Supervisors say Y can wait to install siding

The Smith Mountain Lake YMCA won a dispute Tuesday over vertical metal siding.

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to allow the nonprofit to cover up the vertical siding on the facility at LakeWatch Plantation when it adds an aquatic center. There is no longer a timeline for completion.

In October 2008, the supervisors gave the YMCA 15 months to cover vertical siding on three exterior walls. Rules for the development banned vertical metal siding on any building visible from a public roadway. Vertical siding was installed by mistake, officials said.

Instead of removing the siding, the nonprofit offered to plant trees and add paint, rocks, trim and shutters to cover it. To date, only the trees have been planted.

YMCA officials estimated it would cost about $100,000 to remove the siding. The suggested improvements would have cost between $25,000 and $35,000, but the nonprofit just doesn't have the money, said Executive Director Dave Lawton.

"We can't afford that," he said. "The Y has never experienced financial stress like we're experiencing now."

More than a dozen people traveled from the lake on a YMCA bus to speak in favor of the group's request.

The only one to speak against it was Gayle Taylor, who insisted that allowing the YMCA to get away with the proffer violation would set a precedent.

Taylor, a member of the YMCA for seven years, suggested the supervisors give the group an extension but direct them to remove the vinyl siding instead of covering it up.

In other board action a deal has been reached between Franklin County and the Virginia Board of Community Colleges over the 307-acre Smith Farm at Smith Mountain Lake. The county will pay $100,000 annually for the next 10 years for the land. The money will fund scholarships for Franklin County residents at Virginia Western Community College.

-- Janelle Rucker