Save Countryside

Disappointing...a Matter of Definition

2010-09-21T19:02:00.004-04:00

The Roanoke Times ran an all-to-brief article on yesterday's incredible council meeting where a stacked deck of cards was put in place to deter citizen input.

"It's very disappointing to think that we have people who were so closely involved in this issue who are obviously so interested in being heard, but not so interested in hearing other people's ideas."

~Councilman Bill Bestpitch

Really? Disappointing? Disappointing? Does the councilman know what disappointment means?

Here's what disappointment means:

Finding out that your retirement plans have gone up into a foggy haze as your property value plummets.
Being promised time after time that your views will be considered only to find them flat-out ignored.
Being invited to the dinner but offered no utensils.
Being abandoned.
Experiencing broken promise after broken promise.
Constantly forced to face a loaded deck of cards and exposing the trick every time.
Listening to elected officials tell you one thing while eating your hamburgers and then watch them turn around behind closed doors and do something completely different.

That's what is disappointing. I'm sure others in the neighborhoods around Countryside could add more.

Not Lost Cause...Lost Course

2010-06-28T01:06:00.004-04:00

Not Lost Cause…Lost Course

In 2002, Grammy winning recording artist, Beck, recorded the song, Lost Cause.

Lost Cause

Your sorry eyes; they cut through bone
They make it hard to leave you alone
Leave you here wearing your wounds
Waving your guns at somebody new

Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause

There's too many people you used to know
They see you coming they see you go
They know your secrets and you know theirs
This town is crazy; nobody cares

Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause

I'm tired of fighting
I'm tired of fighting
Fighting for a lost cause

There's a place where you are going
You ain't never been before
No one left to watch your back now
No one standing at your door
That's what you thought love was for

Baby you're lost
Baby you're lost
Baby you're a lost cause

I'm tired of fighting
I'm tired of fighting
Fighting for a lost cause

On Friday June 25, The Roanoke Times editorial board proclaimed that Countryside is a lost cause. Writing about the recent news that the bid for the Market building renovation came in well under budget, the RT said, “There is no bad news -- unless those hankering for the city to reopen Countryside Golf Course attempt to convince Roanoke City Council to divert the savings to that lost cause.”

Three years ago when I began this blog, the battle of Countryside was already in full swing. Roanoke City had already bought the golf course with the idea of callously developing the property as some kind of office, residential, green space model. When the actual residents dared stand up to question why their input was NEVER solicited, the city backtracked and tossed a nine-hole executive golf course into the plan. Presumably by throwing them a little bone, the residents would just shut up. However, with battle lines drawn, the residents fought hard to keep the golf course open.

Toal Brothers, the nationally known contracting group, decided against getting involved in the project, and the city’s plans began to unravel. Yet, though it all, the city remained blind to two inescapable realities: Real vocal city citizens lived in the Countryside footprint, and the golf course was very popular and profitable.

Finally, after many twists and turns; highs and lows, the city finally came onboard with the idea of owning and operating a municipal golf course. All that was needed was a finalized lease agreement with Meadowbrook. After riding high in November, the residents were slapped by the cold, hard reality that the city would not finalize the lease, and Meadowbrook was forced to walk away in February.

The carnage of the city’s callous decision goes much deeper than the overgrown vegetative scar that lies along the gateway to The Magic City. Residents, long held in limbo, are now held in a permanent purgatory; trapped by decreasing land values, they can’t sell their homes. Who would want to buy a beautiful home adjacent to a boarded up, untamed golf course? The residents aren’t beyond shaking their heads in fury or tearful sadness. Little victories still buoy them-Ken Saunders maintaining his own one-hole par 3 championship golf course or Linwood Caldwell mowing the twelfth fairway. But these victories, ultimately, are shallow and temporary bandages on a gaping wound.

With the Market Building slated to come in way under budget, one could argue that there is now capital improvement project money available. Residents had been lead to believe that the closure of the golf course is a done deal. In fact, they’ve been told that the course simply could not be reclaimed, even if they wanted to. But that’s simply not true. I’ve pointedly asked a friend of mine, who holds a degree in landscape design from Virginia Tech and currently works the golf course business, to give me his informal assessment of the course. Specifically, I asked if him if it was too late to reclaim the course. He replied (June 17),

“I definitely think Countryside is salvageable. With the greens only being an inch high you could probably have them reconditioned by the end of the fall. The fairways will probably take a big longer. The rule of thumb as I have come to understand it is that when cutting to a groomed level you don't want to cut it back more than a third of its height, as you begin to condition it back into shape. I would probably cut the greens at the same level for about 4-6 days, then spray a broad leaf herbicide over them. Doing this would help from over stressing the turf at once... which is your biggest concern. A similar approach to the tee boxes and fairways would need to be taken. In all it is going to take a little bit of time and money to recondition the course. Everything is probably going to have to be hit hard with pre-emergent herbicides next year, because I am sure they are over run by annual grasses right now that will have lots of overwintering seeds.

I feel with the kind of money that could be available, there is way more than enough to get the job done. If work was started in the next month or so there shouldn't be any problem getting it ready.”

But who would run it? How about Meadowbrook? They walked away, but it’s come to my attention that they must not consider the course a lost cause. Scott Beasley, Meadowbrook Vice President, recently shared with Countryside Neighborhood Alliance president, Valerie Garner, that

“We had an internal discussion today (Monday June 21) and if the funds were made available, we would be willing to get back involved under the original terms. They might need to be modified slightly but the majority are still good.” (used with permission from V.Garner)

Three years ago I wrote a series of pieces for this blog sharing a vision for the Countryside property. That vision hasn’t changed, despite the proactive county developing a multigenerational center nearby. I will say again what I said then, “In my opinion, the city has a gold mine. It doesn't need some monster retail/housing development. It needs a recreation facility, and the blueprints for it are already there. They need to open their ears to the community and their eyes to the possibilities.”

That vision encompasses a fully developed Countryside golf and recreational center. Imagine the possibilities. People flying into or driving into our valley would see this gem glistening on the hill with views of the entire area. The golf course, restored to its original Ellis Maples’ designed championship quality, would anchor a recreational complex that would be unrivaled in Southwest Virginia. In addition to the course, a community recreation center with meeting rooms, basketball courts and exercise rooms coupled with an indoor/outdoor swimming complex across the street from the flagship William Fleming High School could be developed. Such a facility would serve Roanoke City citizens from all across the valley in addition to drawing business from travelers and residents of surrounding localities. These visitors would pay real dollars to use the services. Local high schools, including William Fleming, would have access to the pool. The schools outside the city would pay for access. With such a facility, lucrative basketball and volleyball tournaments as well as local and regional swimming meets could be courted. Walking trails and bike paths could be added. The tennis facility could be renovated and restored to a prominent place. Without a doubt such a recreation and community center would serve as an anchor for an area of the city that has been long neglected, from its first days after annexation in the late 1970’s when promised curbs, gutters, and sidewalks were forgotten and passed by.

I have every confidence that a revitalized Countryside Golf and Recreation Center would be a star financial draw in The Star City. Four years ago, when the city was bandying about strip mall development schemes, Roanoke County took a leap and developed Green Ridge Recreation Center in a gutsy public/private partnership. I’ll never forget sitting in on the early development meetings in the county; they had such a positive vision. Now, their vision has paid dividends. People are flocking to this place, and it has far exceeded all revenue projections. Despite the risk, they went for it. My hope, along with one of my COuntryside friends, is that the city council gives Countryside “…a chance ... have vision ... don't be such weenies - take a chance like BOS did on Green Ridge Rec center.”

In this new age of financial stress and economic downturn, why on Earth would the city want to develop a recreation center? Schools are hurting; closing. Teachers are being laid-off. Employment and wages are stagnant. Taxes are high. People are angry. Why build a recreation center now? Face it; it’s a lost cause.

The Roanoke Times suggests that

“If a surplus does remain when this project [Market Building] is complete, it should be used to counter the need for future borrowing, not for projects council has already decided are not priorities.”

I beg to differ with these sentiments. On the contrary, not going forward with a revitalized Countryside Recreation Center vision is myopic. It’s the kind of thinking that will doom Roanoke to be another lost, aimless middle-sized city. With the new council ready to take charge, the time is now to revitalize Countryside and restore it for the benefit of the entire city and community.

The incoming council members seem to understand the dark, deep history of the Countryside battle between previous councils and the neighborhood alliance.

Bestpitch said he's learned from the Victory Stadium debate, which contributed to his failed re-election campaign in 2004. If he did it over again, he said, he'd push for more public involvement and transparency.

As a once-again incoming council member, Bestpitch said he wants to apply that lesson when Countryside Golf Course comes up again.

"I don't think that's a decision that should be made until we have lots of citizen input and feedback on that," Bestpitch said.

Ferris -- who approaches his first term on the council with no prior experience in elected office but with a long legal, business and personal history in Roanoke -- expressed a similar opinion.

"I think we need to have some public hearings," Ferris said. "And I don't mean a public hearing before an ordinance is enacted. We really need to put our ear to the ground, talk about options and what citizens want those options to be."

When it does come to a decision on Countryside and other issues, Ferris said, "I don't think we'll always agree on everything, but I can promise we'll all do our best to make it collegial, to make it productive and constructive, to not let the discussion disintegrate into some of the problems we've seen with councils of years past. I think the council the last two years has been on the right path. Roanoke Times June 27

Councilman Trinkle understood the frustrations of the residents and the need for resolution way back in 2008,

"The bad in my mind is that this discussion has been going on far too long and has impacted those who live in the area and have lived with uncertainty for many years. One worry, historically based, is that with long discussions and debates the bold option gets whittled to a mediocre option not at all in keeping with original intent and thus doomed for failure." [http://www.davetrinkle.com/2008/07/countryside-a-great-city-purchase-or-not/ July 8, 2008]

It seems, the city is staring down the throat of Trinkle’s apocalyptic forecast.

Countryside is NOT a lost cause. It’s just the sort of the bold option for which Councilman Trinkle wrote back in 2008. But if the council doesn’t act in favor of restoration, Countryside will simply be a lost course with the cursed property doomed to breed discontent.

Sure Would Be Nice

2010-06-18T21:12:00.002-04:00

It sure would be nice
to erase the wisps
to bend the blades
to see rabbits
dodging white balls
again

It sure would be nice
to find the plums
to feel the jet wash
to wake the snapping turtles
sleeping in the ponds
again

It sure would be nice
to reopen Countryside
to invest in a community
to see golfers
playing golf
again.

The Last Round

2010-03-31T23:49:00.002-04:00

My brothers and I took our trained monkey out onto Countryside Golf Course last weekend. The monkey held the camera as we reminisced. Part one of the video covers the first six holes.

Here is part 2 of The Last Round. By this point, the trained monkey was too tired to hold the camera, so I took over. Holes 7-12

I'll have the last segment uploaded to YouTube sometime soon. I apologize for video quality issues. I don't have access to the finest equipment.

Defoliation

2010-03-29T10:42:00.002-04:00

I took my trained monkey out to the course to film some of the sediment in the stream along Frontage Road where the RPZ towers intersect the creek. I noticed a lot of sediment along the Frontage Road stretch. There currently is not as much sediment beside teh seventh green; however, with the stripped hillside, I see a greater potential for the hill to wash away into the stream.

Forbidden

2010-03-28T02:06:00.002-04:00

Forbidden

Friday’s rain gave way to a hard freeze Saturday morning. Cars were glazed over with a thick, crusty coating. The frozen grass melted as the sun erased the shadows. One thing came to my mind. Golf.

Countryside Golf Course closed on March 1, and I never had the opportunity to say good-bye properly. Today was my day. Together with my two brothers, I ventured onto the forbidden course and documented my last round. Eventually, I'll have the video we shot from that last round here on this blog.

As my brothers and I walked the course, we stepped back into time and relived memories from our youth. From the time I was merely seven years old, Countryside/Arrowood was a part of my life. Lazy summer days were spent walking around my very own playground. I grew to know every square inch. Though I would never develop the talent for golf that my brothers or father displayed, I could walk that course blind. Every trap. Every bush. Every tree. Every meadowlark’s nest in the tall grass on #12. Its beauty was what I measured every other course I visited against.

As I walked today, I found little to cherish. The course looked sad and pillaged. Left to decay. Yet despite it all, the plum tree on the third hole is in bloom.

John McCutcheon recorded a song he called “Elvaton” on his album “How Can I Keep From Singing?” back in the early 70’s. That song has always resonated with me. It’s about a small town in South Carolina that was flooded to make way for the production of nuclear fuel. For a long time, I never could find any reference to the town of Elvaton being taken over by the government. However, I recently uncovered this song with exactly the same lyrics. As you will see, the name of the town is Ellenton, South Carolina. It was a town of 6,000 quiet souls before their government came and destroyed their lives.

What happened to Ellenton reminds me, to a smaller degree, of what’s happened to my Countryside.

Death of Ellenton

Where the broad Savannah flows along to meet the mighty sea,

There stood a peaceful village that meant all the world to me.

The home of happy people--I knew each and every one,

My kin folk and all the friends I loved---the town was Ellenton.

But the military came one day and filled our hearts with woe.

"We'll study war right here," they said, "The little town must go."

Then they came with trucks and dynamite. The din and dust rose high.

I stood and gazed in silence as I watched my hometown die.

They brought bulldozers by the score where children used to play,

Pushed over all the trees we loved, and scraped the flowers away.

Now the homes are gone--the schoolhouse too--the sweat and toil of years,

And with them all the joys and hopes of past and future years.

The little church was hauled away. The fields are brown and bare,

And in their place a mighty plant. They build the H-bomb there.

Now the smoke hangs o'er the valley like the mist before my eyes,

Has been there ever since the day I sa

Oh, the friends we know and love, we'll meet upon some other shore,

For Ellenton--fair Ellenton is gone forever more.

Sadness

2010-02-19T21:47:00.001-05:00

The City of Roanoke announced today that Countryside Golf Course will cease to operate on March 1, 2010.

Over 40 years of great golf on a great course will end.

Bear on the Loose

2009-12-09T21:56:00.003-05:00

This bear is not representative of the Countryside bear.

There's a black bear on the loose around Countryside Golf Course. Knocking over trashcans and scaring good people, the bear remains on the lam.

Apparently, bears are running wild and free all over the Roanoke Valley as well. So with bear-mania in full effect, here are some bear facts for your digestion.

Kidzone
Many people often think of bears as big, ferocious creatures that are brown, black or white. Bears are much more than that. They are definitely big, and yes, they are very strong. They can be scary, but most will only become aggressive when threatened or when their babies are threatened and even then many species of bear won’t attack. Bears are solitary and quite docile animals that have been given a bad reputation. They are smart, shy and are great at hiding when they need to. There is very little information on some bears because researchers have a hard time finding them!

North American Bear Center

Intelligence: Large brain compared to body size. One of the more intelligent mammals. Navigation ability superior to humans. Excellent long-term memory. Can generalize to the simple concept level.

Running Speed: Lean bears can exceed 30 mph. Can run uphill, downhill, or on level ground. Fat bears in winter coats overheat and tire quickly.

Daily Activity Period: Most bears become active a half-hour before sunrise, take a nap or two during the day, and bed down for the night an hour or two after sunset. However, some bears are active at night to avoid people or bears.

Preferred Foods: Nuts, acorns, fruit, insects, succulent greens. Meat and less succulent greens are eaten when preferred foods are scarce. A scarcity of preferred foods can result in failed reproduction, stunted growth, failure to add optimal amounts of fat, and death of young bears, especially cubs.

Potential Longevity (lifespan): Black bears can live 21-33 years or more if they are not killed.

Causes of Death: Very few adult bears outside of national parks die of natural causes. Nearly all adult bears die from human-related causes. Most are eventually shot. A few are killed by vehicles. The average age of death in hunted populations is three to five years of age. Bears less than 17 months old sometimes die from starvation, predation, falls from trees, and other accidental causes. Very few die of disease.

Core Home Range Diameter: Typically: Yearlings: 1-2 miles. Adult females: 2-6 miles. Adult males: 8-15 miles. Excursions to 126 miles recorded.

Long-Term Problem: Magazines and movies have given black bears an unrealistically ferocious image, causing people to fear them excessively and kill them unnecessarily. There are many misconceptions about black bears.

Greatest misconception: The greatest misconception about black bears is that they are likely to attack people in defense of cubs. They are highly unlikely to do this. Black bear researchers often capture screaming cubs in the presence of bluff-charging mothers with no attacks.

Living with Bears: Many people are moving into black bear habitat. The bears' future depends on how well we understand and tolerate them.

Here's a bear to color.

Here's a Bear Movie

Stay alert. Stay safe.

4-2...and the Grass Continues to Grow.

2009-10-05T21:49:00.003-04:00

Photo from The Roanoker

Council met. Council waited. Council voted, voted to breathe life back into Countryside.

But it wasn't enough. Five votes were needed. Read about it in The Roanoke Free Press.

So now the window of opportunity to keep the course open as it transitions to a new lease rapidly disappears and the course may well have to shut its doors and close its fairways.

The grass will grow and the land will become a groundhog playground. Since the trees were all cut down back in the early summer, Countryside is beginning to look increasingly barren and lonely.

I Believe...

2009-09-09T19:44:00.001-04:00

...It's time for someone to cut the grass.

Countryside Tree Grab

2009-06-11T19:58:00.029-04:00

[Click Pictures to Enrage]

Over the past couple of weeks, Countryside Golf Course has lost a large amount of tree cover. The Roanoke Airport Commission has decided to clear their property of woody green vegetation. Sadly, the course has now been stripped.

The following nine pictures document the damage to the area adjacent to Lewiston Rd. I was disappointed the the family of Mallard ducks weren't hanging out in the acidic sawdust pond that was created after logging ended.

The following four pictures chronicle the view from the cul-de-sac of Cheraw Lake Rd.

The wooded areas adjacent to Frontage Road have taken the greatest hit. The whole stretch has been wiped out. Some of my favorite blackberry, raspberry, and cherry trees have been destroyed. In addition, no protection appears to have been given to the stream that runs through the cut zone.

Instead of topping or selectively clearing some of the larger trees from the area, the Airport Commission chose to clear all woody vegetation. The timing of this job is interesting.

~Newt

The Roanoker Magazine Article on Countryside

2009-05-05T19:20:00.002-04:00

In the November/December issue of The Roanoker Elizabeth Parsons wrote an article "Countryside: A Bad Deal Gone Worse?" Parsons spent many hours, days, months compiling my FOIA information and interviewing developers and appraisers. None of which thought the city's grandiose idea of upscale development in good times or bad time was a good idea. Upscale housing in a fly zone. How in the world could anyone think that is a good idea? I will be posting soon on my website The Roanoke Free Press with the "Queen Darlene COMPLETE article as furnished courtesy of The Roanoker Magazine. They talk about Countryside in it.

Shifting Gears

2009-03-31T13:55:00.005-04:00

Time marches on. I can't really remember when I began this blog. I think it was in April of 2007. However, my interest in Countryside Golf Course dates back 40 years. I've been writing about the course ever since I can remember. As the events of 2005 unfolded, I found myself becoming more vocal and pointed in my written thoughts. Those thoughts and feelings were the genesis of this blog. Over the past couple of years, this blog has been instrumental in focusing positive attention on the golf course and marshaling forces devoted to saving it.

Along the way, Valerie Garner became an integral part of this blog. She worked tirelessly as an advocate, watchdog, and director of this blog. Now she has electronically moved on to her new site:

The Roanoke Free Press

This site will feature the same detailed Countryside coverage as well as fascinating community oriented topics. I encourage all readers to mark down The Roanoke Free Press as the source of information regarding Countryside.

This blog will continue to operate as an archive. In addition, I may add my own content from time to time relating to the course and the efforts by some to dismantle it.

Countryside Golf Course is safe for now, but insecurity is only one budget battle away.

Thom Ryder

March 2 - Request For Proposal

2009-02-15T23:41:00.003-05:00

According to Brian Townsend a RFP will come before Council that will offer a 10-year lease for the Countryside property. According to Friday's budget work session the money to fix up Countryside can come from the Parks & Recreation Master Plan that was adopted by Council for funding at $7 million a year for 5 years. The amount suggested was $3 million for Countryside. To balance the budget, however, the City Manager, Darlene Burcham and Sherman Stovall, Dir. of Management and Budget had the $7 million as an option to postpone one year as a way to cut this year. So it will be interesting to see what happens on March 2. Also deferred to out year(s) is funding planned for the new super library.

The three Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) that were not in the pipeline were Countryside (funding suggested above), the Market building (funding potential from Economic & Community Development Reserve for a portion) - question: is this where the amphitheatre money sits?

The third item is the potential Conference (Hotel Roanoke) Center expansion (part can come from Conference Center Commission Reserves).

A 60 Degree Day At Countryside!

2009-01-23T18:32:00.003-05:00

What a day - the golfers came out of the woodwork or wherever they hibernate in the Winter.

Lone Golfer in 20 Degree Weather

2009-01-21T21:06:00.003-05:00

Only Golfer Playing at Countryside

Stopped by to visit the lonely Countryside Manager and found one car and one die hard golfer. He must have received new clubs for Christmas to be so anxious to get out on the course in 20 degree weather.

On another note - Brian Townsend, Assistant Manager for Community Development said the request for proposal (RFP) for 10 years of operation would go out the end of February or first of March. I asked since the city is maxed out debt wise how would the City pay for the desparately needed maintenance. Townsend wavered but indicated that they would look for someone responding to the RFP to offer to pay for the immediate maintenance needed for the golf course. I remarked that it would take longer then 10 years to recoup 1.2 million dollars. Townsend just shrugged.

Airport Land Lease Costs City More - MUCH MORE

2009-01-01T01:50:00.007-05:00

The previous lease of Roanoke Airport Authority land used for Countryside Golf Club fairways cost the previous owners and now the City of Roanoke $4800 a year. This was attached to the 40 year lease that originated in 1967 when the golf course was built. It actually increased slightly from an original $1000.

As part of the deal to swap land with the airport to widen the Runway Protection Zone for runway 6 the Airport Commission agreed to a new 10-year lease AT THE COST OF $18,000 a year - a 375% increase!

According to Brian Townsend, Assistant City Manager, the land was assessed by a rental appraiser. This is more than the City gets from the Meadowbrook Golf lease of $17,500 a year. So not only are they paying on the $4 million debt and losing real estate tax they are now losing $500 a year in this poorly negotiated transaction.

Even at that Granger MacFarlane, Roanoke City's representative on the Airport Commission voted "NO" on the 10-year lease. MacFarlane said "that he felt that the Commission would rue the day when the decision was made to go from a 5 year lease to a 10 year lease on the golf course property and that he thinks the Commission's negotiation position was given up." Taken from the ROA Commission minutes of November 11th.

Forest Park - "Dances With The Stars"

2008-12-19T04:26:00.026-05:00

On Thursday, December 18th, seven students were recognized as graduates of Forest Park Academy at the Hotel Roanoke. Among them was Charneice Davis, 18, who just passed the Algebra SOL test and will graduate as the first semester ends in January. This was only a few weeks after her older brother, Chaz, passed the same test to become the first Forest Park Academy graduate. Chaz gave Charneice the inspiration to give it a shot too. Chaz and Charneice were forced to drop out of school to find work after their mother died 10 years ago. Charneice was sure she could not pass the Algebra SOL with only a week’s preparation. Staff worked with Charneice late into the evenings and now she is on track to complete all requirements for graduation in January.

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Lissy Merenda instructed the students in social and workplace skills. The students are now "well rounded individuals," said Merenda. Donna Dilley’s dance class paid off as the students demonstrated the merengue on the hotel dance floor.

Student, Terrance Meade, 17, will graduate in June and plans to go to University of North Carolina to become a computer engineer. His lofty goal is to invent his very own computer that he will name (with a little humility) the "Meade Computer" - just like "Apple Computer," said Meade.

Asha Wright, 17, will also graduate in June and plans to first go to Virginia Western Community College then transfer to King College in Tennessee. She get’s excellent grades but would have been a few credits short of graduating in June if it were not for the accelerated course work at the Academy. Asha, "just loves babies," and plans to be a neonatal nurse.

Walmart Marketing Manager, Mark Young, and Aaron Robins, Manager of the 220 Walmart Store, presented Principal Eric Anderson, School Administrator Rita Bishop, and School Board Chairman David Carson with a check for $25,000. Young said that this check is to, "make it [Academy] even bigger and better." Bishop said to the students, "this [Walmart] is your community believing in you … an investment in you."

School Board member, Todd Putney, said that "people that don’t interact with these students don’t know how great these kids are … they just don’t get it." People have a tendency to "stay at arms-length" but these students have a story behind their faces as well as a high level of motivation. Putney explained that one missed opportunity for these children to become productive citizens not only effects the rest of their lives but impacts the community as a whole.

"Poison Ivy" at Forest Park Academy

2008-12-13T05:01:00.002-05:00

"At night when you're sleeping poison ivy comes a creeping around." No, there were no students twitchin’ and itchin’ in Forest Park Academy’s gym Friday but 14 students danced to tunes like the song "Poison Ivy" originally recorded by The Coasters in 1959.

The Forest Park Academy gym is where Donna Dilley teaches what started out as a "ballroom dance" class but evolved into other dances like the cha-cha and some good ol‘ rock and role moves. In addition to dance classes, Dilley conducts etiquette training programs for young people through the National League of Junior Cotillions. These programs help High School students build self-esteem, confidence and character.

"Dr. Bishop wanted to build social capital in all activities," said Principal Eric Anderson. Anderson admitted that his own experience failing the traditional waltz test at a wedding sold him on the need for the dance class.

The same students have taken the classes since they started in November. Eighteen students or nine couples in total. "If they do their work all week then they can go to dance class," said Anderson.

The excitement during the 2:00 to 3:30 PM Friday afternoon dance class was proof of their motivation to "do the work." The students’ next challenge could even be a "Dance with the Stars" competition.

This Friday was the Academy’s "highest attendance day ever," said Principal Anderson. He admitted that the first year of Forest Park Academy has been a challenge. Not all students have stuck it out but as Anderson said to students on orientation day, "staff is not babysitters … if you don’t want to be here then this is not the school for you."

Anderson said staff is "learning [the program] as they go." The Outreach Department goes to students’ homes while the Fulfillment Department holds student planning sessions where all career paths are open to them.

Huckabee at Books-A-Million - Video

2008-12-05T03:02:00.004-05:00

Thursday evening after two other city stops former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee arrived to a cheering crowd and LONG line. The people waiting in line had multiple copies of Huckabee's book, "Do The Right Thing." He started the day in Charleston, West Virginia, followed by Lynchburg at about 1:00 PM then to Roanoke arriving at 8:00 PM. I went with Mac McCadden a fan of Huckabee's. There was Sheriff Octavia Johnson who got a special treat and good picture with the Huckster. See the Line. Here comments. One comment is sortof strange and funny.

2008 Roanoke Citizen of the Year

2008-11-19T22:45:00.012-05:00

A surprise announcement was made by Mayor Bowers this evening at a reception honoring volunteers who serve on Authorities, Boards, Commissions and Committees. In addition to Estelle McCadden being named "Citizen of the Year" she also receive a Key to the City.

Estelle McCadden
2008 Citizen of the Year

At 82 Estelle is a neighborhood advocate and activist, and currently serves as the President of the Melrose-Rugby Neighborhood Forum, Inc. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Neighborhoods USA (NUSA), a national organization dedicated to developing partnerships between neighborhoods, local government, and public/private agencies across the United States. Her accomplishments are too many to put here. She will be honored at a subsequent Council meeting.

BULL: A Puppet Musical and FiddleFest Lite Videos

2008-11-10T01:40:00.002-05:00

Saturday and Sunday at the Dumas Center on Henry Street, the Thistledown puppeteers premiered “Bull - A Puppet Musical.”

Thistledown Puppets is a family-friendly puppet company dedicated to entertaining and inspiring the child in everyone. These young puppeteers share their love of puppets through funny and memorable characters and engaging stories. They offer puppet design custom puppet building and performances. Below is a snippet from the show.

Below is clip from FiddleFest Lite held at the Taubman Museum on Sunday, November 9th. It featured the Sandy Ridge group and Herschel Sizemore who teaches mandolin.

Provision Added to Countryside Golf Club Operating Agreement

2008-11-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

At Monday’s City Council meeting a provision was added to the operating agreement between the City and Meadowbrook Golf Group, Inc. At the October 23rd City Council meeting an Ordinance was adopted to extend Meadowbrook’s operation of Countryside Golf Club for a period of one year. The agreement was effective on November 1, 2008.

The modification was as a result of the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission requesting that the extension include a provision that the Commission can terminate the lease with the City under certain conditions. This would result in the termination of the Operating Agreement between the City and Meadowbrook. The Airport Commission owns a portion of the property containing fairways of the golf course. Now that the City owns the golf course, the City is responsible for negotiating the lease with the Airport Commission. Meadowbrook agreed to this provision with consequences.

The provision reads in part - The parties acknowledge that any financial obligations between the Owner of the Airport Commission relative to the Lease being negotiated between the City and the Airport Commission are the responsibility of the City. The parties further acknowledge that any obligations to alter, modify or improve the property subject to the Lease being negotiated between the City and the Airport Commission are the responsibility of the City. If such Leased property becomes no longer available to the City, the City will make a payment to Meadowbrook. Payment ranges from $20,000 to $170,000 depending on the month of termination. Council unanimously agreed to the provision.

Long Lines at Ruffner Middle School on Election Day - Video

2008-11-04T10:38:00.003-05:00

At 6:00 AM the line snaked around the dead end at the Marriott. The first in line arrived at 4:30 AM. Parking was scare as people resorted to Home Depot and Shewels. Rev. Carl Tinsley, Chairman of the Electoral Board opened the door and greeted the first in line. The machines were at times not working properly which held up the voting process. Remarks in line were "if you can file your taxes online then you should be able to vote online." There were 4 lines by alphabet to check in and get your voting slip. They ran out of voting slips quickly and just gave blank white pieces of paper saying "voting slip." Remarks were made that this was not secure as anyone could write on a piece of paper without checking in and vote. The machine if "Presidential" was selected only gave you the option to vote for President. The other option which seemed to be confusing was "Federal" which gave you in addition to President the option to vote for Senate and Congress candidates.

The Roanoker Magazine on Countryside Golf Club

2008-10-30T10:56:00.003-04:00

The November/December issue of The Roanoker Magazine has a four-page article that has been in the works for several months. Working with Elizabeth Parsons, author of the article was a pleasure. She took it very seriously and did her homework. Parsons who knew nothing about the subject she was assigned seemed overwhelmed at times admitting she did not know it was "such a tangled web." After reading it several times it became clear that the only team still clinging to their position that buying Countryside for development was a good idea is Burcham and Townsend. Developers and appraisers say "no way."

"Howl O'Ween" SPCA Slideshow

2008-10-28T00:14:00.004-04:00

On Sunday the Roanoke Valley SPCA held it's 16th Annual Walk for the Animals. They raised in excess of $30,000 for the SPCA. Contests categories were the scariest, cutest, and the dog that looked most like its owner. There was a "dog walk" around downtown Roanoke prior to the contest.

Retired General Wesley Clark Video

2008-10-23T02:04:00.005-04:00

Wednesday night Retired General and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Wesley Clark, stumped for Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. He arrived at the Jefferson Center about 5:45 PM shortly after Virginia State Senator John Edwards warmed up the crowd. The video is a snippet from the rally.

Public Art eats small child!

2008-10-19T16:29:00.004-04:00

Notice the small boy that appears in the Pelican's stomach.

Saturday morning at Fire Station #7 on Memorial Avenue a "Meet The Artist" event was held as the last installment of Public Art was admired by this young fellow who lives on Grandin Road. Now, I know you don't believe he has been swallowed by this Pelican made out of copper, steel, brass and aluminum but the piece is titled "Second Chances." The Pelican's mouth moves in the wind while the fish try to escape with a second chance at life. The artist is Eldon Slick from Tucson, Arizona. The art will be on display until April 2010. Pictured with the artist is City Manager, Darlene Burcham.

Market Building - Welcome Mat Still Out

2008-10-17T15:16:00.008-04:00

All the holes are patched so says the City. Did they forget the front door? This is the entrance from Market Street within view of the esthetically challenged former Billy's Ritz pictured below.
Does anyone see the irony here? The "spiffing up" of the Market area for the grand opening of the Taubman Museum when right next door is this eyesore. In just a few weeks people and officials from throughout the State will attend the much anticipated opening on November 8th and 9th. Now I know that the developer is "loan challenged" in these tight credit economic times but isn't there something they could do to minimize the visual impact. With construction halted have the mice that are no longer frequenting the Market building taking up residence back here again? Perhaps the developer should hire an exterminator to check it out. I have a vision though not a pretty one of a cartoon like event at the museum opening and mice scampering across feet or even waiting at the door to get in. The City needs to attack the mice issue and as according to one shop keeper roaches as well with a total downtown approach not just one building. Even a layman understands that solving one building's pest infestation just sends them to another. Roanoke City should address this with the developer and soon ... like now!

Countryside Golf - Another Year, again!

2008-10-14T21:15:00.007-04:00

Father and Daughter Day!

Per Brian Townsend the current operators of Countryside Golf Course will only go for a full year lease. The City Manager had expressed at Council that the preference was to have a lease no longer than fiscal year end June 30, 2009, thereby giving plenty of time for an RFP (Request For Proposal) to be issued. This RFP would be for 10 year operation. So by waiting last minute (lease ends Oct. 31st) the City was faced with a "take it or leave it" situation. If it closed down Oct. 31st the City would be responsible for upkeep of this 140 acres. Let's put the RFP for ten years out there now and fix it up. I should add that this goes before Council on October 23rd.

Action Taken on Countryside Golf Course

2008-10-09T12:55:00.003-04:00

A letter from the City Clerk on September 17th advising that on September 15th that Council "took the following action in connection with the Countryside Golf Course:"

Countryside Golf Course remain an 18-hole golf course; that the City design improvements necessary to preserve an 18-hole golf course and to create a quality golf course and to provide cost estimates for those improvements; that after the drawings and estimates are completed, City staff prepare and distribute a Request for Proposal (RFP); that the RFP allow the potential golf course operators the flexibility to propose a lease-term sufficient for the improvements of the golf course as have been identified; that the City Administration also prepare its own response to the RFP for the City's payment of improvements and operation of the golf course so that it can be compared to the private-sector responses; and in addition, that City staff bring to Council before the RFP is distributed, identification of "potential" land that can be sold by the City for residential and non-residential purposes that is in excess of what is needed to operate a quality 18-hole golf course.

Explaining the Virginia Public Procurement Act

2008-10-07T23:31:00.010-04:00

At the City Council Retreat on September 30th Mayor Bowers attempted to explain the bid procurement procedure. Bowers said, "once the RFP has been issued it is not something that council members ought to be involved with … and my suggestion to the manager is to send us a message if she wants us to be involved." Bowers explained that it takes on legal connotations once the RFP is issued and when it is being evaluated. If Council members are contacted by potential bidders or their representatives Council may be accused of having influenced the decision. He said, "if someone is not awarded the bid and they hear that Council has unintentionally interfered you are probably asking for some problems."

Darlene Burcham went further asking to clear the air - All localities are governed by the Virginia Public Procurement Act. Currently the policy authorizes the city manager, not the City Council, to award contracts. So when in closed session there is the understanding not to bring Council into the decision making. Under Procurement there are strict guidelines on how proposals are to be evaluated. The City always uses the Committee process. That proposal [Market building] had an outside member from Hotel Roanoke. Only the committee can pose a question to a vendor. Not even the City manager can pose a question to the vendor. It can only be posed by the Purchasing manager.

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Burcham said it was an unusual situation for someone to ask to see a proposal before it is awarded or rejected. If any member of Council in the future is interested in seeing a response we need to have it known to the full Council then it can be made available to those Council members interested in seeing it. She said she had "never had a request like that before or at any other place she had worked." Burcham said in regard to the request made by Councilman Court Rosen that her answer was appropriate as it was prior to Council having any discussion on it. She thought that all Council members now know what is appropriate as a result of that example. Burcham said, "I do agree with the Mayor's statement and I know where on a recent RFP some of you were contacted." Council will be contacted in the future by individuals to give a sales pitch in advance of awarding a bid. Work up to that point should be done in a confidential manner. Burcham said this is the way we keep ourselves from being sued or having challenges to the process.

Rosen said, "certainly when I asked for that [DRI Market proposal] it was not that I wanted to share any information. I am just surprised on such issues of this magnitude to the community that nobody has asked to see a proposal -Like proposals for Countryside - like right now I’d like to ask can we see proposals for Countryside."

Burcham said, just because they [DRI] went public with it it does not absolve us from liability.

Rosen said, "as a member of the legislature I should be able to see the proposal before decisions are made - that’s what people expect."

Burcham said - "lessons learned and roles need to be clarified."

Gwen Mason said "it is really easy to make a misstep in ethics or impropriety."

Bowers said we can try to help our citizens understand what the role of Council is. What is and is not the roll of the mayor - Educate the public. Bowers said we have a Council manager form of government. Virginia is the only state with complete division between County and City.

Mayor Bowers On The City Market Building - Audio/Video

2008-10-02T14:17:00.010-04:00

Below is the context of what Mayor David Bowers said in comparing the "hope" of the opening of the Market Building to 9-11. I was there and no Council member gave any indication that the comparison offended in any way. I barely remember it. The most glaring declaration during the Retreat has been overlooked by the media. Councilman Nash wanted to NOT reopen the Market building period.. He was supported by Rosen. Dr. Trinkle and Mason questioned Darlene Burcham on the "bond" they had with the vendors. Burcham said that after all the city's and vendors' hard work if Market building did not reopen the city would get a "black eye." Lea and Bowers agreed with Burcham as I believe did Price. Though Nash pressed more on not reopening, in the end Burcham convinced them that if they did not the public not to mention the vendors would not be pleased.

City Council Retreat - “the best ever”

2008-10-01T20:11:00.007-04:00

City Attorney William Hackworth, exclaimed that this had been “the best retreat ever.”

The day began promptly at 8:30 AM with an ambitious agenda that lasted until 4:00 PM. The Retreat was held at the Police Department on Campbell Avenue in the community center. The facilitator was Bill Kennan who teaches at Radford University.

The morning session was centered around Process, Information, and Priorities. It ranged from televising briefings to Councilman Nash's 30 minute questioning on why the Mayor gets the last word at Council meetings. After an exhaustive explanation on that by Mayor Bowers and Vice-Mayor Lea, Councilman Nash then said he did not want to "seem petty" about it. Mayor Bowers explained that since the Mayor chairs the meetings he is restrained from interjecting his comments during the comment period. Vice-Mayor Lea explained that the Mayor is busy recognizing everyone else and it is not easy when Council members start talking to each other rather than waiting to be recognized by the chair. The Mayor is also restricted from making motions while chairing a meeting and that is why he relinquished the chair to Vice-Mayor Lea when he wanted to make a motion at a previous meeting.

Mayor Bowers said there are many times he would like to get into the discussion but has to restrain himself and wait until the end before a vote. He said that it does not mean that anyone would not be recognized in response to his comments and recalled that he had done just that. Other Council members agreed that was the case. Though Nash still admitted to wanting to have "the last word." Everyone "chuckled" as it was said in a good-natured way.

Waiting For Response From Meadowbrook

2008-09-26T18:30:00.002-04:00

I asked Brian Townsend again last night if he had received a response from Meadowbrook, current operators of Countryside, whether they would be willing to operate the golf course through June, 2009. This is what the City Administration and City Council agreed to do while drafting a Request For Proposal (RFP) to solicit proposals from interested operators for a 10 year period. This would also include Meadowbrook assuming they are not fed up with the whole process of one year leases. During Winter months they lose money so the City is hoping to offer extending through Spring, 2009, in order to make up for the loss over the Winter months. It has now been more than a week and no response from Meadowbrook. I wonder what "Plan B" is? Would it be closed when Meadowbrook's lease ends October 31st? The golf carts and maintenance equipment belongs to Meadowbrook. Even if Parks and Rec maintained it there would be no golf carts even if there is equipment (which I doubt they have). Parks and Rec do not have any experience maintaining or managing a golf course. I would wager that Meadowbrook IF they agree would not be willing to pay the City any rent. The suspense continues!

Today I Was Just A Mom

2008-09-20T23:01:00.005-04:00

I gained a daughter or lost a son today - either way it was an emotional day. Everything else in my life took a back seat. My son's happiness is all that mattered. Of course I "blubbered" and embarrassed my son ... it was just sort of like it came out of nowhere this blubbering "tough" activist crumpled at the sight of her son getting married. Don't get any ideas that I am a pushover - it was just this one time.

City Attorney Explains FOIA To Council

2008-09-17T19:24:00.006-04:00

On Monday, September 15th, City Attorney William Hackworth at the request of Mayor Bowers explained the FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) and the reason Councilman Court Rosen was denied a copy of the Roanoke City Market Building proposal prior to the September 2nd City Council meeting.

Mayor Bowers said that the public may want clarification as to what bits of information the Council can have access to and asked Mr. Hackworth for the legal standing on that.

The City Attorney said that the issue “was a novel one for him and one that had never come up before … he had never had a member of a governing body ask for proposals” prior to award or rejection. He spoke to Bill Hefty, an expert attorney on the Virginia Public Procurement Act in Richmond and they had not ever had that issue come before them either. However, Mr. Hackworth relayed Mr. Hefty’s advice that “if Council as a whole decides they want to see proposals submitted as part of an RFP process they have a right to make the decision to do so. However, an individual member of Council acting on their own would essentially have the same standing as a member of the public.” Therefore they would be denied. Mr. Hackworth elaborated by saying if an individual member of Council asked for a proposal he would advise them to bring the request before all members of Council in a closed meeting.

Roanoke Times Poll Results For Countryside

2008-09-17T19:24:00.001-04:00

What should the council do with the Countryside property?

Keep it as a golf course
313
(88.67%)

Sell it
33
(9.35%)

Other
7
(1.98%)

Total Replies : 353

Countryside Direction Finally Made Clear

2008-09-15T20:43:00.013-04:00

After heated debate Roanoke City Council agreed 6-1 to move forward with a Request For Proposal to maintain Countryside as an 18-hole golf course. Those present literally stood up for Countryside. Only ONE stood up opposed and it was Hank Bostwick's sidekick, Chris Berry of chrisberryonthe.net.

Besides myself, speakers included the President of the Senior Tour, Tommy Firebaugh, who spoke representing 130 members which includes members such as "Chip" Woodrum and Board of Supervisors member "Butch" Church.

Also speaking in favor of Countryside Golf Course was the well respected former Director of Athletics at Patrick Henry High School, Woody Deans.

The RFP will be for a minimum of 10 years. It will be put out for a period of 45-60 days per the City Manager, Darlene Burcham. She also reiterated that the current operator Meadowbrook (who may also bid on the operation) would be asked to continue operating the golf course for 8 months until fiscal year end June 30, 2009.

Hank Bostwick seems "alarmed" that his so-called - "Sources close to the City government have indicated to me that based on the age of the course, it is likely that the irrigation system–which is an asbestos irrigation system–will need to be replaced sooner rather than later. Roanokers will be shocked, no doubt, when they are hipped to how much it may cost to encapsulate and remove the asbestos from the course and replace the aging irrigation system." Get with the program Hank, your sources are baloney. There IS asbestos in the irrigation system and according to the DEQ asbestos experts it can STAY in the ground undisturbed and another irrigation system installed. IF development had occurred the irrigation system would have been disturbed. THEN the developer would be subject to expense. Ony a fool of a developer would have not done their due diligence before committing to any ground disturbance.

Hank Bostwick's StarCityHarbinger is again misrepresenting the facts of the meeting: He states that: "A few citizens, including Roanoke Star-Sentinel’s Council reporter Valerie Garner, spoke in support of the golf-course-in-perpetuity motion and noted that decaying infrastructure at the golf club and course need immediate resources from the City coffers."

As a "surprise" guest at our neighborhood meeting on Monday, Sept. 8th, Mr. Rosen said "he had no problem with Countryside remaining an 18-hole golf course". Then when asked "in perpetuity" -. Mr. Rosen responded, "YES" looking me straight in the eye. This can be confirmed by Councilwoman Anita Price who was present as well as other neighbors. However, Mr. Rosen contradicted that statement at City Council tonight when he questioned the city attorney - referring to Mr. Lea's motion that Mr. Lea "meant the premise of the whole motion was to make Countryside a golf course in perpetuity and my understanding to that is no - I am just asking as a matter of law" (he was looking at the city attorney for a response). The City attorney explained (though I am sure Mr. Rosen already knew the answer) that the motion is NOT a contract. Then Mr. Rosen went on to say "I have a lot less issue with that."

Mr. Lea is right that something else is "cooking" behind the scenes but this blatant contradiction is a much too obvious "red flag."

This is what I said and is the exact text I read which I gave to the City Clerk:

It was on May 2, 2005, Council voted to take an option to purchase Countryside Golf Course. Here we are over three years later and time is of the essence with the lease ending Oct. 31st and with no RFP yet issued.

The “data and financing“ has been available for all these years.

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There is no reason to stall the process any longer and risk the shutdown and eventual decay of the golf course. Decay of city owned property is NOT fiscally responsible. This DELAY is not physically responsible…. stalling leads to suspicion.

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We are intelligent citizens.

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I will quote a member of Council’s own words in an email dated 9/22/05 obtained from a FOIA request - that said, "this process is being watched by a large number of people who are intelligent and can determine when they are being involved or left out … trust is a major factor here …let’s do what we have to do to keep that with our citizens." I have not forgotten those comforting words Mr. Lea and we are still watching and we are still intelligent.

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Council had questions at the briefing on Countryside in regard to promotion of the golf course. If you initiate a “google” search of “Countryside Golf Course Roanoke” you will see that what comes up besides the airport hotels that tout it as an amenity for their guests. The results of the search displays the City’s website under Planning - Special Projects which says though stalled that the golf course is still slated for development and the RFP for development is still downloadable. It is no wonder that people say they think the course is closed. I ask Council to have this destructive promotion removed from the City’s website.

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I ask Council to consider a ten year operating agreement as the minimum for the City to consider. To really recoup the City’s investment a 20 year lease would be a better. As Ms. Shuck stated at the airport commission meeting 20 years was OK with them as long as there was commitment by this council that the property would be used for golf course fairways. She also stated that golf course fairways was a preferred use by the FAA. Evidently the FAA considers golfers as expendable.

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Again, I ask this Council to end this delay today and our anxiety and expediently instruct the City Administration to issue a RFP.

Q99's "Driving For MDA"

2008-09-04T13:36:00.003-04:00

Dick Daniels and David Page who host "The Breakfast Club" with plenty of humor on Q99 FM took turns hitting 99 golf balls at the Par 3 in Hanging Rock. Dick and Dave have given their support for Countryside Golf Course in their own humorous style. Both are avid golfers and play here at Countryside. This charitable event is only one of many they do throughout the year. Balls were purchased on air 2 weeks ago at $100 each for the MDA. A hole-in-one would have won a Saturn convertible - Dick got one ball 7 inches from the cup. Check the Q99 website for the YouTube clip of the evening event: CLICK HERE to Q99FM then on the YouTube link.

Countryside Banner Waves Again

2008-09-01T22:05:00.008-04:00

Horns blew with thumbs up signs as we hoisted the banner again on Saturday. With another Council crisis looming Al and Ken were called to duty once again. One man stopped his SUV in the middle of Cove Road to give us a "high five". When will we be able to retire this banner? What is going on behind the curtain oh, ye, mighty and powerful oz.

Patriot Golf Day - Aug. 29 - Sept. 1, 2008

2008-08-29T15:22:00.014-04:00

Beginning Friday, Aug. 29 through Monday, Sept. 1, golfers nationwide will be asked to donate a minimum of $1 in support of Patriot Golf Day. All funds raised will benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation to provide educational scholarships to families of those who have become disabled or lost their lives in the line of duty. In 2007, some 3,200 golf facilities nationwide participated in Patriot Golf Day, raising more than $1 million dollars. The Roanoke area golf courses participating this year are: Ol' Monterey, Hidden Valley, Ashley Plantation, and Hanging Rock. Pictures courtesy of PLAYGOLFAMERICA.

PGA Professional Dan Rooney (left), an F-16 fighter pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, is the founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation. Major Rooney, call sign Noonan, has served two tours in Iraq, and will be returning for another tour this summer. "We have lost more than 4,000 soldiers. They have given the ultimate sacrifice. America can come together in the spirit of golf and have a dramatic impact. We have an opportunity to make a difference for the families who have made the ultimate sacrifice." Read Dan's story HERE.

Countryside Golf Club Hosts "old white people"

2008-08-23T16:48:00.008-04:00

Countryside is a place where old white people (predominantly . . . sorry, Mr. Nash) can go and play a cheap round of golf subsidized by the City. - StarCityHarbinger
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There is so much wrong with this post it is hard to know where to start and really does not deserve comment except for this most egregious proclamation.

Now, I know this will evoke a round of comments by Mr. Bostwick a legal aid attorney, but after his postings recently and the feedback I've received regarding his psychotic posts anything he has to say is diminished and lets hope he sees what a huge mistake it was to make such outrageous comments.

Sure my emotions regarding this recent dare I say grandstanding by Mr. Rosen was met with well, lets face it, hostility. Mr. Rosen accused me of smearing him in front of a member of the media at the "State of the City" address. I'm still looking for where exactly I smeared him. Criticism is part of being in public office and all current and former officeholders have experience far worse criticism. They take the more prudent road of "ignoring it".

Those who have followed the Countryside saga for these many years understand my frustration. The frustration is that suddenly the financing of Countryside is "news" to this Council when I've repeated ad nauseam for 3 years starting with the option to purchase in May 2005 to the purchase in November, 2005. Me, an ordinary citizen just asked the Director of Finance without fanfare how it was financed, what they had to pay the airport for the lease of the RPZ, and what was the real estate tax revenue they were forgoing. I had emailed this information to Dr. Trinkle a year ago after he had asked Ms. Burcham at a Council meeting (a year ago) to gather the financial information. I tried to get the media to inform Roanoke citizens to no avail.

Back to the "old white people" who play at Countryside Golf Club subsidized by the City. All you have to do is watch the slide show in the right column to see ALL those "old white people". And as Mr. Nash pointed out the golf course since it opened in 1967 has been subsidized by itself.

Interrupting Is All Ego

2008-08-21T21:37:00.009-04:00

I'm sure everyone has experienced the rude interrupter. You are having a conversation with someone and another person walks up and interrupts talking nonstop. This happened to me again today with the same person. So I did some research on why this person does not know how annoying it is to both parties.

Now if it is urgent and they say excuse me anyone would not think it rude. However, this person has done it to me multiple times just because. It is always about himself or his ideas. not to join the conversation but totally off the topic between you and another. So what do you do with such rudeness? What I did was walk away as the person talked nonstop but this left the other person to deal with him. This seems to be the suggested way to handle the situation but seems cruel to the person left behind. My poor left-behind called and said sarcastically "thank you so much for leaving me fend for myself with Mr. Ego." This is what I found:

Interrupting is all ego. It suggests that what I have to say is more valuable and important than what you have to say. It inappropriately elevates the interrupter. It communicates that my needs, my ideas, my thoughts dominate and leave little room for you.

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Egocentricity is the belief that one is the center of the known universe and, therefore, deserves to occupy the podium, if not the bully pulpit, at all times. Many chronic interrupters believe that nobody else could possibly have anything of value to say, at least compared to them. We can choose not to play their ill-mannered game.

Is this a learned behavior? So do you have any ideas on what you would do?

Countryside Petition Had 1,290 Signatures

2008-08-20T16:06:00.003-04:00

At Monday's Council meeting I heard it said that "I did not get that signal" referring to the fact that the citizens/voters wanted to keep Countryside a Golf Course. This came from Councilman Rosen. A year ago we presented a petition of 1,290 signatures that included Senator John Edwards and Congressman Bob Goodlate. I realize those on Council now were not paying attention to Countryside or other city issues at the time so I will remind them of this petition at my next encounter.

Serving On Council Is "Personal"

2008-08-19T22:30:00.017-04:00

In May, 2005, the Countryside neighborhood woke up to the morning paper to find that Roanoke City had taken the option to purchase the golf course property. We were in shock. I decided to email the Councilman whose name was quoted in the paper to find out what was going on. That was Brian Wishneff. Mr. Wishneff and Mr. Lea along with Mr. Townsend (Planning Department at the time) came to my house and there was no room for every neighbor. They lined my driveway, hallway, and back porch. I remember Mr. Lea and Mr. Wishneff at the time were surprised our homes were even here. No one on Council had visited the property or knew what they were buying. We were promised inclusion in the plans for the property. I know both Mr. Wishneff and Mr. Lea made every effort to get us in on the ground floor because my FOIA request of emails demonstrated it to be so. These emails also demonstrated that the other members of Council and the City Administration felt otherwise.

So to this day we continue to be twisted and turned. Lifted up and let down and SURPRISED. Just when things relax as they did a week or two ago and we plan great things for our neighborhood .... wham we get our legs swept out from under us again. We have gone through so many Council members now I can't count. There is only one original member left who was serving in 2005 and that is Mr. Lea.

I ask you all who criticize our neighborhoods distrust to put yourself in our shoes. We are stunned in May, 2005, a developer pulls out never seeing any plans, more RFPs lead to nothing, one RFP last minute is replied to resulting in one nightmare of a plan so it goes back for revision and a year goes by and nothing. We attend every Parks and Recreation Master Plan workshop hoping for a crumb, nothing. Then it is left for the next Council ... then as it seems a longer term lease is going to relieve the tension .... wham - let's see if we can sell it. We were promised that it would never be cut up into pieces. We were promised we would be included in the process. It never happened and at the 2:00 PM Council meeting just proved it never will. So walk a mile in our shoes before you cast a stone on our mistrust. We don't need surprises like at the 2:00 PM Council meeting and Mr. Rosen's pronouncement that now we might sell it either keeping it a golf course for a certain amount of time (then what?) or turning it into 1/2 park and 1/2 business. Were we included in that option? No, it was purely a financial and business idea. Where did I here this before? "It's not personal, it's business" - the reply from the affected person was "it was personal to me".

So pardon me if I don't think YOUR ideas are good ideas. Nobody has asked us for ANY of OUR ideas ever.

If you read any conflicts about the 2:00 PM meeting CLICK HERE -I posted a link to the webcast before so you yourself can hear the 45 minute co mingling of RFPs and confusion.

Another Update: Court Rosen Wants Countryside Sold

2008-08-19T03:53:00.013-04:00

Mr. Rosen said, “he thinks it would be worth while to engage a broker to see what they believe the value of the golf course is” and “and maybe someone is out there that may want to buy the golf course and operate it“. Read the article in The Roanoke Times today and my article that will be in The Roanoke Star-Sentinel online Thursday and out on Friday.

At the 2:00 PM Roanoke City Council meeting Court Rosen threw a monkey wrench into what was going smoothly and on "course" for a 5 - 10 year Request For Proposal for operation of the golf course. There was a 40 plus minute debate Monday afternoon that became clear that we have Council members working their way into selling the property. Mr. Rosen wanted financial data on the city's debt obligation compiled and a broker to assess it's sale value. He quoted some erroneous capital costs stating that the cart path repairs were 1.2 million dollars. With grass it is $25,000 and full pavement is $180,000. SEE corrected numbers below from Mr. Townsend. LISTEN AND WATCH HERE - pick 2:20 PM.

It is not rocket science what the finances are with the golf course and it has been available for years. Mr. Nash, said Rosen was " mixing apples and oranges". The debt service is "apples" and the "operational costs" are oranges. WE ARE TALKING ORANGES. The golf course has sustained itself since its inception in 1967 and as Mr. Nash pointed out "something happens to THINGS when the City buys it". Meadowbrook, the current operator, has under reported their profit since taking over operation. Why might you think that Meadowbrook under reports it's profit? Why might you think that they might just want the $17,500 yearly lease reduced even further for a 5 year lease. Yes, rounds are down because of the state of flux but as any smart business would do - not report their actual profits to keep their lease cost low. I know that to be so in this case. It has not been marketed and heck, people say "Oh, I did not know it was still there".

There are other local golf facilities wanting to operate the golf course. One in particular that has past experience in caring for the golf course had just called me between the two Council meetings Monday begging to be able to do a presentation to City Council. So now we know that they are out there but just can't get in.

As I have been telling City Council for 2 years the almost $4 million loan on the property is financed at Carter Bank, amortized for 15 years at 6.25%. Have they ever heard of an amortization schedule? So exactly what can't they figure out in about 5 minutes? If I here "we can never have too much information" one more time well just say my hair is on fire. There is more to this than meets the eye. There are members of Council hell bent on having it sold for whatever reason. One thing that Mr. Rosen said, "we need money for neighborhoods and schools". So I guess we are not a neighborhood. He also said he did "not hear any citizens say they wanted to keep the golf course during the election". Well, Mr. Rosen, must not have listened or more precisely turned a deaf ear. It came out in forums where he said "we can never have too much information" and I will have to "study it". Roanoke City is NOT a corporation and City Council works for the people. City Administration is the business side of our local government and City Council members are the balance that weighs that with the well-being of the citizens. This is not the Pharma lobby he had been a spokesman for in Washington, DC, prior to coming to Roanoke.

There was a briefing Monday as well on the NEW REC CENTER planned for Fallon Park. What's wrong with this picture? Let's take some of that amphitheatre money just sitting there and pay off this loan. Just think how much could have been saved these past years in interest. Way over 1/2 million in interest only now.

Buena Vista BUILT a municipal golf course that sustains itself - Vista Links is just one example. Ms. Burcham is wrong when she said she could not find golf course that are not subsidized by the City. Looking at the financial figures she picked up from other golf course - they had "depreciation" as an expense. Well Countryside has ITS OWN equipment and there was NO depreciation on Countryside's disclosed financial information. The golf course operation has cost them not one red cent - it has made money as Mr. Nash stated. The debt service is the fault of the City and should be taken care of separately. Why is it that other projects seem valuable enough to put money into but Countryside not only sustains itself while other parks have to be subsidized by our tax dollar? I don't have to repeat the projects that get funding here. Again NOT ONE red cent has gone into the golf course and the debt - well the City got themselves into that by financing like a mortgage so they just need to deal with it!

Mr. Rosen does not realize or does not care that we have no recreation in this part of the City. Mr. Rosen though cares for a dog park and has no concern that a "memorial tree" is planted right in the proposed location of the Highland Park dog park.

NEW information just received on current operator's offer:

The cost to replace the irrigation system is $850,000. The golf cart repairs would be $300,000 with full pavement replacement and minor repairs to the clubhouse at $50,000. Meadowbrook wants $1.2 million upfront for these repairs. In turn Meadowbrook for a 10 year lease offered rent payment of 7.5% of total revenue or the following:

2009 = $30,000, 2010 = $50,000, 2011 - 2018 = $100,000

**Total revenue reported by Meadowbrook in 2005 was $917,839, 2006 was $912,319, and 2007 was $815,174. This would relate to the 7.5%.

Countryside Maintenance - Begging For Dollars

2008-08-17T19:22:00.006-04:00

Monday evening the sale of the Countryside property (one acre) to Newbern, LLC, for the TRANE building expansion will be finalized. The Planning Commission was unanimous in their recommendation. It will come before Roanoke City Council at the 7:00 PM meeting. This acre will pinch the 2nd and 3rd fairway and at a minimum will make it very "unattractive". I will ask Council to "earmark" the $55,000 paid for the acre for maintenance of Countryside Golf Course. Maintenance or improvements that will not be covered by the expected new operating agreement being drafted. As some of you may remember - the most urgent need is the golf cart paths and irrigation system. Below are two conflicting architectural renderings. The first is what I received several months ago along with a "Request For Comment". The second is an attachment on Monday's agenda. Now maybe I was not updated on the change in building design and the parking reconfiguration that took place prior to the Planning Commission review. At this point I don't know what is actually going there or when. If you figure it out please let me know.

Rendering I Received with Request For Comment

Rendering attached to Monday's agenda.

Lobbying For Countryside Golf Club

2008-08-15T21:41:00.005-04:00

Lobbyist - let's kick the lobbyists out of Washington - but not out of Roanoke City. It takes a heck of an amount of lobbying to "get through" to City Council and City Administration. They keep dancing "a little side step" a song I heard from the movie something about Texas and a whorehouse. Just ask the dog park advocates what it takes to get what you want or what you don't want. In both Council's and the Administration's defense they have a lot on their plate. Council is part-time and Administrators .... well have you ever read the FULL Council Agenda with attachments. It boggles the mind just putting that "tree killer" together. OK, you say, what is my point. My point is something our current Mayor then former Mayor told me/us back in 2005 when Countryside first came on the chopping block. He said, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" and that "they [city admin] will wear you down and wear you out as that is their full-time job". Well we know how it is to run around trying to figure out what the strategy is for the next round of Countryside (pun intended). I told someone last night that if I were a betting person, I'd say we are looking at a 5 year operating agreement out for a Request For Proposal. They will extend the lease with Meadowbrook for a few months. Of course, Meadowbrook may or may not bid on it but probably will - renewal with the Airport Commission for 5 years ... effectively Council will see this as a win and try to make us feel like WE have won. Hold your horses. Look at it politically - they get to pass the buck to probably a new or practically new future Council. No permanency in direction - will we be back at square one in five years. Will we still be here (alive and kicking)? Maybe we'll just be too old and tired to fight anymore.

Countryside Swimming Pool Now Dirt

2008-08-13T23:52:00.005-04:00

The residents of the Countryside neighborhood had been listening to the heavy equipment coaxing large chunks of concrete from the once vibrant Countryside Swim Club for a week. In its day it had brought the community together with family gatherings and childhood birthday parties. The swim club is not the only community gathering place lost to the new "urbanisim" but it is representative of the community bonds that have been broken throughout the city. What will replace Countryside Swim Club? I expect whatever goes there will have to prove to bring "revenue" to the city and "feel good" community bonding is not the priority. Though it may be an acceptable use in the long run - it will not be the Swim Club community center it once was - we must embrace "change". We don't want to be labeled "change haters". Resisting "change" insinuates you are not patriotic. If you are not willing to sacrifice your beloved piece of history to "new and shiny" you must be a "change hater". Is change always good?

Countryside Tennis Building Deterioration

2008-08-10T16:17:00.010-04:00

The Countryside tennis building is not looking so good these days. There is a possibility that the lessee will not renew his lease at such a late date. Court time is sold during the summer and I think this lessee has just about run out of patience. You can't blame him. Meadowbrook cannot lease the building due to the lease with Roanoke City still pending. Neither will Roanoke City will not lease it directly. So a "catch 22" for the current lessee. Not only that but the building is in badly need of repairs. I understand that the city building inspector will not come out to inspect it which is probably due to the City actually owning it. Meadowbrook receives the revenue from leasing it. Will this quandary ever be resolved?

Tennis Building Termites?

"Born To Be Wild" At National Night Out

2008-08-06T00:21:00.008-04:00

We had a packed pavilion at our annual National Night Out Against Crime. We ran out of plates and drinks but that did not stop us. We were "giddy" with the media coverage and Council's leaning toward leaving the golf course and us alone permanently. We may not be there yet - as The Roanoke Times editorial staff attempts to "snuff" us out of our euphoria today but nothing could hold back our hearts last night. We had a visit from Vice-Mayor Sherman Lea, Fire/EMS, and Roanoke City Police. A few vice officers arrived as those who lingered late were getting out of hand ... you know who you are - BORN TO BE WILD! Turn your speakers on:

Article located by Becky Johnson

What Came First...

2008-08-05T00:35:00.004-04:00

What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

Roanoke City Council met August 4 in an information session on Countryside at City Hall. The session began around 11:15 and lasted for about two hours. During that time the full council was briefed in depth by Brian Townsend before giving way to a question/answer time.

Much of Townsend’s briefing was geared to providing the new council members; Rosen, Price, Bowers, and Nash; and opportunity to become familiar with the history of the Countryside purchase and development plans by the City.

Much of the briefing centered on how the airport impacts the club. With a significant chunk of land leased to the city by the airport commission and with that lease due to expire in mid November, the city will need to renegotiate the lease for golf to continue. In addition, the airport commission wishes to widen the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ). To accomplish that goal, a land swap is being proposed that will swap two tracts on either side of Ranch Road for land on either side of the current RPZ. The parcels offered by the Airport Commission for the swap have been altered from the original proposal, however. No doubt Valerie will go back and tweak her now famous RPZ image to illustrate the current swap proposal. Townsend stated the reason for the change was due to the overall value of the property being taken by the airport commission not matching the value of the property the airport commission was giving to the city (at least that’s the way I understood what he was saying.)

Part of the informational briefing centered on the current state of the golf facility. Townsend informed the council that Meadowbrook currently pays $17,500 for the lease to operate the course. The annual debt service for FY 2009 is just over $470,000. Meadowbrook reported $87,500 in profit in 2005, $79,800 in 2006, and $43,200 in 2007.

Townsend also covered the short-term capital improvement needs for Countryside:

Cart Paths:

-$25,000 for paving paths near tees and greens/returning rest to grass

-$180,000 for full replacement

Irrigation System

-$100,000 for repairs

-$700,000 for full replacement

Burcham and Townsend then presented their two basic recommendations:

1. Short Term Golf Course Agreements

-Extend limited lease agreements with a management group for five years

-Finalize Land swap and Lease Extensions

-Limited capital improvements

-Identify additional redevelopment ideas (may still develop at a later date)

2. “Golf Course Stewardship” Long Term Golf Commitment

-Finalize land swap and lease renewal with Airport Commission

-RFP operation and management lease

-Feasibility Study for golf operation

-Invest in the capital improvement plan

The discussion was focused and productive. Most council members stated their support for maintaining the golf course. The real debate seemed to be centered on the airport lease. Here comes the chicken and egg part. Dr. Trinkle and Mrs. Mason were especially focused on the upcoming possible lease extension by the airport commission. The question is will the airport commission extend the lease so that the city can then commit to golf or does the city need to commit to golf so that that airport commission will extend the lease? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Mr. Nash and Dr. Trinkle also broached the subject of a permanent commitment to golf. One thing that our organization hopes to avoid is another round of development roulette five years down the road when the housing market looks sunnier. We want a firm commitment to support fully Countryside Golf Course. One way to demonstrate that is by seeking a long-term lease with the airport commission. If the airport commission were to commit to a long-term lease (ten years or longer) where the city guaranteed that the land would remain a golf course, then the airport commission could be assured of having a low-density acceptable use of the property.

Mayor Bowers made several comments that cheered us. He stated that he didn’t want this process to drag out. He wants citizens to be heard in the matter and then a firm time window of no more than a year established to iron out the details of the city’s course of action. Of course, with both the Meadowbrook lease and airport commission lease all coming due in October/November, that time table will need to be pushed up even more.

Mayor Bowers also stated that Roanokers tell him that they are “…green with envy…” over Salem’s commitment to parks and recreation facilities. He maintained that Countryside is an ideal location to develop our own recreation facility with tennis and competitive swimming components.

Court Rosen and Anita Price did a lot of listening, but Rosen did state that the city can make Countryside Golf Course are real amenity. He mentioned that thinking out of the box on how to utilize the assets of the course is important. He gave for example, the idea that memberships may be offered to employees to businesses that choose to locate in the city.

Anita Price quietly made the powerful point that the city and Meadowbrook need to be doing more to market and publicize the course. She pointed out that the visitor brochure produced by the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau does not list Countryside in the golf listings. Other public courses are listed, but not the city’s course. Several phone books serve the valley. Interestingly, if you want to look up Countryside in the yellow pages of the Verizon phone book (the largest and arguably most popular), you won’t find it listed at all. It does appear in the “Yellow Book” with an attractive quarter page ad.

Mr. Lea restated his long-standing support for the 18 hole golf course. Like the other council members, he stated a desire to meet with the airport commission.

Dr. Trinkle, in addition to his other comments, stated that he wants the city to commit to five to ten years of being good stewards of the golf course. He also wants to hear from the public about how the facility can benefit the community and schools.

Mrs. Burcham began to wind down the meeting by stressing that the staff would like to put forth an RFP for a 5-year lease to run the golf course facility. She stated that the council and staff would need to define expenses and responsibilities before entering into the lease agreement.

At that point, the discussion became a little murky and difficult to follow. We weren’t sure exactly what will be brought before the council in terms of RFP’s at future meetings. However, we believe that Council directed staff to bring an RFP proposal with at least a five year lease built in back to them. It also appeared that some council members directed the staff to negotiate with Meadowbrook for a long-term commitment; however, that negotiation may be handled through the RFP process. (The council members sat with their backs to the public and there were no microphones, so it was sometimes difficult to hear comments and read body language.)

Countryside Neighborhood Alliance had a strong showing with many of our friends present. In addition, representatives from the golf course attended.

The session produced news of an upcoming meeting with the airport commission to discuss several issues. Perhaps the lease extension and land swap will come up. This meeting will take place on September 2 at noon. We didn’t catch the location.

Overall, we were very pleased with the tone and seriousness of the discussions. The council members were civil to and respectful of the public and each other. They discussed, unrelated to Countryside, having a retreat at a local venue (most likely the city owned Apple Ridge Farm) to discuss issues and set goals and priorities. If the chickens can be hatched, Countryside Golf Course may have a bright future.

City Council to Be Briefed Monday

2008-08-03T21:33:00.003-04:00

"I think it was a mistake to even try to do something with it in the first place," Nash said. "But the city backed into a situation, whether they intended to or not, where they have a municipal course, and hopefully they can get it right this time."

~Alvin Nash quoted by Mason Adams in his Roanoke Times article August 3

The Roanoke Times ran a piece in the newspaper today. In his article Mason Adams raised three primary questions that may be batted around.

Does the council want to take another shot at development or leave it for recreation?

If the latter, then should it be used for athletic fields, passage for the Lick Run Greenway or maybe even an aquatic facility with swimming pools?

And if the council does want to stick with the 18-hole golf course, then who manages it? Meadowbrook? The city? Or should it issue a request for proposals?

Representatives of Countryside Neighborhood Alliance and Save Countryside will be on hand to monitor the discussion. We'll post a report here after the meeting.

Countryside Golf Course - The Top FIVE

2008-07-29T21:58:00.009-04:00

According to the Roanoke Times - Countryside Golf Course course was chosen "among the five best courses in Timesland anyone can play." Read the Sports article below posted with the permission of The Roanoke Times - I especially like the first sentence:

"Check this out, Roanoke City bigwigs. According to the voters here, this golf course should stay put and not be buried under some sort of development project. While the city-owned course hasn’t had enough money to keep it in A-1 condition for years, there’s little argument that Countryside has one of the best layouts in the area. It was good enough to play host to a VPGA Open in 1981, won by Bobby Wadkins. Designed by Ellis Maples, the course’s five par 3s from the tips may be second to none as a group in this area in degree of difficulty."

12th Green

Ellis Maples created a gem of a routing here, with several of the area’s best holes. In fact, [Nos.] 16, 9, and 12 may be the best par 3, 4, and 5 in Roanoke.” — Wade Whitehead, former Patrick Henry High golf coach

Roanoke Times Countryside Article

2008-07-27T19:07:00.004-04:00

An unexpected article appeared on the back page of the Sports section today. There is reason for optimism for at least 5 years. CLICK HERE to take the link to the Roanoke Times Article.

This is my shot of the 10th tee.

Countryside Women Win Team Championship

2008-07-25T16:10:00.006-04:00

Countryside placed 5 women golfers in the top 10 in the Roanoke Valley Women's Golf Association City-County championship. Congratulations to Becky Bondurant who tied for second place overall and Sara Cole who came in third along with Marilyn Bussey, MarC Milona, and Kit Davis. They received the McCorkindale team trophy. These Countryside women also hold the HOF team (Hall Of Fame) title.

These ladies are the pride of Countryside Golf Club and have been so for years. They don't get enough "kudos" so let them know we are proud of them. Marilyn and Becky can be found at the Countryside clubhouse most days.

Irrigating the 12th fairway

On another note - how about the new manager - Todd has made substantial improvements to the golf course. Let him know the next time you are up at the clubhouse. When you talk to him it does not take long to realize he really cares about the golf course. Todd has worked hard in his short amount of time here to improve the maintenance and IT SHOWS!

Roanoke City Council Meeting and Briefing Today

2008-07-21T17:07:00.016-04:00

First I'd like to correct the date the expiration of the City's lease on the airport owned land that serves as the RPZ (Runway Protection Zone) at runway 6. I pulled my copy of the lease and it is November 14th, 2008, not October 31st. October 31st is when the one year lease with the operators of Countryside Golf Course will end. Another detail is that the amount the airport receives from the City is exactly $4,731 per Jesse Hall, previous Director of Finance, email, dated January 10, 2006.

I was so glad Al Steele was able to make the meetings as this lends an extra pair of ears in case I missed anything. We both surmised how much more informative the briefings are compared to the Council meeting where votes are taken.

I mentioned the 40 year lease ending during the 2:00 PM public comments prior to the briefing as I was fairly sure that new Council members and possibly other Council members may not know or remember. This I related to the airport desiring the land swap which I have covered ad nauseum previously.

The other topics were the intersection of Valley View Blvd., Thirlane, and entrance to the airport which every citizen and deplaning visitor to Roanoke knows it to be a confusing mess. However, the City has a plan that was detailed at the briefing. The City would like to move forward with it at a cost of $2 million and hopes of some cost sharing and land from the Airport Commission. It seems the Airport Commission has other ideas so it was indicated that if the Airport Commission does not get off their duff that the City will proceed on its own.... good!

The other topic was the Valley View exchange and Hershberger exchange. This was a very complicated subject that I won't try to get into here but suffice it to say with VDOT involved, transportation funding staled, and $69 million allocated (which is not enough for both) it is a tangled web ... come to think of it all three topics are a puzzle with each piece dependent on another. If this briefing and other briefings were televised it would give citizens a chance to see what the Council and yes, even the administration is up against.

Now back to Countryside lease and land swap - an important date to discuss the land swap with the Airport Commission will be at their joint meeting scheduled for September 2nd. I don't think the lease will be discussed at that time or at least no decision would be made at the September meeting. This is dependent on the Council briefing (and their direction) on Countryside Golf Course to take place on August 4th (at about 10:00 AM in EOC basement). The results of that briefing and subsequent Council meeting will enable City Administration to formally ask for an extension of the 40 year lease for a period of 5 years. At the briefing, Ms. Burcham stated that the Airport Commission would only consider a maximum extension for 5 years. This length of time is what I anticipate a lease with Meadowbrook will be.

A point Ms. Burcham made regarding a RFP for any new operators of the golf course would absolutely require a multi-year lease. If Meadowbrook did not get the lease extended they would take their equipment (which is substantial), personnel, and any other marbles and go home. Another operator then would incur substantial investment cost to bring in THEIR equipment, hire personnel, etc., making only a long term lease financially feasible for a new operator.

Councilman Court Rosen remembered my suggestion that he get the feasibility study performed back in 2002-2003 to review before the August 4th Countryside briefing. All members of Council asked to get a copy. You remember, the one performed by The Lawrence Group (one page posted below). Hopefully, this will include the detailed drawings of the various options that were supplied as well. I still have them minus a couple that were taken by someone at one of our meetings.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

At this point the September 2nd joint meeting with the Airport Commission as well as the briefing on the morning of August 4th are very important.

Roanoke City Has Bargaining Chip

2008-07-19T16:34:00.010-04:00

Roanoke Regional Airport wants to swap Countryside Golf Course land to widen runway 6 clear zone - Roanoke City should use the expiring 40 year lease on this clear zone as a bargaining chip.

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE AT LEFT

On Monday a briefing will be held regarding the widening of the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ). This same RPZ has been leased to the various owners over the past 40 years for many of Countryside Golf Course fairways. Now the city is the owner of Countryside Golf Course and pays the Airport Commission about $4100 a year to lease the land owned by the Airport. The FAA, by the way, encourages leasing airport property for additional airport funding. Of course the land use must conform to FAA regulations. A golf course is specifically mentioned as an acceptable use of a RPZ.

The 40 year lease with the Roanoke Airport ends October 31, 2008. It must be extended for continued operation of the golf course. Though as my previous posts and past media coverage indicated that the Director of the Airport was going to recommend NOT renewing the lease to the Airport Commission back in 2005. At that time Meadowbrook owned the golf course.

Now that the plan to develop the property has been snuffed out with the housing boom bust it becomes imperative that the lease not expire.

This is an easy "tit for tat" on the part of Roanoke City Council and Administration - give us another 40 year lease extension and we will swap the land with you. ... too easy!

Planning Commission Rezones Countryside Acre Today

2008-07-17T16:01:00.004-04:00

I just returned from the Planning Commission meeting that was held today to rezone the acre for the TRANE expansion at the 2nd and 3rd fairway to light industrial from Recreational Open Space (ROS). It was a unanimous vote. I spoke concerning the proffers being removed. Most had already been considered in the city wide zoning restructure back in 2005. The General Assembly has disallowed a time frame attachment as a proffer to begin construction so that proffer is now illegal. For example, the previous proffer (condition) stated that they must begin construction in 3 years or the property would revert back to the owner as previously zoned.

Using like material for the TRANE expansion was addressed before I spoke.

My concern about the proffers regarding outside signage, outside storage, and usage of the building were explained that these conditions were now included in the new zoning structure for light industrial. The Newbern, LLC, representative from Craighead and Associates advised that the trees planted adjacent to the 2nd fairway would not be disturbed but if they were damaged during construction they would be replaced. Landscaping in front where the new building addition will primarily be built will have new landscaping. I presented color prints of pictures of the TRANE building both from GIS and the front of the building. You have seen them posted here previously.

Of course I did not expect the rezoning to be rejected by the Planning Commission. When you look at it this way - Roanoke City owns it - City Council voted to sell it - City Council appoints the Planning Commission members - Meadowbrook nor any golfer objected ... so best I can say is that my presence or lack thereof made no difference as I expected. However, it was more of a "feel good" and "we listened to you" and "we addressed" the impact on golf play and course aesthetics.

Don't get me wrong I was listened to intently and treated with respect and each item was addressed. It was just my feeling of futility that elicits some frustration on my part.

Guess who I ran into on my way out of Council Chambers? Bev Fitzpatrick and we rode the elevator together. He asked what was going on and I told him why I was there - to insure the proffers were maintained. Bev then said with some discontent - "proffers" and that "that he had never seen any proffers attached to a rezoning adhered to or enforced". That sure instilled and even greater sense of futility at this public hearing. Another note worth mentioning - the Planning Commission holds workshops where all "Requests For Comments" are discussed and by the time the public hearing comes around they have more than likely decided their vote unless they have a few questions.

On the lighter side, I finally got my peaches on the Market along with some ripe tomatoes. I also went to the store and bought some Snickers Ice Cream and chocolate syrup. Ahhhh.... nothing like food to feed futility depression!

Roanoke City To Swap Countryside Land for Airport Land

2008-07-15T00:08:00.010-04:00

RED line is widened RPZ - PINK land is to be swapped - The dotted BLACK outline is current airport-owned property. CLICK TO ENLARGE map and letter below.

We have known this for a long time and wondered when it was actually going to occur. At the July 21st City Council briefing or workshop the city-owned Countryside land to be swapped with Roanoke Regional Airport will be discussed. This is a widening of the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ) for Runway 6. It will be swapped for land mostly at Lewiston and Ranch. This vacant airport-owned land once had homes on it. These homes were demolished and owners compensated with Federal Funds in the 1980's when the airport was expanded. The PINK land will probably be slated for homes AGAIN. Maybe the previous homeowners would like to have first crack at one of these homes in the noise contour. We all know it should be something other than homes so let us hope there is "reason" out there.
.

When the RPZ is widened it will encompass at least two homes on Cheraw Lake. If I were these property owners I would be concerned with my property value. I'm just guessing that a home in a RPZ would be hard to sell. However, the Director of ROA did say they would be willing buyers if ever they decided to sell - yes, but for how much?

Did you notice the verbiage of the letter from Ms. Shuck, Director of ROA, that read - "Realizing that the golf course was interested in maintaining the lease and would most likely come to terms with us if purchase were necessary". This contradicts previous communications to the public that the 40 year lease with the owners, Meadowbrook, would terminate and not be renewed for safety reasons. CLICK HERE FOR THAT LETTER.

Do you see why there is so much distrust? This is just a smidgen.

Council Briefing On Countryside Scheduled For August 4th

2008-07-08T15:14:00.003-04:00

At the first Roanoke City Council Meeting Monday with new members of Council, Mayor Bowers directed an inquiry to the City Manager as to the status of the Countryside property. The inquiry led to disclosure of a briefing to Council scheduled for August 4th at about 10:00 AM following a meeting with the Roanoke City School Board at 9:00 AM at Addison. It will be held in the EOC room (basement) in the Municipal Building and is open to the public. Ms. Burcham advised that it will be about an hour and one half as many aspects along with immediate action issues need to be conveyed. Not the least of which is the continuation of golf course operations by "somebody" or to continue with Meadowbrook the current operators. The lease with Meadowbrook ends November 1st. Also, the 40 year lease of the Airport owned property (clear zone) where fairways reside terminates at the end of October. The Airport Authority will need to allow for continuation of the lease. If you recall the Director of the Airport informed the previous owners of Countryside (Meadowbrook who now operates it) that the Airport Commission would NOT renew the 40 year lease. At that time non renewal of the lease was used to pressure the sale of the golf course to the city. I would wager that the lease with the CITY will be renewed by the the Airport Commission.

Anyone interested in observing the briefing can attend on August 4th. Also visit Councilman Dave Trinkle's blog and his post concerning Countryside. I had a hard time following his thoughts so let us help him understand the "vision".

July 4th Fireworks Video/Music

2008-07-05T20:39:00.003-04:00

Friday evening I enjoyed great company at a friends house on 6th Street, Southeast. We gathered for food and beverage and to watch the fireworks from my friend's deck. The anticipation built, the children got "antsy" and so did I. This was going to be my first attempt at taking pictures of fireworks and I was at the ready. The neighborhood fireworks had us jumping to the deck only to be greeted with a "false start". Then it happened low into the trees at first - then soring higher. I snapped pictures fast and furious. Captured here are the best of who knows how many shots I took - I lost count. This was not as easy as I had thought especially with no tripod. So TURN YOUR SPEAKERS ON for "Stars and Stripes" music accompaniment.

Open House With Mayor Bowers

2008-07-03T17:58:00.002-04:00

Valerie and Mayor Bowers

Open house in the Mayor's office today. Everyone visiting was treated to a seat in the Mayor's chair and a picture with the Mayor Bowers. By noon there had been at least 50 people. I arrived about that time and took over taking pictures with my camera for secretary, Joyce Johnson.

Countryside Swim Club Demolition

2008-06-24T16:17:00.008-04:00

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

2008-06-19T16:53:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-18T22:42:00.005-04:00

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).

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

2008-06-14T18:22:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-10T16:10:00.012-04:00

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.

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.

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

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

2008-06-08T19:47:00.010-04:00

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

2008-06-07T13:38:00.000-04:00

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

2008-06-06T16:30:00.003-04:00

City of Alexandria Holds Public Hearing on the Electoral Process

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

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 ___

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

Business Leadership Fund PAC

2008-05-28T20:35:00.005-04:00

The Business Leadership Fund Political Action Committee is the political lobby for the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. On it's website are various plans - one of which is for Countryside indexed under "Quality of Life". CLICK HERE!

From the PAC's website:

"There's an old saying that if you're in business, you're in politics. As a taxpayer and employer, you know that local government philosophy and policy represent a significant cost to you and your customers. Decisions made in local government affect your business. Shouldn't you have a say in the process?

Finding pro-business candidates and helping them win election to local office is the best way to protect your livelihood and your investment."

CLICK HERE for more on this PAC.

Why am I bothering to post the obvious?

Answer: The Roanoke Times DataSphere (Matt Chittum) has made it a point to question where the thousands of dollars for the "Joe Smith" ad came from and just who are the Citizens for Sensible Decisions (CSD). "Who gave it? How much? What precisely did it buy?"

This titillating topic of sinister political scandal will end with a disappointing fizzle. "Joe Smith" is Wishneff. Wishneff = CSD. Money came from Wishneff, THE END.

The real funny part is Matt asking "What precisely did it buy?" Hey, maybe it bought re-erection of Victory Stadium? CLICK HERE for registration of Citizens For Sensible Stadium Decisions.

Matt, how about asking what "precisely" did the thousands of dollars from the Business Leadership Fund PAC "buy"?

Local Colors May 2008 Video

2008-05-24T12:54:00.003-04:00

The host country for Local Colors 2008 was the Philippines. Countryside Neighborhood member, Evelyn Sayers, who regularly attends our meetings and is always ready to help at our events dances in Local Colors again this year. Watch this video to the end and see our lovely neighbor.

The below video depicts the countries of Mexico, Greece, and India. You have to wait all the way to the end for the "hot" belly dancing!

Countryside Neighborhood Slide Show

2008-05-20T21:09:00.003-04:00

Great pictures thanks to Susan Hall, enjoy!

May Neighborhood Month Event A Success

2008-05-18T17:50:00.025-04:00

CLICK TO ENLARGE ANY PHOTO - Virginia Stuart and Edythe Davis (right)
Ken Saunders mans the grill with Steve Goodwin and Norma Getgood close behind.

Mr. Berry, Carolyn Word, Mac McCadden and there again is Edythe Davis.
Our Firefighters/EMS from our local Station 13 - We support you in keeping us safe!

Mayor - Elect, David Bowers pays Countryside Neighborhood a visit to the delight of all. Thank you, David, for taking the time to share your victory and thoughts for our community.

What a beautiful day for our May Neighborhood Month event at the Countryside Golf Course Pavilion. There were about 50 neighbors and friends in attendance. Thank you to Countryside's management for allowing us to have our event here again this year. Thank you also for the door prize of a free round of golf which was given to Mac McCadden for being our DJ and providing the variety of music selections for the young and ahh ... the "young again wannabes".
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The following businesses provided gifts of door prizes. Please thank them on your visit to these generous donors:

CVS at Peters Creek and Cove Rd. - $25 Gift Card

Lowe's at Rutgers - 2 Tape Measures

Home Depot - NW - A box fan

Kroger - $10 Gift Card

Holiday Inn Ordway - Weekend Stay with Breakfast

Big Lots - $20 (2 items)

Burger King - a "ton" of free menu coupons

Elite Fitness Center - 6 month free membership

WDBJ7 - 3 WDBJ7 T-Shirts

Sheetz - 10 free sandwich coupons

Flower/Gift Shop on Peters Creek - multiple gift baskets

Applebee's - $25 gift card

TGIF - Free Entre

(Let me know who/what I left off this list)

*** Hoping for more pictures by Susan Hall soon.

*** Look for Local Colors video and pictures soon.

The Roanoke Times, Laurence Hammock, Received FOI Advisory Opinion

2008-05-08T14:46:00.006-04:00

FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-08: <- Click Here for the opinion in it's entirety

AO-04-08April 18, 2008 Laurence Hammock, The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, Virginia

The staff of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is authorized to issue advisory opinions. The ensuing staff advisory opinion is based solely upon the information presented in your electronic mail of March 10, 2008 and March 26, 2008. Dear Mr. Hammock: You have asked whether a closed meeting convened by the Roanoke City Council (the Council) was held in violation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The quoted agenda item describes the purpose of the closed meeting and cites the applicable exemption, but does not identify the subject matter of the meeting. FOIA sets forth no requirements for the contents of agendas or of particular agenda items, so the fact that this agenda item fails to identify the subject is not a FOIA violation. However, it is a common practice to use the same language in an agenda as is used in the actual motion to convene a closed meeting. If the motion to convene the closed meeting was identical to the quoted agenda item, then that motion would fail to satisfy the requirement of subsection A of § 2.2-3712 to identify the subject matter of the closed meeting. A motion to convene a closed meeting must contain all three elements (subject, purpose, and citation) in order to comply with FOIA; a motion that lacks any of these elements is insufficient under the law. 5 This office has previously advised that it is best to include in the minutes all motions to convene closed meetings and the certifications thereof by quoting such motions and certifications verbatim. This practice leaves no doubt as to whether the motions were made or what were the contents of such motions and certifications. 6 While no violation is apparent here, I set forth these reminders to help guide future practices. Second, as an additional matter, note that subsection D of § 2.2-3712, concerning the certification of closed meetings, also sets forth the procedure a member of a public body should follow if he or she feels a closed meeting has been held improperly:
At the conclusion of any closed meeting, the public body holding such meeting shall immediately reconvene in an open meeting and shall take a roll call or other recorded vote to be included in the minutes of that body, certifying that to the best of each member's knowledge (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under this chapter and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the meeting by the public body. Any member of the public body who believes that there was a departure from the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii), shall so state prior to the vote, indicating the substance of the departure that, in his judgment, has taken place. The statement shall be recorded in the minutes of the public body. While minutes of this meeting were not provided and do not appear to be available on the Council's website at this time, 7 the agenda report that is available online 8 states that Council Members Dowe and Wishneff left during the closed session. Nothing is stated as to why these members left the closed meeting. Based on the facts you provided, it does not appear that any member made a statement concerning a departure from the closed meeting requirements as provided for in subsection D of § 2.2-3712. You indicated that Mr. Wishneff left in protest due to his belief that the closed meeting was being held in violation of the law. However, nothing in the available records of this meeting makes clear that his departure was a protest - the records simply state that he left. I would point out that in such a situation, members may be better advised to follow the procedure set out in FOIA.

Shine the Light on Them, Valerie!

2008-05-05T14:49:00.007-04:00

As an observer from another locale, I am continually amazed by the biting and scratching going on in front of and especially behind the scenes of Roanoke City Council.

I'm very proud that you are running on principle. Government MUST be of and by the People. No other candidate for City office can hold a candle to you. Win or lose, you are a champion, a bright light. Thank you for taking the time to run.

There Is A Fox In The Countryside Hen House

2008-04-26T00:13:00.002-04:00

The red fox that resides in a den located on Countryside Golf Course has hit the jackpot! As some of us had wondered if the resident on Cove Road that backs up to the 11th green was a-fowl (pun intended) of the city code. You see they have chickens. We discovered it was permissible to have up to 10 chickens in a certain square footage, fenced, and a certain distance from another residence. The red fox also thought this was a dandy idea and helped himself yesterday morning to one of the little clucks. Big Red was seen walking down Mattaponi with one of the chickens in his mouth as the chicken was still resisting his certain fate. Since there are nine more chickens in the hen house we are expecting to see a return visit ... about nine of them.

On another note - today sitting on the back porch with Rosanne Saunders at the 11th green to our amazement we saw "galloping" down the 10th fairway SIX (6) deer one behind the other. They must have jumped Cove Road. They sure scared the dickens out of the golfers on the 10th fairway. Newt, you better be careful Sunday as you almost literally came in contact with a wild turkey too. It's a jungle out there!

Letter To The Editor - The Roanoke Times

2008-04-24T22:51:00.002-04:00

Write about a course for Average Joe golfer
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Two times now, The Roanoke Times has written about this new, fancy golf course being built for 260 Tom and Bertha Betterthanyou's ("Golf getaway," April 17 news story, and "Uniquely exclusive," July 22 sports story). The average Joe couldn't care less about Ballyhack since he will never get to see it.
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The Roanoke Times would better serve its readers and the public if it would write about Countryside Golf Course and urge the city of Roanoke to really invest in this golf course instead of some amphitheater in a swamp.
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Countryside Golf Course would return money to the city and give the average Joe a nice place to play golf. Something for the public for a change. Those 260 elite who The Times wrote about are not even reading your paper. Their noses are stuck in The Wall Street Journal.
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WENDELL POFF
FLOYD COUNTY

*** Thank you, Wendell Poff - there is nothing that need be add to your letter!

Roanoke Times - 2008 golf guide: The area's best five courses

2008-04-20T17:02:00.005-04:00

If you have not read in the Roanoke Times - 2008 golf guide: The area's best five courses:
And a few that anyone can play. CLICK HERE FOR STORY:

Ellis Maples created a gem of a routing here, with several of the area’s best holes. In fact, [Nos.] 16, 9, and 12 may be the best par 3, 4, and 5 in Roanoke.” — Wade Whitehead, former Patrick Henry High golf coach

3. Countryside Golf Club - Check this out, Roanoke City bigwigs. According to the voters here, this golf course should stay put and not be buried under some sort of development project. While the city-owned course hasn’t had enough money to keep it in A-1 condition for years, there’s little argument that Countryside has one of the best layouts in the area. It was good enough to play host to a VPGA Open in 1981, won by Bobby Wadkins. Designed by Ellis Maples, the course’s five par 3s from the tips may be second to none as a group in this area in degree of difficulty.

Councilman Keeps Changing Countryside Support

2008-04-17T21:31:00.003-04:00

Well now, I just came from the Deyerle Court neighborhood meeting. I was late due to attending the Fraternal Order of Police meeting. There were 8 candidates including myself. It had turned into a forum. I did get to speak. My point is that our supporter Councilman Lea has somewhat changed his tune on supporting Countryside Golf Course as an 18-hole golf course named after Roy Stanley. The "tune" change was an 18-hole golf course AND development. How is that for a kick in the A$$.

April 16th - "Shine Your Light" On Mill Mountain

2008-04-14T20:23:00.002-04:00

Everyone wanting to make a gesture of remembrance come to the Mill Mountain Star at 7:45PM, Wednesday, April 16th. BRING YOUR FLASHLIGHT or other illumination and shine it into the darkness as Joe Lehman put it so well below. William Fleming Teachers and students will be present to remember Henry Lee, the 2006 William Fleming graduate who was killed that day. For some of us it is not yet behind us. CLICK HERE FOR Henry Lee's STORY from the Roanoke Times.

Part of text from Father Joe Lehman, Easter, 2008:

"As of March 18 this year, the Tuesday before Easter, I had nothing I was stuck. But that changed that evening when I sat down with that morning's Roanoke Times. On the front page of the Virginia section a tiny article announced what "The Star City" planned to do on April 6th in observance of the first anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech; namely, "to leave the mountain's 88 ft. neon star turned off".

"It's a noble and touching gesture and one we did "before when the star was briefly extinguished after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001." It's a noble and touching gesture but is it the right one. Why would we want to confront the darkness in life and mark a tragedy like that of April 16 with more darkness! Should we not flood the memorializing of that terrible day with light ... with lots of bright, healing and comforting light! Should not "The Star City" instead of darkening its signature sign ... its brand, also light tiny stars in memory of those who lost lives that day but whose shining lights could not/can never be extinguished!

I think back to what the students did on the drill field the night of the shooting and on the nights that followed. They lit candles. They were silently present to each other. Someone broke the silence with an unrehearsed "Amazing Grace" which quickly spread, as tears were shed and dried and as fears were shared. I remember, too, what our valley did at Victory Stadium the night of September 12, 2001 with the great help and blessing of the city, under the leadership of the Roanoke Valley (interfaith) Ministers Conference.

We gathered to proclaim the scriptures - Psalm 27, to be exact., "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear". We prayed our goodbyes ..... We also lit candles ... passing the light - scattering the darkness of the night and the darkness in each other's lives ... "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness"..... We confront the darkness with light. We break the silence with and by our presence.

Joe Lehman is Pastor of Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church.

Countryside Sliced Off By One Acre

2008-04-07T22:46:00.003-04:00

It seems like such a small slice but I still say it jeopardizes the 2nd and 3rd fairways. No plan did we see - at least Mr. Nash grilled the Meadowbrook management and viewed the stakes placed on the boundaries. But in the end, the vote was 7-0 (unanimous) to sell the acre to Newbern, LLC, for $55,000. My request to have the $55,000 earmarked for the much needed improvements went unheeded. I gave it all I had but you know when a business "threatens" to move out of the City panic sets in on City Council and nothing else matters. We want the $55,000!

Sale Of Acre Of Countryside - Monday Council Meeting

2008-04-04T10:46:00.004-04:00

This is the first indication of the size of the TRANE expansion. Contacting Brian Townsend last week he said there were no plans submitted as requested by Council. Needless to say I will be at the meeting. My question is HOW can anyone say if it interferes with play or not with NO plan available to view. Meadowbrook wants to keep the lease and make the City happy so they can keep operating the golf course reaping the nice profit for themselves. So the fact that they are not objecting is clear. They don't care what happens to the golf course in the future because THEY DON'T OWN IT anymore. Let us see if Council's request to view the plans is honored and IF NOT will they just go with the flow of the business need and risk this city-owned asset's future operation as a viable golf course. The City nor Council has committed to the golf course. This sale should be tabled until COUNCIL GOES TO VIEW the property. The stakes have been in place for many months and not one Council member has bothered to check the property. This is a test for the new Councilman Alvin Nash - a golfer and advocate for Countryside Golf Course. Let us see if he falls to the majority on this. It will tell us allot about his previous letter to Council asking to save the golf course and for the city to reap the profits.

AGENDA ITEM 8 - a:

Newbern Properties, LLC has expressed an interest to purchase a 1.05 Acre Tract of City-owned land identified as Tax Map #6472302 located at Countryside Golf Course in order to accommodate a 13,000 to 14,000 square foot expansion of the Trane Distribution Center. The offer of $55,000 equals the value of the property determined by an independent appraisal conducted by the City. Upon consultation with the golf course manager, Meadowbrook Colf, it has been determined that the conveyance of this 1.05 acre tract will have no adverse impact on course operations.

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Recommended Action:
Authorize the City Manager to execute such further action as may be necessary to accomplish the above matter, including execution of a deed and to complete the sale of the property to Newbern Properties, LLC. All such documents are to be approved as to form by the City Attorney.

Alvin Nash For Countryside

2008-03-31T18:05:00.002-04:00

What a pleasant surprise. Mr. Nash, a golfer, and member of Countryside Golf Association. He had written a letter to Council last year expressing the reasons for keeping the golf course. Woohoo, is all I can say and we'll hold him to it. Whoa is the Editorial Board - is their endorsement the "kiss of death" these days. Will the citizens wise up on May 6th and make up their own minds?

Rubert Cutler Wants Countryside Developed

2008-03-28T18:46:00.004-04:00

The Roanoke Times Editorial Board has spoken. Dr. Rupert Cutler is their choice. This is the same man who made fun of the Countryside residents in Northwest when he was on Council. He and Fitzpatrick joked about us "seeing all kinds of flying things" out here at the airport. We would see birds and airplanes and we would all be happy, ignorant citizens. We pleaded for the wildlife here. He is a preservationist when it is convenient for his agenda. All hail to the Editorial Board - I will be kneeling before them on April 17th to receive the blessing from these gods. I know you all have seen the movie "A Christmas Story". The part where Ralphie is hanging on to the top of the sliding board making his plea for the Red Rider Rifle "triple action" something or other like that. Santa Claus put his foot on Ralphie's head and sends him down the slide saying "you'll shoot your eye out, kid"! Well I fully expect the Editorial Board to put their foot on my "head" or some other part of my anatomy and say "no hope for you - oh ye commoner unworthy of our endorsement". Well let the people have the last laugh for a change ... show them and VOTE on May 6th.

Check my signs going up and a sample at my GARNER FOR COUNCIL BLOG.

From The Deputy Director Of Finance - Countryside Property Mortgage

2008-03-22T15:21:00.006-04:00

The next "Interest Only" payment in June on the mortgage of the Countryside Golf Course Property will bring interest paid to date to well over 1/2 million dollars. The total financed was $3,975,000 dollars for 15 years at 6.25%.

This is the email response from the Roanoke City Finance Department:

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 3:23 PM
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Mrs. Garner,
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My apologies for taking a few days to respond. We are in daily budget meetings, so things are a tad busy. The answers (A) to your questions (Q) are as follows:
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Q - Can you please confirm that the same financing is in place with the now named Carter Bank & Trust that you communicated to me previously.
A - Yes, that is correct. Previously, it was First National Exchange Bank.
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Q - What is the payment amount - I believe you indicated it was every 6 months and not monthly.
A - Payments are made semi-annually. Interest is paid in both June and December, while principal reductions are made annually in December. Principal payments are $265,000 per year, and interest payments decline as the principal balance is reduced. The bonds will be paid off in December 2020. The principal balance is currently $3,445,000.
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Q - What is the interest paid to date. Where is the payment coming from -the General Fund?
A - Interest to date totals $470,651. Debt payments are funded from the City's General Fund which is consistent with all general government projects.We trust these responses will provide you the information you need. If you have other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us again.
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Thank you,
Ann Shawver
CPA Deputy Director of Finance City of Roanoke

"Sunshine Week" - March 16th - 22nd

2008-03-16T12:20:00.002-04:00

I was informed by the Roanoke Times Editorial Board that since I am now a candidate for Roanoke City Council that I would have to state so in any blogging on editorials or commentary. I did bog today and they did publish it. I may continue this on the issues I passionately support.

CLICK HERE for my blog entry on "Freedom Of Information".

Go to GARNER FOR COUNCIL on more complete comments.

Listen To The "Electro Krats"

2008-03-15T20:29:00.002-04:00

A promise kept at the St. Patrick's Day parade today. A video of Roy Bedwell singing "Ring Of Fire" at the Roanoke City Democratic Committee Christmas Party in December. 2007. CLICK HERE AND TURN YOUR SPEAKERS ON.

"In The News" Video Clip

2008-03-13T21:50:00.002-04:00

See the clip and read about how the media can put words in your mouth.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE VIDEO about me and the Roanoke City Council elections in May.

Letter to the Editor Favoring Countryside As A Municipal Golf Course

2008-03-06T22:37:00.004-05:00

Today's Letter to the Editor in The Roanoke Times:

Municipal golf course is a better investment

The Feb. 19 commentary by Valerie Garner "Chipping away at Countryside" exposed the narrow-minded approach of Roanoke city government and city council members to the valuable asset and potential of the Countryside Golf Course.

The city should not turn a blind eye to this potential cash cow for Roanoke and the future generations that could enjoy one of the last green refuges in a sea of expanding industrial development and asphalt. The city's plan for a real estate development with $400,000-plus homes is unrealistic now with the ever-mounting inventory of homes on the market and the mortgage industry going belly up.

Why not look north at the Baltimore solution adopted more than 20 years ago? The Baltimore Municipal Golf Corp. began in 1985 with a loan of $500,000 from the city and since invested more than $6.5 million in capital improvements to the five city courses and donated more than $4 million to city youth programs. The courses are great and readily accessible to the general public.

As you enter the Shenandoah Valley into Roanoke off Interstate 81 onto Interstate 581, let there be an attractive municipal Countryside Golf Course available to all.

JOHN W. SMITH
BOONES MILL

Today I Announced For City Council

2008-03-03T12:17:00.009-05:00

Barely recovering from the flu with a voice not quite sounding like me I forged ahead with my scheduled 10:00 AM announcement today. Go to the Garner For Council blog and read the text and see the nice setup my friend "Cutty" Edwards had for me at the Holiday Inn. I felt like Hillary Clinton standing up there, "my friends".

Very nice of Brian Townsend to email me this morning regarding the agenda item scheduled for vote today. I noticed that the agenda item was identified more accurately as I objected to at the February 19th Public Hearing where the acre was identified only as "vacant city-owned property". Today's agenda carried the wording as "vacant city-owned property" located at Countryside Golf Course. The acre to be sold to Newbern, LLC:

7:27 AM - Ms. Garner...given that we will not have 2 City Council members at our meeting today, the City Council will not act on the matter related to the conveyance of the 1+- acre of property at Countryside to Newbern Properties. As you might recall from the last City Council meeting, state law is very specific about how many councilpersons are required to vote on the conveyance of public property. I am not sure what date the Council will move this item to at this time. However, I wanted to let you know this in case you were planning to come to the meeting today at 2pm.

Brian Townsend

Assistant City Manager for Community Development

JUST IN from Brian Townsend at 3:00 PM:

Ms. Garner...today at its meeting, the City Council tabled the matter regarding the Conveyance of 1.05 acres of the Countryside Golf Course to Newbern Properties until their April 7th meeting at 2pm.

PS: I swear it seems like that stake gets closer to Frontage Road every time I go by it. As I took yet my 100th picture of the stake I met "Ernie" of "Ernie's" downtown and he said he has been asking Mayor Harris regularly: "What are you going to do with Countryside Golf Course?" It seems Ernie has been a member of Countryside "forever". He thanked us all for working so hard to keep it. As I expected Ernie did not know what the stakes were for and is really concerned about it now. Ernie wants to buy me lunch so you betcha I'll be visiting Ernie's real soon.

Garner For Council Blog

2008-02-26T21:15:00.003-05:00

Click "Garner For Council" here or at right to direct to my candidate blog. Announcement on Monday, March 3rd, 10:00 AM, Holiday Inn Frontage Rd. (former Clarion).

"Trifecta" This Past Tuesday

2008-02-25T20:50:00.007-05:00

(1) Early Roanoke City Independent candidate announcement - (2) My Roanoke Times Commentary - (3) Roanoke City Council Meeting.

Quite by accident (another story in itself) the Roanoke Times "Announces Me". However, I was just beginning the process of gathering petition signatures. It all snowballed from the prior day attending a "draft Bowers" event.

So there it was on Tuesday I announced ... really? I did not read further as I rushed to the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., monument. Someone said to me, "the press must like you". I gave them a puzzled look. Later I was told by another that my commentary was on the editorial page as well. Holy smokes - I put that in 2 weeks ago. The editorial board saved it for the day Countryside Neighborhood would attend the 7:00 PM Council Meeting where a public hearing was schedule on the 1 acre to be sold to Newbern, LLC. I could tell they saved it for that very day because when I wrote it I had "Feb. 19th" which they changed to say "today". CLICK HERE FOR COMMENTARY.

It goes to show you there IS a wall between news and the editorial board. This was a coincidence. Now then I had to go to Council that evening a bit uneasy with these two events. However, the Council Meeting went well and they seemed to be paying more attention to us now. They were unable to vote on the sale of publicly owned property with only 5 members in attendance. Monday, March 3rd, they will give it another shot. Councilman Lea was dismayed at the maintenance needed as the VP of Operations for Meadowbrook wrote. I gave each member of Council a copy of the VP's letter to Economic Deveopment. I also gave them copies of the map telling them that without knowing what is going to be built on the acre - there is no certainty that it will not interfere with play. They agreed so at the March 3rd, 2:00 PM meeting the plans for the Trane building expansion should be available for Council members.

Good news this evening - it looks like sprucing up the golf course is moving ahead. The city is cleaning up the pool area and demolishing the pool building. That will be sad for my community members who grew up using this pool. It was a community center and partially covered at one time. When I first moved here it was still operating. There is no saving any of it.

There is also the promise of even more maintenance being applied to the golf course itself. No promise regarding the irrigation system or golf paths however. We should hear more in the coming months.

Video - Unveiling Ceremony of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Monument

2008-02-21T00:13:00.004-05:00

I had quite a bit of video and tried to capture a little bit of everything that transpired that day. I hope you enjoy the clip.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Unveiling Ceremony

2008-02-20T20:12:00.036-05:00

Here are a few pictures from Tuesday. It was bitter cold but I would not have missed it for the world. I am working on video that better reflects the "warmth" of the day.
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LEFT: Mayor Harris and Councilwoman Mason - Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson, President Emeritus SCLC in red scarf.

CLICK TO ENLARGE ANY PICTURE.

LEFT: Jeff Artis, President of the SCLC, Roanoke Chapter.

BOTTOM LEFT: Jeff Artis with grandson and Valerie Garner.

ABOVE: What everyone came to see - the picture speaks for itself.

Important Posts for Tuesday, Feb. 19th, 7:00 PM, Roanoke City Council Meeting

2008-02-17T17:40:00.003-05:00

A good view of the acre to be sold:
CLICK HERE: Selling Off A "Slice" of Countryside!

Emergency maintenance needed per Meadowbrook VP of Operations:
CLICK HERE: Letter from Meadowbrook, VP of Operations in Florida to Roanoke City Economic Development.

Another map of the fairway 3 Squeeze:
CLICK HERE: This Property to Newbern, LLC, is NOT Vacant!