Local Connection
June 2010

  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:

Market Building Renovations Moving Forward
Hailing the City Market Building as the "Heart of Community," Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill briefed City Council members this week on the final details of planned renovations to the aging landmark. According to a schedule released this week by city officials, construction will begin by late September and could be completed by late May 2011.  After reviewing the bids from six firms, the City awarded the Market Building contract to Martin Bros. Contractors, Inc., the Roanoke Valley's oldest general contractor. Because their bid came significantly under budget, the City requested that an accelerated construction schedule be followed that would allow the building to open seven weeks earlier than originally planned. 

City officials also proposed an incentive program to lure current vendors back to the Market Building when it reopens next spring. Existing food vendors would receive an allowance of up to $20,000.00 to outfit spaces in the renovated Market Building and retail vendors up to $10,000.00. After a brief discussion of this proposal at Monday's briefing, City staff agreed to further review the terms of this incentive program. See more here and here
Position: The Chamber supports improvements to the Market Building. 

Mill Mountain Easement - Keeping Options Open

In 2007, a young professionals group, Valley Forward, released a tentative conceptual design for a small restaurant project on top of Mill Mountain. Due to a chorus of vocal opposition combined with a downturn in the economy, the Valley Forward Project never moved beyond the drawing board. Debate over the future of the summit was revived late last year when Governor Tim Kaine announced plans for a conservation easement for the mountain. Over the last several months, Roanoke City Council members have been reviewing alternative easement plans. While there was broad consensus that the slopes of the Mountain should be under an easement, several Council members wrestled with the idea of excluding 2 acres near the summit, leaving the door open for future development. 

Earlier this week, after hearing from a parade of development opponents (those that want a restrictive easement that would include 2 acres near the summit), Councilman Rupert Cutler, a noted conservationist and founding executive director of the Western Virginia Land Trust, gave an impassioned defense of the less restrictive easement. Cutler pointed out that any development ideas would still require council approval and would have to survive considerable legal scrutiny based on restrictions from the original deed granted by J.B. Fishburn to the City in the 1940's and 1950's. Following Cutler's remarks, the City Council voted 6 to 1 to exclude 2 acres from the easement, with Mayor Bower providing the lone 'no' vote. Tori Williams of the Roanoke Regional Chamber spoke in favor of excluding the summit acreage from the easement. See more here and here. 

Position: The Chamber supported excluding the summit of Mill Mountain from the easement in order to allow future consideration of development concepts.   

Council Supports Outdoor Food Vendors but Not Downtown

Following the lively easement debate, City Council waded through another contentious issue on Monday night. Last fall, Councilman David Trinkle  initiated a discussion on the possibility of allowing outdoor food vendors to set up mobile shops in the City. After an outcry from several downtown restaurant owners, the City Council voted 5 to 2 to allow outdoor food vending on city land but not in "Downtown" Roanoke. According to this column in The Roanoke Times, "Downtown" is defined by the Hotel Roanoke and Center on the north, Sixth Street SW on the west, Elm Avenue on the south, and I-581 on the east. In addition to the downtown ban, vendors must remain at least 100 feet from traditional brick and mortar restaurants. See more here and here.

Virginia's Explore Park Bids Adieu to Virginia Living Histories
As June 13th drew to a close, the five year relationship between Virginia Living Histories, owned by Florida developer Larry Vander Maten, and the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority (VRFA), the group charged with overseeing the development and operation of Explore Park, formally ended. Vander Maten had developed plans to build a large-scale resort project on the 1,100 acre property. Due to a restrictive credit market, financing for the project proved elusive, prohibiting Vander Maten from starting construction by the June 13th deadline. Negotiations to extend the lease until June 2011 did not produce an agreement. 
Moving forward, a local consortium that has been mulling options for the Park over the last several months will likely present a preliminary development plan to the VRFA Board in July. Ideas for consideration include a regional bicycle center, reopening the Brugh Tavern for catered events and meetings, constructing a new River Walk Pavilion and small amphitheater, renting out the Taubmann Welcome Center to outdoor retailers, and enhancing the Park's historic structures. The overall goal is for Explore Park to become a vibrant outdoor recreation and entertainment destination.  

Position: The Chamber supports development of the Explore Park site to enhance the region's growing reputation as a destination for outdoor amenities.  

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

Local Government Briefing

City of Roanoke
Democrats Bill Bestpitch and Ray Ferris will soon join Roanoke City Council as the terms of outgoing council members, Dr. Rupert Cutler and Gwen Mason, expire on July 1st. Both Cutler and Mason declined to seek another term. The next Council election is scheduled for May 2012. 

Cool Cities Coalition Update
Members of the Roanoke Clean and Green Business Coalition recently held their yearly news conference to update the public on their progress in planning, practicing, and promoting environmental stewardship. Councilwoman Gwen Mason stated that member business had reduced their collective carbon emissions by 80,000 tons over the last two years and saved $10 million by reducing energy consumption. With her term on City Council expiring at the end of the month, Mason announced that Court Rosen would take over her duties as the City Council's representative on the Roanoke Clean and Green Business Coalition. See more here. 

Prior to Mason's remarks, Chamber President Joyce Waugh provided an update on the Chamber's Cool Green Biz Program, an initiative launched last year in partnership with the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition to recognize members that have made a commitment to sustainable business practices. To date, 4 Chamber members have achieved Level 3 Certification, 6 members have achieved Level 2 Certification, and 11 members have evaluations pending. For more information on the Cool Green Biz Program, contact Tori Williams 983-0700 x.229 or click here. 

City of Salem

Earlier this month, the Salem City Council gave final approval to a $139.6 million budget for the next fiscal year. The budget assumes continued wage and hiring freezes and new monthly fees and premium increases for employees covered under Salem's health plan. Many residents may also see an increase in water and sewer rates. Revenue from these increased rates will be used to modernize Salem's aging infrastructure. See more here.

Roanoke County
On Tuesday, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors approved $6 million in funding to construct a new, 15,000 sq.ft. library in Glenvar by a vote of 3 to 1. Supervisor Mike Altizer cast the lone 'no' vote citing concerns over new spending in a difficult economic climate. Hollins Supervisor Richard Flora was absent from Tuesday's meeting but had voted against this project a few weeks ago. The new library building will be constructed on the same 3.5 acre site that houses the existing 30 year old library. See more here. 

Roanoke County also announced plans to host two community meetings in the Glenvar area to receive citizen input on the Glenvar Community Plan. County Officials will use the Glenvar Community Plan as a guide to future growth and development in the western part of the County with a focus on the widening of West Main Street and the proposed intermodal facility in Elliston, just over the Roanoke County-Montgomery County Line, 

Meeting Schedule:

Tuesday, June 29th, 7:00PM, Ft. Lewis Baptist Church (Focus on West Main Street)

Thursday, July 15th, 7:00 OM, Ft. Lewis Baptist Church (Focus on Dixie Caverns area)
For more information, click here. 

  Regional & State Briefing

Virginia Congressional Races - Political Bellwether?
“These races will tell you the height of the Republican wave,” said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato. “It’s a pattern that’s repeated in multiple states across the country.”
5th District
Emerging relatively unscathed from the June 8th Republican primary, state senator Robert Hurt is well-positioned to challenge first term Democrat Tom Perriello in a race that is garnering a lot of national attention. In a development worth watching, tea party member Jeffrey Clark of Danville has also jumped into the race and is challenging Hurt's conservative bona fides. If Clark's challenge from the right is able to gain traction, he could potentially play the role of spoiler. However, as of today, Clark lacks significant name recognition and does not have the financial backing to launch a truly competitive, district wide conservative insurgency.  
9th Congressional District
Farther to the west in Virginia's "Fightin' 9th" District," the battle between incumbent Democrat Rick Boucher and Republican H. Morgan Griffith is also generating a lot attention.  Recently, CQPolitics changed its race rating from "Likely Democratic" to "Leans Democratic." Noted UVA political scientist Larry A. Sabato has also designated this race as "Leans Democrat." Griffith's next fundraising report in mid-July will be closely monitored to see if he has been able to capitalize on his early momentum in the race. See more here and here. 

Special Elections - GOP Holds House Seats
Republican candidates soundly defeated their opponents in special elections to fill two vacant seats in the House of Delegates. In the 27th District, Roxann Robinson racked up  72% of the vote to win a vacant seat previously occupied by former Delegate Sam Nixon. In the Harrisonburg area, Republican Tony Wilt captured 66% of the vote to claim the 26th District seat formerly held by Delegate Matt Lohr who was appointed as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 

Glimmers of Optimism
State tax collections in May outperformed expectations with revenue collections only down .2 percent. Budget forecasts predicted that revenues were likely to decline 2.3 percent in May. Sales tax collections grew by 6.5 percent and corporate income collections were $20.8 million, a 20 percent increase over last May. Currently, the Commonwealth is on pace to have a budget "surplus" when the fiscal years ends on June 30th. Can this really be labeled a 'surplus?' See more here, here, and here. 
Virginia's unemployment rate was up slightly in May, rising to 6.9 percent from 6.7 percent in April. According to the Virginia Employment Commission, the number of unemployed workers rose in May as college graduates and students entered the labor market. Virginia's unemployment is still considerably below the national rate of 9.3 percent. See more here

VTrans2035
A public review and comment period on VTrans2035, Virginia's long-range multimodal transportation plan, opened on June 16th for citizen input on possible improvements to Virginia's transit, rail, freight, highway, and intelligent transportations systems. A summary map and plan report can be found here. Comments can be submitted via e-mail to statewideplan@VDOT.Virginia.Gov through July 30th, 2010. 

Stat of the Month:  China now exports every six hours as much as it did in the whole of 1978. See more here

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.

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