants of up to $100,000. The grants are intended to boost redevelopment efforts at the sites and can be used for a number of programs, such as developing, site reuse plans and the formation of citizen's advisory groups, she said.

Members of the stakeholders group, itself an advisory group comprising area residents and agencies with an interest in the Avtex site, asked who will decide how the money will be spent, if Avtex gets one of the grants.

Front Royal Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Steven Heavener said the authority has applied for the grant and has plans for spending it.

Avtex is different from the other eligible sites because the authority began developing a reuse plan in 1997, he said.

"Essentially, we have a leg up on the other communities because we already have a plan for our site in place," he said. "Now, we're going to be rewarded for that."

The authority plans to spend $50,000 of the grant designing the site’s infrastructure, including roads, water and sewer systems and other facilities necessary to support the business park and green spaces called for in the site’s reuse plan, Heavener said.

The authority will spend another $25,000 clearing up legal questions about the ownership of the site, he said. A bankruptcy trustee in Philadelphia owns the site and buying it will be complicated, he said.

"Most of the money is going to go toward attorneys fees," he said. "There are going to be all kinds of deed restrictions and questions of ownership that we will have to clear up before we can go ahead with the reuse plan,"

Heavener said the remaining $25,000 isn't earmarked for any particular project. He wants to use it to update the site reuse plan, a process in which the stakeholders group will play a large role, he said.

The reuse plan for the west side of the site, which has been designated as green space, still needs work, he said. Specific plans for the, site haven't been made, he said.

The stakeholders group could use the $25,000 to hire an environmental consultant or landscape architect to create detailed plans for the area, he said.

Heavener said the authority is geared toward real estate development and will need the stakeholders group's help developing plans for the site's anticipated river front park.

"We need some real strong guidance on how the green side is going to be developed," he said. "That is where this group can have some real influence."

Several members of the stakeholders group suggested inviting a landscape architect to their next meeting to go over some member’s suggestions for the site.

Other members said they felt left out of the authority’s plan.

Maya White Sparks of the Women's Alliance for Environmental Justice and Renewal said the stakeholders should get a larger portion of the grant money and questioned Heavener’s authority to decide how the money will be spent.

"I'm not sure this is exactly a legitimate way to spend this money," she said, "It's not exactly in line with what EPA said it would be used for. I would like to see more money spent coordinating connecting environmentally oriented institutions that could help us in the development process."

Bonnie Gross, one of many people representing the EPA in the stakeholders group, said she has seen a draft of Heavener’s plan and it is in line with EPA's intended use of the money.

"Nobody has this money yet," Ms. Gross said, "EDA has to apply for the grant like everyone else and we have to approve it. But what they are proposing does seem to be consistent with EPA’s redevelopment initiative."