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Local
Government Briefing
City
of Roanoke
Sign-Up
NOW for the Annual State of the City Address
Who:
Mayor David Bowers
What:
Mayor Bowers will reflect
on the City’s achievements and share his perspective on the City's future.
When: August 12th, 7:30Am to 9:00AM
Where:
Sheraton Roanoke Hotel & Conference Center
For
more information or to register, click here.
Roanoke
County
After
several work sessions, the County Board of Supervisors agreed to
hold two public hearings on a Community Development Authority
(CDA) for the South
Peak development near the intersection of routes 419 and
220. Following another work session later this month, public
hearings will be held on August 10th and August 24th. The
developer's plans call for a diverse mix of retail space,
restaurants, a Hilton Garden Inn, condominiums, and office space
on the roughly 65 acre project formerly known as Slate
Hill.
A CDA is a political subdivision created by a locality that can
issue bonds to finance public infrastructure. The bonds are
secured by revenues generated with in a designated district.
Under the proposal being considered, a five-member CDA board of
directors would be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The
benefit for the County is that they will not incur any debt as
they are under no obligation to repay the CDA bonds. This CDA
project is the first of its kind in western Virginia. See more here.
The
County is also evaluating a proposal to redesign its website and
create a County logo. According to the Teresa Hall, the County's
Director of Public Information, the current website is nearing
obsolescence and increasingly difficult to navigate. The new
logo would provide a consistent brand for the site. Several
members of the Board of Supervisors questioned the need for a
redesigned website and rejected each of the three new logos
presented by Hall. See more here.
Regional & State
Briefing
ABC Easy as. .
.
The Governor's 31-member government reform commission
continues to analyze a range of proposals that would lead to the
privatization of Virginia's 332 state-run liquor stores. While
the economic impact of these proposals has not been fully
evaluated, consensus seems to be forming around a plan to
auction 500 to 800 liquor licenses to three types of retailers:
1) Large 'big-box' retailers (grocery stores, price clubs)
2) Specialty stores (wine shops)
3) Smaller retailers (convenience stores, drug stores)
The auction process could generate an estimated $300 to $500
million that would be earmarked for transportation, though some
find these numbers 'wildly optimistic.' See more here.
In addition, the sale of liquor licenses and periodic fees would
produce a on-going source of revenue. Currently, revenue
generated from liquor sales goes to the state's general fund and
the Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services.
Some lawmakers have expressed concern that privatization even in
a limited way will lead to a proliferation of liquor stores in
the state. McDonnell has indicated that local governments will
retain the power to object to a store getting a license. The
next meeting of the government reform commission is scheduled
for August 26th. See more here,
here,
and here.
Virginia
Congressional Races - Update
5th
District
A early poll in
Virginia's contentious 5th district Congressional race
showed Republican state senator Robert Hurt up significantly on
incumbent Tom Perriello. Amongst the 800 registered voters
contacted in the News7/Survey USA poll, 591 likely voters
preferred Hurt over Perriello by 58% to 35% margin. See more here.
According to the latest campaign finance reports, Perriello
continues to enjoy a large cash advantage over Hurt, a disparity
that will likely narrow as the Republican Party machinery sends
more funds to their most competitive candidates.
While Independent Tea Party candidate Jeffrey Clark received
only 4% in the poll, the controversy over his
participation in upcoming debates is a source of irritation for
the Hurt campaign. See more here.
9th Congressional District
In Virginia's "Fightin' 9th"
District," long-time incumbent Rick Boucher is already
on-the-air in his contest with state House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith.
Boucher is able to bankroll early TV ads because of his large $2
million campaign war chest. Griffith did out raise Boucher in
the second quarter, raking in a reported $298,000 compared to
Boucher's $285,000.00. See more here
and here.
A recent News7/SurveyUSA poll
has Boucher ahead by a 13 point margin.
Jobless Rate Up
Slightly
The state unemployment rate edged up slightly in June to 7.1% as
students and recent graduates entered the labor force.
Virginia's June unemployment rate remains significantly lower
than the national average of 9.5%. Nonfarm payroll increased by
22,600 between May and June, with the leisure and hospitality
services sector experiencing the largest monthly job gain.
Jobless rates for Virginia's localities will be released on July
28th. For more information, click here.
An important question being pondered by economists: Will jobs
return to pre-'Great Recession' levels or is a 'Great
Restructuring' underway? See more here.
Governors
Transportation Conference December 8-10 The Hotel Roanoke &
Conference Center
Coming Soon to Roanoke - Governor McDonnell and Secretary of
Transportation Connaughton will chair a conference in early
December that will examine how to reform and revitalize the
Commonwealth's transportation system. Hopefully, this conference
will serve as a catalyst for serious dialogue on Virginia's
transportation needs and subsequent legislative action when
Virginia's lawmakers return to Richmond in January. More details
can be found here.
Best Places to
Work in Virginia 2011
Is your business one of the best places to work in Virginia?
Working in conjunction with Virginia
Business magazine, the Virginia Society for Human
Resource Management (VA SHRM) and Best Companies Group, the Virginia
Chamber of Commerce has launched the first ever competition
to determine the “Best Places to Work in Virginia”. See more
here.
Pro-Market vs. Pro-Business
James Pethokoukis explores
this important distinction.
Stat of the Month: 2.252 billion tons
vs. 2.170 billion tons. See more here
Quality
of Life Projects Briefing
One
of the Chamber's priorities is to monitor the development of
quality of life projects in our region. Enhancing our
region's considerable amenities is vital to attracting and
retaining young workers, fresh capital, and innovative thinking.
Below is a list of recent developments:
Keeping
Tabs on the Market Building
In order to keep the public apprised of progress on the historic
City Market Building, the City of Roanoke has created a Market
Building Renovation website.
More information will be added as the project gets underway in
September.
Position:
The Chamber supports improvements to the Market
Building.
Center
in the Square Revamp Delayed
While
crews will begin work on the Market Building later this year,
planned renovations on another downtown landmark have been
delayed because of the lingering credit crunch. This week, Jim
Sears, president of Center in the Square, reported that because
of difficulties obtaining financing for a planned $27 million
overhaul, renovations will likely be delayed for several months.
Although the Center has raised $7.4 million so far, they are
still $1.6 million short of their goal. Around 2/3rds of the $27
million project will be financed through historic tax credits.
Construction is expected to take approximately two years. See
more here.
Virginia Author to be Honored
at Explore Park?
As the Virginia
Recreational Facilities Authority (VRFA) continues to examine
options for the 1,100 acre park off the Blue Ridge Parkway,
negotiations have begun with Virginia author Earl Hamner Jr.,
the creator of the "The Waltons" TV series, to build a
museum/library honoring his work. The local consortium studying
other options for the pristine property also provided an update
to the VRFA board on a range of proposals designed to generate
revenue including a rental program for existing facilities like
the church, Taubman Center, and Visitors Center, selling sites
for cell phone towers, a forest stewardship plan, revitalizing
the historic areas with self-guided tours, and moving forward on
various outdoor recreational activities. See more here.
As
the future of the park is considered over the next several
weeks, there will be a lot of speculation about what types of
activities and amenities should be further developed. Recently, Roanoke
Times columnist Dan Casey suggested
that a survey be conducted to gauge public sentiment on what
will and won't work at Explore Park.
Position:
The Chamber
supports development of the Explore Park site to enhance the
region's growing reputation as a destination for outdoor
amenities.
The
Countryside Dilemma
As the VRFA continues its deliberations on the future of
Explore Park, the City of Roanoke is facing a similar conundrum
on the former Countryside Golf Course. City officials have
scheduled a series of neighborhood meetings to hear suggestions
on what to do with the dormant property. For a schedule of
neighborhood meetings and a compilation of public comments,
click here.
Position:
The Chamber
remains concerned about the City's on-going debt
service payments on the former Countryside property. Development
proposals should be assessed on their
economic development value and revenue generating potential as
well as their impact on the quality of life in
region.
A
comprehensive list of these projects can be found on the
Chamber's website.
Do
you have ideas on projects you'd like for us to follow? Send us
an e-mail or
write a comment on the Chamber's blog
on local and state public policy issues. RSS feeds are available
for both the quality of life projects page and the legislative
blog.
If
you have questions about any of the blog features on the
Chamber's Web site, please contact Tori Williams at twilliams@roanokechamber.org
Upcoming
Events
Save-the-Date
- 8th
Annual Politic'n and Pig Pick'n, September 9th, 5:30 -
7:30 PM, Virginia Museum of Transportation.
For
a list of more Chamber events, click
here
and
to access the Chamber's Community
Calendar,
click here.
If
you have problems reading this newsletter, you will find a copy
on our website: www.roanokechamber.org
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you would like to be removed from our e-mail list, please
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