It seems that it would be a lot easier at the State or National level to avoid issues of conflict of interest than it is at the Local level. In small towns and cities, it can be difficult to find people who are not so active in the community as to create either the perception of or actual conflict of interest.

Christiansburg is one of the three largest town's in the State of Virginia. Census Estimates for 2006 show that only Herndon (pop. 17,853 21,877), Leesburg (pop. 37,476), and Blacksburg (pop. 39,284) had greater populations than Christiansburg (pop. 17,853). In fact, there are 16 cities in Virginia that are smaller than Christiansburg in population.

Therefore, it would seem that Christiansburg should not have as difficult a time at making sure conflict on interest does not arise as an issue as some of those other jurisdictions with smaller population bases. However, it can still be a struggle.

In reviewing the State and Town Codes, I found that what ultimately makes the difference is not all of the paperwork filed that documents financial and real estate interest. It ultimately comes down to the honesty and integrity of elected and appointed officials.

It ultimately falls upon the shoulders of the elected or appointed officials to make a declaration of their interest in any project being discussed/voted on at any particular time. The State Code requires elected officials to file annually a specific disclosure statement of their personal interests. The same section of the State Code ( § 2.2-3115. Disclosure by local government officers and employees) allows local government to require by ordinance that:

Persons occupying such positions of trust appointed by governing bodies and persons occupying such positions of employment with governing bodies as may be designated to file by ordinance of the governing body shall file, as a condition to assuming office or employment, a disclosure statement of their personal interests and other information as is specified on the form set forth in § 2.2-3117 and thereafter shall file such a statement annually on or before January 15.

I cannot find anywhere in the Town Code where it indicates the Town Council has passed such an ordinance.

In that same code section, it is further noted :

F. In addition to any disclosure required by subsections A and B, in each county and city and in towns with populations in excess of 3,500, members of planning commissions, boards of zoning appeals, real estate assessors, and all county, city and town managers or executive officers shall make annual disclosures of all their interests in real estate located in the county, city or town in which they are elected, appointed, or employed. Such disclosure shall include any business in which such persons own an interest, or from which income is received, if the primary purpose of the business is to own, develop or derive compensation through the sale, exchange or development of real estate in the county, city or town. Such disclosure shall be filed as a condition to assuming office or employment, and thereafter shall be filed annually with the clerk of the governing body of such county, city or town on or before January 15. Such disclosures shall be filed and maintained as public records for five years. Forms for the filing of such reports shall be prepared and distributed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the clerk of each governing body.

G. An officer or employee of local government who is required to declare his interest pursuant to subdivision A 2 of § 2.2-3112 shall declare his interest by stating (i) the transaction involved, (ii) the nature of the officer's or employee's personal interest affected by the transaction, (iii) that he is a member of a business, profession, occupation, or group the members of which are affected by the transaction, and (iv) that he is able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. The officer or employee shall either make his declaration orally to be recorded in written minutes of his agency or file a signed written declaration with the clerk or administrative head of his governmental or advisory agency, as appropriate, who shall, in either case, retain and make available for public inspection such declaration for a period of five years from the date of recording or receipt. If reasonable time is not available to comply with the provisions of this subsection prior to participation in the transaction, the officer or employee shall prepare and file the required declaration by the end of the next business day. The officer or employee shall also orally disclose the existence of the interest during each meeting of the governmental or advisory agency at which the transaction is discussed and such disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

H. An officer or employee of local government who is required to declare his interest pursuant to subdivision A 3 of § 2.2-3112, shall declare his interest by stating (i) the transaction involved, (ii) that a party to the transaction is a client of his firm, (iii) that he does not personally represent or provide services to the client, and (iv) that he is able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. The officer or employee shall either make his declaration orally to be recorded in written minutes for his agency or file a signed written declaration with the clerk or administrative head of his governmental or advisory agency, as appropriate, who shall, in either case, retain and make available for public inspection such declaration for a period of five years from the date of recording or receipt. If reasonable time is not available to comply with the provisions of this subsection prior to participation in the transaction, the officer or employee shall prepare and file the required declaration by the end of the next business day.

§ 2.2-3112. Prohibited conduct concerning personal interest in a transaction; exceptions. This section provides the specific exceptions that allow the flexibility for small towns and cities to function in an environment where there is a strong possibility for conflict of interest to occur.

Again, ultimately it all comes down to the honesty and integrity of elected and appointed officials to announce any potential for conflict of interest and either remove themselves from discussion/voting on issues, or to officially acknowledge that while the potential exists for conflict of interest he/she is officially stating that his/her affect on the discussion and vote will be for the public good, not for personal gain.

It also falls upon the shoulders of the citizens of the community to listen and watch the performance of officials, to speak up with questions and suggestions. This is also why the minutes of the meetings of the Town Council (which are current) and those of the Planning Commission (there are huge gaps where these are missing from previous years --- I'm still waiting to receive those from a FOIA request made 4 months ago) should be posted on the town's webpage. We need to be able to 'see' the discussions and when our 'voices' in local government display the honesty and integrity that we have a right to expect from these position, we need to see it and applaud them for that behavior! Conversely, when we have those who betray that trust, we also need to 'see' that as well and take whatever steps are necessary to correct the problem.

Years ago, as I watched (and sometimes helped/hindered) my Grandmother's quilting endeavors, I guess I learned a few things in spite of myself.

I must have gone through some sort of subliminal learning process that has come to consciousness as I study sustainable communities. It seems to me that communities, towns, cities, counties, regions can be developed in one of two primary ways. They can be built up as clusters of grapes or like a quilt.

Looking at the common cluster of grapes (I checked white, red, and purple, leaving no stone unturned), I came to the conclusion that while close together, the grapes maintain a high degree of individuality. Furthermore, there is a great deal of randomness with clusters of grapes. One major stem supports them all, which on the surface, seems to be a good thing. What happens when one grape goes bad? It rapidly spreads to the entire cluster and POOF, instant compost. Or, you can try plucking off the bad grape(s) leaving holes in the cluster that leave you with something less than what you had. Or, alternately, you can try super gluing replacement grapes into the cluster to maintain the cluster's integrity. (Trust me, this does not work in the long haul.) Each individual grape has one singular purpose in life, to make more of its own kind. (None of the grapes I interviewed reported having a desire to end up in a wine bottle on someone's table. Also, none of them anticipated a future for him/her/its -self that included a glass jar with a label of jam or jelly attached to it.)

Now, quilts are an entirely different entity. Quilts require human interaction to exist. Designers and builders of quilts have my highest respect. Each quilt, even if following the same pattern as a thousand others, is going to be unique. There will always be some subtle changes in stitch, materials, colors, etc. that will make each quilt special. Each square of a quilt is also unique for the same reasons. The quilter begins with a design and a goal in mind. Then, a determination of the materials desired and what materials are available must be made. Each of these contributing pieces of material must be evaluated for color, texture, response to environmental changes. (Yes, I am considering detergent, bleach, washers, dryers, pets, and children as potential sources of environmental changes.) If various materials used respond differently to these external stimuli, this can have a disastrous impact on the overall project. (Beginning to see the relationship between quilts and communities?)

The overall quilt pattern provides a central theme. However, the individual squares can be highly diverse, yet arranged in a manner that adheres to that central theme. Taken individually, each square represents a unique single entity. When all is carefully arranged (and sometimes rearranged multiple times) the central theme unfolds. The variety of colors, textures, and shapes that can be found in the individual squares begin to come together into something that is far more comprehensive and functional when it is incorporated into the whole.

Communities, subdivisions, complexes, and any other small organized structural groups of a jurisdiction, function in much the same manner as those individual squares. When those pieces come together to form a town, city, county, region, state, or nation, that is where the quilt unfolds.

In order to establish a quilt that is functional, durable, attractive, and cohesive makes the responsible planning of each small component is essential. This is where the local planning department, elected and appointed officials, codes, comprehensive plans, and other designers of the quilt MUST put forth the effort to evaluate the components of each small section and how it affects the whole.

Since it is the citizens of the group who are the ones who will have to live with and use the 'quilt' that is provided by this process, citizens need to be educated consumers of the product. This is exactly why citizens need to be involved in all processes involved in planning the 'quilt squares' and the 'overall design'. Talk to elected/appointed officials if you want something different in the design. Talk to every one of them. Meet with your friends, families, and neighbors to discuss what your particular part of the quilt looks like and the changes you might like to see. Take the time to read the Comprehensive Plan for your area since it is supposed to be the overall 'quilt' design. Think of ways to make better use of the 'materials' available and share them with others. In short, make sure that the way the quilt is being made will meet your needs.

The greatest resource ANY community (regardless of size) has is the citizens of that area whom the government is mandated to serve.

If the Town of Christiansburg does not wish to make use of citizens on committees, then citizens should form their own committees and have a spokesperson bring their requests/recommendations to the Council. It would probably be easier on local government if citizens did it themselves than to have Council members required to attend more meetings......or not!

Taking things a wee bit further, I went to the Comprehensive Plan for information on sidewalks. (Keep in mind that the Comprehensive is the legal basis for the Zoning Ordinance. By that I mean the actual written plan, not the Comprehensive Plan Map which is nice to look at but is only one tiny piece of the actual Comprehensive Plan. Any time you hear Comprehensive Plan Map mentioned, it should be being used to help display what the actual text is conveying. The Comprehensive Plan Map, as a stand alone document, is pretty near useless and should not be used for decisions without the contents of the written plan itself being discussed.)

Chapter 6: Community Facilities and Services:

(page 62) Future extension of the Huckleberry Trail is planned as part of the N. Franklin Street-Peppers Ferry Road connector route (a Virginia Department of Transportation thoroughfare project), which is discussed in the Transportation Chapter. This route will feature a bicycle lane and sidewalks to be utilized as an extension of the trail. The longterm plans for the trail include connecting to downtown Christiansburg (including access to the Christiansburg Recreation Center, Christiansburg High School, and the planned aquatic center) and to the 90-acre Montgomery County Park on County Drive.

The Town also constructed the College Street Downtown Trail in 2002. The Town of Christiansburg maintains its sidewalk system, which is a continuing function. The Town sidewalk system supplements the Town trails. While the Town’s trails are primarily used for recreational purposes, sidewalk pedestrian traffic is heavy, particularly in the downtown area.

Chapter 7: Transportation:

(page 77) Virginia Route 114/Peppers Ferry Road Project Scheduled to begin in 2007, the Virginia Route 114/Peppers Ferry Road project will four-lane the entire portion in Town and outside the corporate limits to Dominion Drive as well as provide sidewalks, landscaped medians, left and right turn lanes, two storm water management facilities, crosswalks, and roadside landscaping.

(page 77) N. Franklin Street/ Peppers Ferry Road Western Connector Route Project

The Christiansburg Town Council adopted a resolution requesting the Virginia Department of Transportation to include a N. Franklin Street/Peppers Ferry Road NW western connector road in its Six-Year Plan. Though not funded at this time, the connector is a priority locally and will assist in the alleviation of traffic congestion on both heavily traveled commercial corridors. The four-lane new alignment connector would provide bicycle lanes and sidewalks. Preliminary engineering for the project has previously been conducted.

(page 78) Radford Street Improvements

The Town has indicated that improvements to Radford Street are a long-term objective including widening and the addition of bicycle lanes and sidewalks.

(page 80) part of Pedestrian and Bicycle Trails section:

Future extension of the Huckleberry Trail is planned as part of the N. Franklin Street-Peppers Ferry Road connector route, which is discussed in this chapter. This route will feature a bicycle lane and sidewalks to be utilized as an extension of the trail. The longterm plans for the trail include connecting to downtown Christiansburg (including access to the Christiansburg Recreation Center, Christiansburg High School, and the planned aquatic center) and to the 90-acre Montgomery County Park on County Road. The Downtown Trail between College Street and Depot Street opened in 2002.

The Town of Christiansburg maintains its sidewalk system, which covers a good deal of the Town’s primary street frontage, particularly in the commercial districts. The Town sidewalk system supplements the Town trails. While the Town’s trails are primarily used for recreational purposes, sidewalk pedestrian traffic is heavy, particularly in the downtown area.

Chapter 11: Goals Strategies and Objectives:

(page 124) TRANSPORTATION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Goal: Provide for a system of streets, sidewalks, parking areas, traffic controls and other related facilities, which will provide safe, convenient and reliable movement of people and goods.

(page 126) j. Explore the creation of a fund that would allow developers to make contributions in lieu of building a sidewalk in front of properties that do not provide connectivity. This fund could then be used to rehabilitate existing sidewalks or extend existing sidewalks into appropriate areas.

(page 131) d. Build sidewalks or multi-use paths to public sites including parks and recreation centers.

This is the point where I need to leave things up to you, the reader, to make a determination of whether the words written in either the Town Code or the Comprehensive Plan match up to what you see in physical reality of your community. Each of you is likely to have a somewhat different perspective. Each of you is likely to be passionate about different aspects of the 'intended' goal of each document and the level to which those goals are being or have been achieved. What makes this Country great?! The freedom of thought and the freedom to express those thoughts. Perhaps Thomas Jefferson said it best:

"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." -Thomas Jefferson

Memory is to the individual what history is to a group, community, or country. Memories and history give shared meanings to life that allow us to learn and grow. In denying or destroying either memory or history, we lose valuable pieces of ourselves. It is by embracing those, whether good or bad, that we learn. Hopefully, we learn to repeat the good and avoid the bad. But, with out that sense of the past we have no hope of determining the good/bad of things. Thus, we become doomed to repeat our failures.

Here is a bit of what my sometimes overactive imagination found in a few moment of quiet out at the Coal Mining Heritage Park (and no, I never pretended to be a poet or author):

Thar be ghosts on this mountain, ya know.

Come ‘round suppertime most evenin’s

They come o’er to check on their old steads.

Seems liken it’s most always ‘bout the time

When it’s twixt-n-tween daylight and dark

Just ya close your eyes and listen hard and

You know of what I speak.

Hear the sloshing of corn-likker in an old pottery jug

As a group of miners meet to wash coal dust

Outta thar throats and to let achin’ backs rest

From an eternity’s work.

Soft whispers of voices accompany

The rhythmic cadence of quilting needles

Passing through pieces of cloth so many times reused

That each scrap would write a volume

If’n it were of such a mind.

And, you can almost see the little clouds of dust

Kicked up by the younguns feet as they chased each other

Through the gathering gloom, each one determined

To kick the can, or tag a friend

Their laughter lends another voice to the symphony of history.

Then, on some such nights, you can hear the creak

Of Aunt Sara’s favorite old rocking chair

Where she sits on the porch, welcoming the cool breeze

And wondering how her nephew up in the city was makin’ out.

A ways further down, Old Zeke’s tightening the strings on his fiddle

He hollers out to Johnny and Mack to come join him.

Soon the fiddle, guitar, and banjo add new sounds to the night

Feet tapping, hands clapping, and far off in the background

The faintest sound as two of the youngun’s get their first kiss.

Yep, thar be ghosts on this mountain, ya know.

And, for as long as thar be hearts that can hear

They’ll be here right along stirring chords of memory.