Countryside Swim Club Demolition

At the beginning of the year I initiated a "service" request with Roanoke City Code Enforcement regarding the safety of the Countryside Swim Club area. In February several of us attended the Roanoke City Council meeting to voice our concerns regarding the acre to be sold to Newbern and at the same time voice our displeasure in that nothing had been done to clean up the pool area. The service request was referred by Mr. Hanson of code enforcement to City Planning since THEY owned the property that was not being maintained. Remember no citizen could get away with such conditions with their property. Code enforcement stated that vagrants were entering the swim club building through broken windows and the open pool water was a breading ground for mosquitoes and a health and safety hazard. At the February Council meeting Ms. Burcham stated to Council that it was all going to be cleaned up. Well it is almost July and this is all that has been done. It is worse than if there was nothing done.

BEFORE and AFTER CLICK TO ENLARGE

Councilman Dave Trinkle's Website

From Councilman Dave Trinkle's Website - CLICK HERE: SPEAK OUT ROANOKE

"Consideration given to feasible usages for Countryside, including: potential for a high quality and well maintained municipal golf course with specific benefits given to city residents, location of other athletic sites including athletic fields, tennis (indoor and outdoor) and aquatics. Also to be studied is the viability of other greenspace uses, greenways and some compatible housing sites."

Roanoke’s Railroad Heritage Webcam

The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center and The Virginia Tech Foundation Launch Tourism Website

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http://www.roanokerailcam.com/ Provides Path to Explore, Learn and Access Roanoke’s Rich Railroad Heritage - CLICK HERE (viewer may download the first time).

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Thank you, Michael Quonce, Public Relations & Advertising Manager of the The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center for notifying me of this REALLY COOL Webcam - so check it out! The link will stay available on the RIGHT under Miscellaneous Links along with the Mill Mountain Star Webcam.

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ROANOKE, VA. (June 16, 2008) — All aboard!

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The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center and the Virginia Tech Foundation have launched a tourism web site promoting the transportation that brought tourists and visitors to the Roanoke Valley 125 years ago.

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Located on top of The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, the railcam looks out over more than four tracks of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad and gives a glimpse into Roanoke’s history, the downtown skyline and Mill Mountain.

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RoanokeRailCam.com provides the path to explore, learn and access Roanoke’s rich railroad heritage with direct links to the O.Winston Link Museum, Virginia Transportation Museum, The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center and The Norfolk and Western Historical Society. From O. Winston Link’s stunning photography displays located in the historic Norfolk & Western Passenger Station and the vintage locomotives exhibits at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, to the historic Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center founded and built by the railroad in 1882, RoanokeRailCam.com is the premier site for remote train watching in Roanoke, Virginia.

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"This site is a celebration of Roanoke’s heritage and provides visitors and residents the opportunity to learn the history of the railroad in the Roanoke Valley," said Dr. Raymond D. Smoot, Jr., Chief Operating Officer of the Virginia Tech Foundation. "I invite everyone to visit, learn and enjoy the bustling railroad that has been an integral part in the history and development of the Roanoke Valley."

The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center has also created a Train Lover’s Package with accommodations overlooking the railroad, breakfast for two in the Regency Room, and a commemorative history mug and book to help tourists easily access the Valley.
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"This is a unique opportunity for tourists, residents and visitors to experience how Roanoke became what it is today," said Gary Walton, general manager of The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. "The Hotel and many of us wouldn’t be here if not for Frederick J. Kimball and Norfolk and Western (today Norfolk and Southern)."

Juneteenth 2008, Washington Park

Thanks to Ken and Rosanne Saunders for participating and helping hand out the candy and T-Shirts. Free food and good music was enjoyed by all. It was so very hot - we committed to buying a tent before next year!

Postponed Rezoning of TRANE Acre - Updated

Above (CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE) is a rendering of the addition to the TRANE building. Below is an overhead view as provided to the Planning Department. This was to be reviewed by the Zoning Commission for recommendation to rezone the acre from ROS (Recreational Open Space) to L1 (Light Industrial).

I received a letter that the scheduled public hearing for the rezoning of the acre being sold to Newbern, LLC, for the TRANE expansion has been canceled. The letter from Martha Franklin, Secretary for Roanoke City Planning, Building and Development stated that they would notify all when it is rescheduled. I called Martha Franklin to ask for the reason after reviewing the Permit description "Boundary Line Adjustment" to ask for the reason of the postponement. Ms. Franklin informed me that it was due to a modification in the building's design. Ms. Franklin assured me that this was not an increase in the amount of land originally requested.

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UPDATE - answer I received from Brian Townsend regarding WHEN the RFP for continued operation of the golf course was going to be issued. I also asked about the $55K price for the acre and if it had been earmarked for golf course improvements (which I could have guessed it had not). You can see that nothing is going to occur for awhile. This response came on May 28th.

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Ms. Garner, we will be briefing the City Council on this issue in either late July or early August so as to ensure that the new Council members are part of the discussion. As you know our existing contract with Meadowbrook remains in place until October. As your second question, the property transaction has not closed yet, so the City has not yet received the funding. Appropriation of funds for any purpose is within the purviewof the City Council, not the administration. I would anticipate that that matter would be part of the upcoming briefing / discussion with the City Council.

Brian Townsend

Assistant City Manager for Community Development, City of Roanoke

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Below is the Permit from roanokeva.gov/GIS:
Permit Number:SU080037 Prefix: Commercial Type: Subdivision Plat Sub Type: MINOR Description: Boundary Line Adjustment Taxmap Number: 6472001 Permit Address: 2353 HIGHLAND FARM RD NW Owner: NEWBERN PROPERTIES LLC 2353 HIGHLAND FARM RD NW ROANOKE,VA 24017 Applicant: CRAIGHEAD & ASSOCIATES Date Entered: 2008/05/29

Rezoning Request For Comment - Newbern, LLC

Caricature of Trane Building expansion (right) furnished by Newt!

I received a request for comment to be returned by May 16th for a scheduled June 19th Public Hearing before the Planning Commission. It contains a drawing of the building front and side. The removal of the current proffers is a concern. They are proffers 2 - 7. Please comment!

PROFFERS TO BE REMOVED ARE:

2) The building, as shown ... will be of the same design, height, color and materials ....

3) There will be no outside storage or display of materials or inventory on the site.

4) No signs other than directional signs will be used on the site.

5) A buffer of at least thirty (30) feet, incorporating as many of the existing trees as possible, will be established and maintained on the site along the southerly and westerly property lines will be supplemented where necessary with pines or other evergreen trees or shrubs in order to provide effective screening from the adjoining golf course as well as Route 581.

6) That if no building permit has been issued and no construction commenced within three (3) years from the date of final rezoning approval, the zoning shall revert to [Recreational Open Space] ROS....

7) That the building be constructed by Petitioner will be used for storage of heating and air conditioning parts and supplies.

Countryside Tennis Building Lease

Below is a newsletter announcement from Mike Johnson, who teaches tennis at the Countryside Tennis Building. Roanoke City will not lease the building to Mr. Johnson and Meadowbrook is not able to lease the building to Mr. Johnson as their lease with Roanoke City on the Countryside Golf Course that includes the Tennis Building is in limbo. A RFP (Request For Proposal) has not been issued by Roanoke City so Meadowbrook (current operators) cannot bid on it. Neither can anyone else. This leaves the Tennis Building in limbo. If Mr. Johnson is not able to lease it the building will just sit there and NO ONE will receive lease $$$ for the building. This will diminish the property's income potential as a whole. Then what???

This is Mr. Johnson's notification to his patrons from his website: COUNTRYSIDE TENNIS

Countryside Tennis Patrons, Ridgewood Tennis Patrons, all tennis patrons:

I will not be selling court time for next season beginning Sept. 1, 2008 at Countryside. This was a sudden and unforeseen change.

It is possible “down the road” tennis will be back at Countryside. Next season after Oct 31st (when my lease ends), I don’t have confidence that we will be playing there.

Please purchase court time at Ridgewood. I am going to resurface the court in the older building (Aug. 2008) to make it similar to the court in the newer building. This would make two nice courts with available times to sell at Ridgewood.

I would like to extend special thanks to Mary Harshfield, Lee Bond Sevigny, and Judy Saul (possibly others) who I know have made an extended effort to try to keep tennis at Countryside.

Thanks to all,
Mike Johnson

Public Hearing on the Electoral Process

City of Alexandria Holds Public Hearing on the Electoral Process

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Take note the words "seeks public input" - yes, Roanoke Citizens, there are some cities that actually value public input.

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The Alexandria City Council seeks public input regarding possible changes to the City charter to determine if the community prefers that the present process or a different process be used to elect the City Council and School Board.

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The Council will hold a public hearing on Saturday, June 14, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. (or as soon thereafter as this matter may be heard) in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 301 King St. The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comment on (1) which one of the following sets of questions should be submitted for advisory referendum to the voters of the City (comments on the wording of the questions are also welcome); and (2) whether the preferred set of questions should be included on the ballot at a May general election, or at a November general election.

Option One is a set of four questions that would read as follows:
The City Council is seeking public input regarding possible changes to the City charter to determine if the community prefers the present process or a different process to elect the City Council and School Board. The following questions represent four approaches to conducting local elections. These approaches are designed to avoid overlap with federal elections. Please vote "yes" or "no" on each question.

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1. Do you support continuing the existing 3-year terms of service for the City Council and School Board, with May elections for all members?
Yes ___ No ___

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2. Do you support a change to 4-year terms of service for the City Council and School Board, with November elections every 4 years for all members held at the same time as state delegate and state senate elections (that is, in odd-numbered years)?
Yes ___ No ___

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3. Do you support a change to 4-year, staggered terms of service for the City Council and School Board, with November elections every 2 years for a portion of the Council and School Board held at the same time as state delegate and state senate elections?
Yes ___ No ___

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4. Do you support a change to 4-year, staggered terms of service for the City Council and School Board, with May elections every 2 years for a portion of the Council and School Board?
Yes ___ No ___

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Option Two is a set of two questions that would read as follows:
The City Council is seeking public input regarding possible changes to the City charter to determine if the community prefers the present process or a different process to elect the City Council and School Board.

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1. Should the City change from spring (May) elections every 3 years for the City Council and School Board to fall (November) elections every 4 years that occur at the same time as elections for state delegates and state senators (that is, in odd-numbered years)?
Yes ___ No ___

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2. Should the City change from electing City Council and School Board members all at the same time to staggering terms of service so that a portion of the City Council and School Board is elected in alternating elections?
Yes ___ No ___

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Persons wishing to speak on this item may sign up prior to the public hearing by calling the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council at 703.838.4550.
www.alexandriava.gov