Town purchasing D.R. Music fire property

By Debbie Adams

The Vinton Town Council meeting on February 18 was lengthy with updates from several
organizations, reports from the Finance and Community Development Committees, a public
hearing, a briefing, and two action items.

Mayor Brad Grose, Vice Mayor Laurie Mullins, and Council members Sabrina McCarty, Keith
Liles, and Mike Stovall adopted a resolution authorizing the town manager to execute a purchase
agreement between the Town of Vinton and Donnie and Rhonda Wray with D.R. Music for the
purpose of redeveloping the Fire Block Properties in downtown Vinton. The town will be buying
approximately .040 acre at 101 East Lee Avenue where D.R. Music was located until it was
destroyed by a devastating fire over two years ago on July 2, 2022. Purchase of the property will
give the town the opportunity to help redevelop the site as a potential green space, a commercial
storefront, and upstairs residential units for the benefit of the Downtown Central Business
District.

Town Manager Pete Peters said acquiring the property is a “proactive measure” which will make
the town “custodian of the property in the short-term” with long-term plans of returning it to the
private sector. The town has been working with the Wrays since the fire and will continue to
work with them and adjacent property owners to find funding for a project which “enhances
Vinton’s downtown area, provides future revenue generation for the town, and adds employment
opportunities for citizens.”

The cost of acquiring the property is $200,000. A public hearing was held during the council
meeting which amends the town’s FY2024-2025 budget to appropriate funding for purchase of
the property.

The town had not previously budgeted for this expenditure, so a budget amendment was
necessary to enable the town to use interest earnings from Capital Fund investments, (wisely
invested by the town at a time of high interest rates). Interest earnings in the Capital Fund exceed
the needed $200,000.

Deputy Town Manager Cody Sexton described using the interest earnings available in the
Capital Fund as a “win-win” situation with no “hit” or “drawdown” to investment funds.
Purchase of the property will close in April.

Council also adopted a resolution authorizing an amendment to the Extra-Territorial Arrest
Agreement (dated April 2013) between the Town of Vinton, Roanoke City, Roanoke County,
and the City of Salem to add the following jurisdictions: the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office, the
Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Salem Sheriff’s Office, the Botetourt County
Sheriff’s Office, and the Craig County Sheriff’s Office.

The amendment bestows extra-territorial arrest powers upon officers who, while on duty outside
the corporate boundaries of the political subdivision which employs them, observe certain
offenses in their presence without creation of any additional liability.

Asst. Planning and Zoning Director Nathan McClung briefed council on the petition of Winter
Properties Partnership, LLC to rezone two currently split-zoned properties located at 0 Highland
Road from the R-2 Residential District to M-1 Limited Industrial District (0.52 acre).

The petitioner’s intended use includes creation of a new vehicular access point as well as the
expansion of the self-storage (mini-warehouse) facility use, which currently has five units. The
only access to the property currently is from Railroad Avenue using an existing railroad crossing,
and involving a year-to-year lease not guaranteed to be renewed by the railroad each year. The
current R-2 zoning does not allow for a commercial access drive to be installed as a permitted
accessory use.

Rezoning would affect only the portions of the property currently zoned residential. The
petitioner would have to meet current requirements of the Vinton Zoning Ordinance, including
buffering/screening standards, landscaping requirements, height limits, setbacks, and other
applicable sections.

Town staff find the existing access across the Norfolk Southern railway right-of-way as a public
safety issue which could be addressed through the new access drive.

The proposal will next go before the Planning Commission, followed by a public hearing and
vote by council in March.

With the consent agenda, council adopted a resolution appropriating funds in the amount of
$49,525 for receipt of an insurance claim made on the PFG traffic signal that was damaged by a
motor vehicle. (On July 19, 2024, a motor vehicle collided with the PFG traffic signal at 323 W.
Virginia Avenue, causing extensive damage to a pole, mast arm and signal heads.)

Council members recognized Rosie’s Gaming Emporium for its continued support of local
community organizations through donations to a variety of causes. Rosie’s General Manager Todd Lear and Marketing Manager Jeff Spaugh were on hand to accept the certificate.

They explained the “Rosie’s Gives Back Program” which results in donations of $100,000 each year to
local groups. Organizations apply for funding; Lear and Spaugh choose the recipients, with
Vinton organizations as a priority. It’s “one of the favorite parts” of his job, according to Spaugh.

Vinton Historical Society President Mary Beth Layman next updated council on activities and
projects at the Vinton History Museum. She noted their continual efforts to attract visitors to the
museum, located downtown on Jackson Avenue. The Historical Society maintains two Facebook
pages, “Vinton Memories and History” and “Vinton History Museum,” with thousands of
followers. The staff collaborate with The Vinton Messenger on weekly Vinton History columns,
highlighting items in their collection (there are over 4,000). They host many events throughout
the year including a Holiday Open House, online auctions, yard sales, book signings, a Little
Free Library, and more. Each year, museum volunteers decorate a tree in the Hotel Roanoke
Fashions for Evergreens fundraiser benefitting the United Way. In 2024, the museum received
the third place award in public voting among 31 trees.

Layman thanked Rosie’s for its donation of $5,000 to the museum and a “substantial” check for
$42,380 from the Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia for the cargo/accessibility
lift project which will enable greater access to the second floor of the museum for those with
mobility issues. Construction will be underway soon with Vinton’s Capital Projects Manager
Jamie Hurt as project manager.

Roanoke County Real Estate Valuation Director Ken Fay made a presentation to council on the
2025 Roanoke County Real Estate Reassessments. Citizens recently received letters detailing
assessment values for land and buildings.

He emphasized that assessments are based on market value, which is determined by citizens who
buy and sell real estate and what they are willing to offer or accept. County real estate assessors
evaluate these transactions and value properties equitably with similar surrounding properties.

He commented that “real estate values have increased significantly at the local, regional, and
national levels due to limited supply and favorable mortgage rates.”

Fay explained that in the Town of Vinton, assessed value has increased by 7.2% for residential
properties (now $610,754,300) and 4.98% for commercial properties (now $132,988,800). He
attributed the increases to market value. He noted that sales have dropped off in Vinton to 31 in
2024 with one foreclosure. Mayor Grose commented that the fact that there are few-to-no
vacancies in Vinton may be a factor in the perceived drop in sales.

Citizens may appeal their assessed values to the county Board of Equalization. Vinton Town
Council will conduct its annual public hearing on tax rates on April 1.

John Hull, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, updated council on projects
impacting Vinton. He stated that employment growth of 2.2% in the Roanoke Valley surpassed
increases in Northern Virginia, Virginia, and the United States. The Roanoke area accounts for
50% of Virginia’s manufacturing growth.

At the request of Peters, Hull spoke about more in depth about a biotech start-up from Virginia
Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC which is expanding in Roanoke City,
investing in an existing warehouse to create a clean room (first in the Roanoke region) and
production space. The company will be manufacturing exosomes and XoLacta, a
drug/therapeutic targeted to treat radiation exposure and as a radio protectant during cancer
treatments.

Tiny Cargo has developed and patented the world’s first scalable process for isolating cow milk
exosomes. Exosomes are tiny particles that all cells secrete that contain signaling messages to
turn on and off crucial functions in the body. They have a vast range of potential, high-value
applications, from fortifying infant formulas to adult supplements for gut, bone and muscle
health. Tiny Cargo will produce exosomes from milk sourced from Homestead Creamery in
Franklin County.

Jeremy Holmes, executive director of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission,
discussed projects impacting Vinton– charging infrastructure for EVs, better air service through
the Roanoke/Blacksburg Regional Airport, and greenway mapping and planning, especially
Vinton’s Glade Creek Phase 3.

In the town manager’s update, Peters thanked the Vinton Police and Public Works Departments
for their “above and beyond the call of duty” response to recent weather events– snow, ice, frigid
temperatures, wind– and this past weekend’s flooding, most notably on Walnut Avenue. He
commented that the Vinton Police and Public Works in actuality have no days off. With the
flooding on February 15, they came in and worked on Sunday and on the holiday without
hesitation. He commended their pro-active attitude.

Councilman Liles noted that “all of our staff does what they always do– step up.”

Peters also informed council that the soon-to-be-under-construction Vinton hotel now has a street
address, 525 South Pollard, and a landscape plan.