By Debbie Adams
Vinton Town Council met on March 17 to hear the annual police report and adopt a resolution to
approve the Gus Nicks/Gish Mill Water Improvements Reimbursement agreement. Mayor Brad
Grose, Vice Mayor Laurie Mullins, and council members Sabrina McCarty, Keith Liles, and
Mike Stovall also heard reports from the Finance and Public Works Committees and updates on
several projects from Town Manager Pete Peters.
The meeting opened as always with the Pledge of Allegiance to the U. S. Flag. Generally,
Councilman Liles asks for a volunteer to lead the pledge. At this meeting he asked eighth grader
Harrison Church, who was attending to meet the requirements of his government class at Hidden
Valley Middle School, to do the honors. Church was accompanied by his grandparents, Shirley
and Bev Fitzpatrick, a former Roanoke City councilman.
Allegiance to open the council meeting. He was visiting to fulfill a government class assignment.
Also pictured are his grandparents, Shirley Fitzpatrick and former Roanoke City Councilman
Bev Fitzpatrick. (photos by Debbie Adams)
Vice Mayor Mullins read a proclamation declaring March as Multiple Sclerosis Education and
Awareness Month. MS is a debilitating, chronic disease of the central nervous system affecting
nearly 1 million people in the United States, including the vice mayor. The exact cause is
unknown and there is no known cure, as of yet. Suzanne O’Connell, president of the Multiple
Sclerosis Alliance of Virginia, was present to accept the proclamation.
From left are Mayor Brad Grose, Suzanne O’Connell, president of the Multiple Sclerosis
Alliance of Virginia, and Vice Mayor Laurie Mullins.
Police Chief Fabricio Drumond presented the annual police report for 2025, “A Year of Growth
and Resilience.” He noted that “our officers work each day to serve this community, respond
when our neighbors need us most, and build the relationships that strengthen trust in our
profession.”
In 2025, the Vinton Police Department staff included 26 sworn officers, two professional staff
members, and added Wellness and Traffic Divisions. The largest component of the department
continues to be its Patrol Division.
In 2025, there were 13,618 calls for service (up 1.6%), 42 drug-related calls (down 35.4%), 401
arrests (up 5.6%), and 384 traffic accidents (down 8.1%)— with all figures within the window of
expectation over the past five years.
The top five reasons for calls for service included civil advice, well-being checks, accidents,
animal control (mostly wildlife), and disturbances.
The chief said Vinton is proud of the fact that the police department still does “old school”
public service tasks like security checks, well-being checks, keys locked in vehicles, and funeral
escorts.
The top five causes for traffic summonses in Vinton included expired state inspections, failure to
obey highway signs, speeding, expired registration/plates, and having no valid operator’s license.
The top three “crash locations” in Vinton were at the intersections of Washington Avenue and
Dogwood Boulevard, Hardy Road/Vinyard Road, and Hardy Road/Bypass Road. There are plans
in the works to upgrade all three locations.
The top five reasons for arrests and warrant services were shoplifting, family assault and battery,
petit larceny, public intoxication, and assault and battery not family related.
The top five crimes in Vinton last year were simple assault, shoplifting, property damage, drugs,
and theft from motor vehicles. Drumond noted that the best way for citizens to prevent theft is to
“secure your property.”
The three most common investigations which get passed along to the town’s three detectives
involve fraud/credit card larceny, shoplifting, and Internet crimes against children.
The department applied for and received several grants last year, including the $3,200 Local Law
Enforcement Block Grant that allowed the department to purchase online training for two
officers to equip personnel with tools and skills to improve physical and mental wellness.
It also received the $21,364 First Responder Wellness Grant, a $5,500 Accreditation
Enhancement Grant to purchase PowerDMS (a secure, cloud-based document and compliance
management platform), a $25,291 DMV Selective Enforcement Police Traffic Services Grant (to
reimburse the town for overtime and purchase two radar machines), and a $91,763 Operation
Ceasefire Grant.
The chief also recognized several officers. Detective Corporal Justin Baker received the Golden
Halo Award from Children’s Trust for outstanding contributions in the fields of child abuse
prevention, intervention, and advocacy across the Roanoke and New River Valleys. Sgt. Jeremy
Shrewsbury received the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Award for his outstanding
commitment to preventing impaired driving. Jason Call was promoted to sergeant in May 2025
and Andrew Hagy was promoted to corporal.
Five new members for the department were hired: Officers Jordan Henegar, Derek Runyon, Jeremy Marsh, and Anthony Walker, and Records Manager Rachel Slate.
Chief Drumond commented that “there is tremendous talent in the Vinton Police Department.”
The department is up for accreditation in the fall.
After a review by the town manager, council adopted a resolution approving the Gus Nicks
Blvd./Gish Mill Water Improvement Project agreement with the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA). The town initiated the project to enhance residential and commercial water pressure, capacity, and fire flow for properties located along Gus Nicks Blvd., Highland Road, Wayne Street, and Marlou Street, as well as the Billy Byrd Apartments and the Gish Mill area.
The project will be mutually beneficial for the town and the WVWA. Both entities will share in
the costs. The WVWA provided engineering design services and will manage construction of the
project (one-third of the cost); the town will fund the construction of the project (materials and
installation) at a cost of approximately $814,000 (two-thirds of the cost). The town will be using
fund balance (cash reserves) to pay for its share. This cost-sharing is a typical approach for
special projects such as this with private developers and local government entities.
According to Peters, the project will get underway in April and wrap up around Halloween with
E.C. Pace as the contractor. Water lines will be upsized in the area for increased water flow.
More fire hydrants will be added in the neighborhood. Fire suppression capabilities will improve
for both residences and commercial establishments.
Mayor Grose noted that this “is a great investment for the Town of Vinton.”
Resident Tony Robertsen spoke to council about traffic issues in his neighborhood on Dale
Avenue, including debris from vehicles going to the scrapyard and tractor-trailers driving
through residential areas to Cargill Industries. He asked that council look for ways to reroute the
traffic away from residential areas for public safety and to reduce the noise of trucks wrongfully
using the streets during early morning hours. The mayor asked the town manager to investigate
the issue.
Tiffany Stewart, interim finance director, presented the Financial Report for February. Cash and
investments total $9.7 million. Revenues are generally outpacing expenditures. No department is
expected to exceed its budget. Real estate revenues have increased, along with parimutuel taxes
collected. Over 400 business licenses have been issued. Real estate and property tax bills will be
mailed by the town and county in early April.
Jill Acker, assistant director of Public Works, presented a report from the latest committee
meeting. Downtown benches and planters are being replaced. The fuel tanks at the Public Works
building are being removed now that fuel cards are being used. Brush and trees are being cleared
at the proposed disc golf course on the Wolf Creek Greenway. Water lines for the restrooms at
the new community park have been installed. Gateway signage is complete.
Acker and Peters discussed 3rd Street road repairs. Engineering consultants believe the weight of
vehicles traveling the corridor, which has both residential and commercial traffic, has caused
road failure. The project will cost within the range of $2 million— probably a multi-year project
in two parts. One section of the roadway can be remedied with “old-fashioned mill and pave,”
the other section is most likely a candidate for Full Depth Reclamation, as was used in rebuilding
Mountain View Road.
Peters praised the Public Works Department for its professionalism in completing internal
projects, saving the town money on outside contractors.
