PULASKI -- The town of Pulaski is used to challenges. But now they seem to be hitting all at once.

Pulaski Furniture will close its downtown plant in April, idling about 260 workers on top of those being laid off at Volvo Trucks North America near Dublin, Pulaski County's biggest employer.

The Toronto Blue Jays pulled their Appalachian League baseball team out of Pulaski last year, and the town was unsuccessful in finding another team to play at the town's historic Calfee Park and bring in revenue there.

The Wal-Mart anchor store at Pulaski's Memorial Square Shopping Center will close sometime this year, to be replaced by a Wal-Mart Supercenter under construction in Dublin.

Pulaski is being billed for 80 percent of the repair costs for a regional wastewater treatment plant over the next 15 years. That comes to $1.5 million, although the amount is being reconsidered by the wastewater authority.

Town Manager John Hawley estimates the town is looking at a $300,000 deficit going into its 2007-08 budget year. Last year, the town's budget totaled about $10 million.

"We're going to have to think how to dig ourselves out of this rut that we're in," Mayor Charles Wade told Pulaski council members at a budget work session Tuesday. "These are difficult times and we're going to have to make some hard decisions.

"... That's why the council gets paid the big bucks," he continued.

Obviously, the town needs more revenue. But with the Pulaski Furniture layoffs, a tax increase is going to be tough on a lot of families.

It is not an option that Wade likes at all. "Raising taxes is going to be a real hard uphill push."

Wade hinted that he would rather see the town get out of some of its regional obligations, such as funding Commerce Park, an effort in which 11 localities invested a decade ago to create a large site for future industry, and the New River Valley Airport, which needs more money from its localities this year to secure federal funds for its infrastructure.

The town is looking at other options, too.

Council will hold a public hearing at its April 3 meeting on the disposal of its Hogan's Dam property, some 1,750 acres of town-owned watershed property in Pulaski County. The dam, once a water source for the town, is now a backup source but is under a state mandate to be upgraded to the tune of an estimated $800,000.

Town officials hope to get the acreage developed in a way that would benefit the economy.

The town is also looking at development possibilities for Loving Field, a 161-acre tract that was once an airfield and is now mainly used for recreation.

The property has eight softball fields (four of which are lighted), two fields that can be used for soccer, and a concession stand. A model airplane group also uses the site on weekends. Dave Hart, the town's parks and facilities director, said the fields are used a lot by town and county youngsters.

Some council members would prefer to see at least the developable 60 acres of that property used for houses to bring more people to Pulaski. They figure more business would follow.

Council went back and forth over whether to seek requests for development proposals or just auction the property. It ended up accepting Councilman Don Talbert's suggestion to try both -- seek proposals first and, if none is satisfactory, look at the auction option.

Charles Bopp, whose family owned some of the Loving Field property before the town acquired it, would like to buy back 23 acres for farm use. He was told to submit that as one of the development proposals.

John White, the town's economic development director, said the town needs to gain control of downtown buildings like those being vacated by Pulaski Furniture. "Redevelopment is surely the thing we have to do," he said.

Council did approve a contract Tuesday with Inland Construction for building work within the town's Community Development Block Grant project area downtown for storm drain, curb, gutter, sidewalk and other improvements.

"The best thing that's happened in the last few years is [Greg] Ridpath and Dave Allen," Wade said, referring to building improvements the men made downtown on their own.

White said development in Pulaski is happening more in the northeastern part than downtown, and town officials might consider facilitating that. The question is how much town officials can affect that development.

"The truth is you can't affect much," said Town Attorney Randy Eley, who suggested getting economic developers involved in town planning.

Council decided to also involve townspeople by holding public meetings in neighborhoods in the town's four quadrants, bringing the meetings to the citizens where they live. Those meetings will probably be scheduled after mid-April.

Town information meetings have not had impressive turnouts in the past. "My hunch is that events and circumstances are such that it's going to be easier to get people's attention now," White said.