"I am happy to respond and appreciate the opportunity to let you and your neighborhood know my thoughts. As you know, the city got interested in the land when we found it was for sale as we have so little land left in the city. One of the largest issues facing us is the fact that as an Independent city, we have so few ways to find revenue to pay for citizen services compared to cities like us in the other 49 states.
Virginia is the only state that has separate local governments where we do not have joint services mandated by state statute. That means that our costs are higher in so many ways than they would be if we were part of the normal city/county structure found in the other states. If we were like Charlotte or Greensboro, once the population density of an area gets to a certain level, that area is automatically annexed into those city's boundaries. That leads to new sources of revenue, new land for growth and a positive way to move that community ahead. There is a very good balance that comes with that kind of policy. The General Assembly of Virginia has so far chosen not to deal with this central issue. If it does not change, taxes for our citizens in the city will eventually have to rise to unfair rates for our citizens because we will have no new options for growth with no land to develop. That is the real reason Council got so interested in the availability of Countryside as we see this coming and no state changes that will help us out of a very tough financial situation in the making.
Since we have so little land, City Council wants to make sure we develop the acreage we have left with good, solid, planned development that can add to the value of any current neighborhoods( like Countryside) in any of the very few areas where we can grow and increase our tax base accordingly as we try to provide the services all citizens need. With the highest per capita age of residents in Virginia we are not in an enviable position and see our annual costs for public safety and EMS along with many other services going up and up with no long term way to find any solution.
The land at Countryside is a valuable asset to Roanoke and we do not want to see any project that would devalue current property or be developed in a way that is not good for the city or you and your neighbors. What we may have to see, however is some kind of effort to use that land wisely. My background is in Economic Development and I have worked on every kind of project you can imagine and to me, land is the basic value of a city and we all have an obligation to manage its development so it is done well. As a person with years in the field of economic development I expected a lot when we asked for a proposed plan for Countryside. At the time it was announced, I know of no one who liked it including me. It was not what we need knowing the potential of your area and its vitality to Roanoke. It clearly did not take into consideration many of the issues that your group brought to the table.
I have not taken a position at this time on Countryside as there is no active plan on the table. I know there are many who want to keep the golf course open and if someone comes up with a plan that would make improvements so it would be a quality course, and can show us it will make a good investment of taxpayers money, I have no problem supporting the concept. Just as I did on the other plan process, I would support as much communication as we can allow when dealing with a private sector developer and as many meetings as necessary with residents of the area. One thing I know about is that the best developers in the country, will run if their names get used to quickly and publicity is made public before financing and contacts with involved parties can take place. The other thing that is most clear is that any plan has to be more detailed and public than that by any private land owner because, we (the city) as the owners, will not do something that will adversely affect the area. If this had been bought by a private owner, there would be very little we could to to affect development as long as they followed the city's comprehensive plan. It is a good thing that we purchased the property as that will always protect you and your neighbors interest's more thoroughly.
No one on Council wants to see Countryside changed so much that it is only a commercially developed area. That is not what is best for Roanoke or your neighborhood. What is needed is some kind of plan done with the residents involvement, both parties being realistic about accepting some change and seeing what commitments can be made by the city with funding it gets from the right kind of new development.
I drive by the new Biomed area each day on my way to work and it is amazing to see what is happening there. It will be a great job producer, one that we have needed for a very long time and with it will come the need for more housing, condos, retail, entertainment and athletic venues. It is not what it used to be, it is not really nor will it likely be a neighborhood, but it will impact every neighborhood in the city and even the Valley. It could even be the genesis of some new ideas you and your neighbors may have about residential growth at Countryside.
I have never taken a position on a potential project until I understand all I can about it. I will do the same with Countryside when and if we have a plan to consider. Committing up front, politically or otherwise, is not what we need in our leadership today. We need to have a valid, neighborhood sensitive, good for the city plan to review and so far, I see none in the pipeline.
What I will promise you, your neighbors and all citizens of Roanoke, is to do my best to make the best decisions I can based on the facts and what I think will be in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Roanoke whenever a proposal or project like this comes to our attention. That is what I have always done and it has worked well for me as I try to be fully informed before making decisions that affect the city, its future and most importantly, its citizens.
Since I was 10 years old Roanoke has been the thing in my life most important except family. My goal as a teenager with my first driver's license was to drive on every street in the city. I did that and it was amazing to see all the different parts of Roanoke and how this wonderful city fits together. My roots are in NW with my parents both growing up there so that was one of the areas of the city I knew early on. With annexation came an entirely new city and lots of new territory to learn!
The greatest honor one can have is to be elected to represent citizens. I take it unusually seriously as I am the oldest person on Council and remember so much of our history, both bad and good. It is a great place to live and work but we have some very large issues that will affect everyone in the city if we do not make good choices. As my dad told me before I left Roanoke to go to Ferrum Junior College, "there is something no one can take away from you but you can give it away in 30 seconds. That is your integrity." I live by that quote and always have and it has stood the test of time. I hope I can always do that until the day I am no longer here. The Judge was a very insightful person and taught me a lot that has made me a better person.
Thanks for the chance to respond to your request. Let me know whenever I can be of help to you or your neighbors. Bev"
Virginia is the only state that has separate local governments where we do not have joint services mandated by state statute. That means that our costs are higher in so many ways than they would be if we were part of the normal city/county structure found in the other states. If we were like Charlotte or Greensboro, once the population density of an area gets to a certain level, that area is automatically annexed into those city's boundaries. That leads to new sources of revenue, new land for growth and a positive way to move that community ahead. There is a very good balance that comes with that kind of policy. The General Assembly of Virginia has so far chosen not to deal with this central issue. If it does not change, taxes for our citizens in the city will eventually have to rise to unfair rates for our citizens because we will have no new options for growth with no land to develop. That is the real reason Council got so interested in the availability of Countryside as we see this coming and no state changes that will help us out of a very tough financial situation in the making.
Since we have so little land, City Council wants to make sure we develop the acreage we have left with good, solid, planned development that can add to the value of any current neighborhoods( like Countryside) in any of the very few areas where we can grow and increase our tax base accordingly as we try to provide the services all citizens need. With the highest per capita age of residents in Virginia we are not in an enviable position and see our annual costs for public safety and EMS along with many other services going up and up with no long term way to find any solution.
The land at Countryside is a valuable asset to Roanoke and we do not want to see any project that would devalue current property or be developed in a way that is not good for the city or you and your neighbors. What we may have to see, however is some kind of effort to use that land wisely. My background is in Economic Development and I have worked on every kind of project you can imagine and to me, land is the basic value of a city and we all have an obligation to manage its development so it is done well. As a person with years in the field of economic development I expected a lot when we asked for a proposed plan for Countryside. At the time it was announced, I know of no one who liked it including me. It was not what we need knowing the potential of your area and its vitality to Roanoke. It clearly did not take into consideration many of the issues that your group brought to the table.
I have not taken a position at this time on Countryside as there is no active plan on the table. I know there are many who want to keep the golf course open and if someone comes up with a plan that would make improvements so it would be a quality course, and can show us it will make a good investment of taxpayers money, I have no problem supporting the concept. Just as I did on the other plan process, I would support as much communication as we can allow when dealing with a private sector developer and as many meetings as necessary with residents of the area. One thing I know about is that the best developers in the country, will run if their names get used to quickly and publicity is made public before financing and contacts with involved parties can take place. The other thing that is most clear is that any plan has to be more detailed and public than that by any private land owner because, we (the city) as the owners, will not do something that will adversely affect the area. If this had been bought by a private owner, there would be very little we could to to affect development as long as they followed the city's comprehensive plan. It is a good thing that we purchased the property as that will always protect you and your neighbors interest's more thoroughly.
No one on Council wants to see Countryside changed so much that it is only a commercially developed area. That is not what is best for Roanoke or your neighborhood. What is needed is some kind of plan done with the residents involvement, both parties being realistic about accepting some change and seeing what commitments can be made by the city with funding it gets from the right kind of new development.
I drive by the new Biomed area each day on my way to work and it is amazing to see what is happening there. It will be a great job producer, one that we have needed for a very long time and with it will come the need for more housing, condos, retail, entertainment and athletic venues. It is not what it used to be, it is not really nor will it likely be a neighborhood, but it will impact every neighborhood in the city and even the Valley. It could even be the genesis of some new ideas you and your neighbors may have about residential growth at Countryside.
I have never taken a position on a potential project until I understand all I can about it. I will do the same with Countryside when and if we have a plan to consider. Committing up front, politically or otherwise, is not what we need in our leadership today. We need to have a valid, neighborhood sensitive, good for the city plan to review and so far, I see none in the pipeline.
What I will promise you, your neighbors and all citizens of Roanoke, is to do my best to make the best decisions I can based on the facts and what I think will be in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Roanoke whenever a proposal or project like this comes to our attention. That is what I have always done and it has worked well for me as I try to be fully informed before making decisions that affect the city, its future and most importantly, its citizens.
Since I was 10 years old Roanoke has been the thing in my life most important except family. My goal as a teenager with my first driver's license was to drive on every street in the city. I did that and it was amazing to see all the different parts of Roanoke and how this wonderful city fits together. My roots are in NW with my parents both growing up there so that was one of the areas of the city I knew early on. With annexation came an entirely new city and lots of new territory to learn!
The greatest honor one can have is to be elected to represent citizens. I take it unusually seriously as I am the oldest person on Council and remember so much of our history, both bad and good. It is a great place to live and work but we have some very large issues that will affect everyone in the city if we do not make good choices. As my dad told me before I left Roanoke to go to Ferrum Junior College, "there is something no one can take away from you but you can give it away in 30 seconds. That is your integrity." I live by that quote and always have and it has stood the test of time. I hope I can always do that until the day I am no longer here. The Judge was a very insightful person and taught me a lot that has made me a better person.
Thanks for the chance to respond to your request. Let me know whenever I can be of help to you or your neighbors. Bev"
4 comments:
PLEASE HURRY!!!
BRING ME A BARF BAG
I couldn't even finish reading it.
This from the man who considers Roanoke a "hobby"...Haha, truly pathetic. You might have more support if golf was another one of his hobbies. His response sounds more like a "vote for me" spiel than anything else.
"We have so little land" ... we should then be good stewards of it - not develop every square inch. If he really thinks that Biomed workers are going to live here with NO golf course he is dreaming.
The golf course was NOT for sale until the airport director and city manager got together to nix the renewal of the airport land leased as fairways.
We have not been included in the planning of our neighborhood ... we have had NO say.
That $17,500 a year does not compare to the $50,000 a year that the owners paid the city in real estate taxes. The tennis court was being leased at $22,500. I had said this over and over again.
This does not count the over $500,000 in interest only on the $4 mil loan amortized for 15 years at 6.25% at Carder Bank. And Bev says we are making a pofit.
And my tax assessment went up this year when I can not get as much for my house this year as compared to last. Now that is the way to chase citizens out of Roanoke City. Everytime I hear an article and the population is mentioned it is lower. The Washington Post article on the museum said 92,000 - the 2000 census was 94,000. I bet it will sink under 90,000 in the 2010 census.
Mr.Fitzpatrick took me on a drive down memory lane when he mentioned annexation. I lived a stone's throw from the twelfth tee when the city decided to annex me. I'll never forget how it uprooted my family, intensified racial tensions, and tore my sister and I from the school my older brothers and sisters had attended. I remember how the city promised services in return: water, sewer, parks, and sidewalks. In the end, we got no sidewalks or parks, and it took the sewer line a long time to come through.
Mr. Fitzpatrick mentioned the city's financial burdens now and to come and how the city needs to be proactive in dealing with these stresses. He also mentions that "Virginia is the only state that has separate local governments where we do not have joint services mandated by state statute."
Yet, there is no statute that precludes local governments from working together. In fact, back in the early 90's, Roanoke County invited the city to join them in a regional water authority. The city refused and the county was forced to go the road alone...until drought brought the city back to the county. The city can be an agent of reform by leading the region in cooperative money-saving partnerships whenever possible.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said that "...City Council wants to make sure we develop the acreage we have left with good, solid, planned development that can add to the value of any current neighborhoods( like Countryside) in any of the very few areas where we can grow and increase our tax base accordingly as we try to provide the services all citizens need." Beside the fact that I can't fully comprehend that statement, I think he meant that he wouldn't be in favor of developing a property unless the plan makes sense. He also stated further in his comments that he wants to include the neighborhood in any plan or decision that is made, yet the neighborhood has been completely left out of the process to this point. Thank goodness the neighborhood found their own unique and independent voice or the plan he didn't like would have been the reality.
The saddest part of the whole development debacle is that the neighborhood DOES have a vision for how the property can be developed. The neighborhood believes that the property can be developed into a recreation engine benefiting both human and economic needs for the city. Yet, the neighborhood's ideas were simply brushed aside in a single, myopic stroke.
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