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

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.

Action Taken on Countryside Golf Course

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.

City Attorney Explains FOIA To Council

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.

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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.

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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.

Countryside Petition Had 1,290 Signatures

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.

Another Update: Court Rosen Wants Countryside Sold

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.

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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.

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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".

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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%.

Lobbying For Countryside Golf Club

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.

What Came First...

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

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-$180,000 for full replacement

Irrigation System

-$100,000 for repairs

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-$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

"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.

Roanoke City Council Meeting and Briefing Today

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

Council Briefing On Countryside Scheduled For August 4th

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.

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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".

Councilman Dave Trinkle's Website

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

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

Countryside Sliced Off By One Acre

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

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.

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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.

Today I Announced For City Council

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".

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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:

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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.

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Brian Townsend

Assistant City Manager for Community Development

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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.

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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.

"Trifecta" This Past Tuesday

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

UPDATE: Selling Off A "Slice" of Countryside!!!

UPDATE: Today Brian Townsend, Roanoke City Asst. Manager, assured me that the Enterprise Zone boundary amendment on Agenda Item C-3 does NOT include the 1 acre proposed for sale to Newbern Properties.

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URGENT: All golfers and neighbors take note of the public hearing on February 19th, 7:00 PM, in Council Chambers at the Municipal Building, 4th floor. Let your voice be heard - STOP the slicing off of this PUBLIC golf course. I hope my suspicion is not founded that the second item "boundary amendments" to Enterprise Zone One A and Zone Two is not part of this. The Enterprise Zone is colored in PINK above. Trane is IN the Enterprise Zone!

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AGENDA ITEMS:

C-2 A communication from the City Manager requesting that Council schedule a public hearing for Tuesday, February 19, 2008, at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, to consider the sale of a vacant City-owned tract of land to Newbern Properties, LLC, for the expansion of a heating and air conditioning company.

C-3 A communication from the City Manager requesting that Council schedule a public hearing for Tuesday, February 19, 2008, at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, to consider boundary amendments to Enterprise Zone One A and Zone Two.

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How do you like "vacant property" as the description - nothing about it being Countryside Golf Course. Trying to hide it ... SECRECY .... SECRECY .... SECRECY. Let's see if they contact me to let me know.

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AND in C-3 - is this a trick to get this SLICE of Countryside into the Enterprise Zone on the same night so they don't have to go through zoning? They said there would be two hearings.

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I'll find out tomorrow and post it here as an update. Stay tuned.

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There is no plan to show us what will be there. The zoning as explained to me will allow building right ON the property line. This is very, very bad. We must go to Council Meeting February 19th and let our voices be heard loud and clear.

Councilman Fitzpatrick's Thoughts on the Countryside Property

"I am happy to respond and appreciate the opportunity to let you and your neighborhood know my thoughts. As you know, the city got interested in the land when we found it was for sale as we have so little land left in the city. One of the largest issues facing us is the fact that as an Independent city, we have so few ways to find revenue to pay for citizen services compared to cities like us in the other 49 states.

Virginia is the only state that has separate local governments where we do not have joint services mandated by state statute. That means that our costs are higher in so many ways than they would be if we were part of the normal city/county structure found in the other states. If we were like Charlotte or Greensboro, once the population density of an area gets to a certain level, that area is automatically annexed into those city's boundaries. That leads to new sources of revenue, new land for growth and a positive way to move that community ahead. There is a very good balance that comes with that kind of policy. The General Assembly of Virginia has so far chosen not to deal with this central issue. If it does not change, taxes for our citizens in the city will eventually have to rise to unfair rates for our citizens because we will have no new options for growth with no land to develop. That is the real reason Council got so interested in the availability of Countryside as we see this coming and no state changes that will help us out of a very tough financial situation in the making.

Since we have so little land, City Council wants to make sure we develop the acreage we have left with good, solid, planned development that can add to the value of any current neighborhoods( like Countryside) in any of the very few areas where we can grow and increase our tax base accordingly as we try to provide the services all citizens need. With the highest per capita age of residents in Virginia we are not in an enviable position and see our annual costs for public safety and EMS along with many other services going up and up with no long term way to find any solution.

The land at Countryside is a valuable asset to Roanoke and we do not want to see any project that would devalue current property or be developed in a way that is not good for the city or you and your neighbors. What we may have to see, however is some kind of effort to use that land wisely. My background is in Economic Development and I have worked on every kind of project you can imagine and to me, land is the basic value of a city and we all have an obligation to manage its development so it is done well. As a person with years in the field of economic development I expected a lot when we asked for a proposed plan for Countryside. At the time it was announced, I know of no one who liked it including me. It was not what we need knowing the potential of your area and its vitality to Roanoke. It clearly did not take into consideration many of the issues that your group brought to the table.

I have not taken a position at this time on Countryside as there is no active plan on the table. I know there are many who want to keep the golf course open and if someone comes up with a plan that would make improvements so it would be a quality course, and can show us it will make a good investment of taxpayers money, I have no problem supporting the concept. Just as I did on the other plan process, I would support as much communication as we can allow when dealing with a private sector developer and as many meetings as necessary with residents of the area. One thing I know about is that the best developers in the country, will run if their names get used to quickly and publicity is made public before financing and contacts with involved parties can take place. The other thing that is most clear is that any plan has to be more detailed and public than that by any private land owner because, we (the city) as the owners, will not do something that will adversely affect the area. If this had been bought by a private owner, there would be very little we could to to affect development as long as they followed the city's comprehensive plan. It is a good thing that we purchased the property as that will always protect you and your neighbors interest's more thoroughly.

No one on Council wants to see Countryside changed so much that it is only a commercially developed area. That is not what is best for Roanoke or your neighborhood. What is needed is some kind of plan done with the residents involvement, both parties being realistic about accepting some change and seeing what commitments can be made by the city with funding it gets from the right kind of new development.

I drive by the new Biomed area each day on my way to work and it is amazing to see what is happening there. It will be a great job producer, one that we have needed for a very long time and with it will come the need for more housing, condos, retail, entertainment and athletic venues. It is not what it used to be, it is not really nor will it likely be a neighborhood, but it will impact every neighborhood in the city and even the Valley. It could even be the genesis of some new ideas you and your neighbors may have about residential growth at Countryside.

I have never taken a position on a potential project until I understand all I can about it. I will do the same with Countryside when and if we have a plan to consider. Committing up front, politically or otherwise, is not what we need in our leadership today. We need to have a valid, neighborhood sensitive, good for the city plan to review and so far, I see none in the pipeline.

What I will promise you, your neighbors and all citizens of Roanoke, is to do my best to make the best decisions I can based on the facts and what I think will be in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Roanoke whenever a proposal or project like this comes to our attention. That is what I have always done and it has worked well for me as I try to be fully informed before making decisions that affect the city, its future and most importantly, its citizens.

Since I was 10 years old Roanoke has been the thing in my life most important except family. My goal as a teenager with my first driver's license was to drive on every street in the city. I did that and it was amazing to see all the different parts of Roanoke and how this wonderful city fits together. My roots are in NW with my parents both growing up there so that was one of the areas of the city I knew early on. With annexation came an entirely new city and lots of new territory to learn!

The greatest honor one can have is to be elected to represent citizens. I take it unusually seriously as I am the oldest person on Council and remember so much of our history, both bad and good. It is a great place to live and work but we have some very large issues that will affect everyone in the city if we do not make good choices. As my dad told me before I left Roanoke to go to Ferrum Junior College, "there is something no one can take away from you but you can give it away in 30 seconds. That is your integrity." I live by that quote and always have and it has stood the test of time. I hope I can always do that until the day I am no longer here. The Judge was a very insightful person and taught me a lot that has made me a better person.

Thanks for the chance to respond to your request. Let me know whenever I can be of help to you or your neighbors. Bev"

Councilman Lea's Position On Countryside

Here is word for word Councilman Sherman Lea's response to my request for his position on the Countryside Golf Course Property:
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"Before I comment directly on Countryside, let me state that during the campaign season all citizens will have to separate the two R’s. They are record and rhetoric. I stand on my record of nearly four years of committed service to all of the citizens of Roanoke. I have adamantly, clearly and without hesitation stood with and for the citizens of the Countryside neighborhood.

I recall the first neighborhood meeting with Councilman Brian Wishneff, at that time City Planner Brian Townsend and myself at which Councilman Wishneff and myself advised all those in attendance that we would do everything we could to see that members of the neighborhood be involved in the development process of Countryside. My position has not changed. I, again, stand on my record of supporting Countryside and my clear position that the 18-hole golf course be maintained and that representatives from the community be included on the committee to oversee any development that will take place in this neighborhood.

I have and continue to stress as a public servant and I emphasize the word “servant” that we as a governing body listen to citizens. I have not only visited with members of the community in their homes, but attended cookouts to let everyone know that my word is my bond. I want to continue to be that voice for the citizens on Roanoke City Council. Therefore, I am respectfully asking each and every citizen in the community for your support and vote in the upcoming Democratic Primary Election in February and then, hopefully, on to the May election where I would hope to be elected to serve you for four more years. I hope that through my work with the citizens during the last four years you feel that you can depend on me to speak out to voice your concerns. As many of you recall, I pushed through the Planning Commission and Council the renaming the golf course The Roy Stanley Golf Course. That effort was successful as all of the Planning Commission except one voted to approve the name change. I feel that there is a majority vote on Council to also support this change. However, I have placed that name change in abeyance because I advised the family I did not want that to become a “political football”. I still have expectations that this will take place within the next twelve to eighteen months.
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Again, I urge all citizens to just look at the record of where I stood on all issues during my tenure on Council. Please refer my to web page at ShermanLea.com, click on my announcement of candidacy speech and read it in its entirety. Also, I urge you to look at the multimedia reports that will share with you some of my thoughts on Countryside and other issues that affect you on a daily basis. Thank you for your support in the past and I appreciate and respectfully ask you for your continued support as I seek re-election to Roanoke City Council. As I said in my candidacy speech, this is your city and you have honored me the last four years to work on your behalf and I can sincerely say that I have done that to the best of my ability. Again, please support the re-election of Sherman P. Lea to Roanoke City Council."

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Thank you Councilman Lea for taking the time to respond.

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I will be asking all the candidates when they announce for Roanoke City Council or Mayor their position on the future of the Countryside Golf Course Property. Mr. Rich Cranwell will formally announce his candidacy on January 12th and will respond after his announcement. Any candidate who does not respond will be duly noted. Even a negative response will be better than no response at all. No response is as good as saying "I don't care about you".

Looking Back 25 Years - Countryside Golf Course

"Roanoke City Council has taken an option on Countryside Golf Course as part of a deal for purchase of 14 parcels from the same owners for airport use." - 1982 - The Roanoke Times by Belinda Harris

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This is the same property where homes were purchased and then demolished using "eminent domain" for airport expansion in the mid 1980's. Now the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission wants to swap this same land for other land in order to widen the Runway 6 Runway Protection Zone (see the map above and CLICK ON THE MAP TO ENLARGE).

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This property with homes then demolished in 1982 in anticipation of future airport expansion is now available for development. So put houses up where the City once tore them down then - say in another 20-25 years - tear these homes down for Runway 6 extension. This should be a warning to anyone who would purchase a home constructed on that plot of land or any other home built near this runway. The plot of land is located at Lewiston and Ranch in Northwest City and for now it is owned by the Roanoke Airport Commission.

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Tear 'em down - put 'em up ... then tear 'em down again.

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Roanoke City Vision 2020? The City's 20-20 vision is short-sighted to put it kindly.

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Any future prospect for lengthening Runway 6 across I-581 is now too costly per Ms. Shuck, the Director of Roanoke Regional Airport. Mr. Brian Townsend, Roanoke City Assistant Manager for Community Development, concurs and said it will never happen.

This property is the same property being marketed to developers in the recent Request For Proposal (which is still online CLICK HERE) to develop Countryside Golf Course into mixed-use high density housing, including retail and commercial uses. What was unacceptably too noisy and too close to the airport is now acceptable and safe for allowing Roanoke citizens to sink money into homes there.... again.

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Is this what prompted a member of the business community to contact me today regarding adding airport expansion as another reason not to develop Countryside Golf Course ... or was it a coincidence.

Roanoke County Supervisor Takes a Poke at The City

“They [Roanoke City] would not even return our phone calls” said Richard C. Flora, Roanoke County Board of Supervisors - Hollins District.

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At the December 18th Roanoke County Board of Supervisors Meeting, Richard C. Flora, Hollins District, took an overlooked poignant jab at Roanoke City Administration and Government. Mr. Flora inadvertently made it clear that regional cooperation was not shared by Roanoke City. If anyone ever thought that it was the failing of other jurisdictions that Roanoke City could not get any cooperation I am here to tell you this is not the case. Mr. Flora’s comments pulled the cover back on what we don’t get from media coverage.

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The agenda item at the Board meeting was a rezoning of property from “transitional” to C-2 in Roanoke County. The property is located on Hershberger Road at Oakland Boulevard near Friendship Manor. The use was to be for an extended stay hotel. This property adjoins Roanoke City property zoned R-1 residential and if you are familiar with Oakland Boulevard you know it is a very attractive residential community.

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The citizens of this Roanoke City residential community spoke at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting against the hotel and they were treated with the utmost respect. Not only that - their FACE WAS SHOWN AT THE PODIUM FROM THE FRONT ON RVTV.

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The Board of Supervisor’s agreed and voted “NO” unanimously against the extended stay hotel.

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This is exactly what Board Member, Richard Flora, stated in his remarks: “I have been reminded that they [Roanoke City citizens] don’t vote for me but they are our neighbor”.

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Mr. Flora continued, “ the [Roanoke] City matter regarding the bus garage on the airport site … they [Roanoke City Administration] would not even return our phone calls and I don’t want to be put in the same category as that … so for that very reason we want to make sure that we listen to even our neighbors in other jurisdictions.”

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I was stunned - not only were Roanoke City citizens treated with respect and listened to intently while speaking at the Roanoke County Board Meeting but they were shown from the front - yes, their actual face was shown when speaking from the podium. This being in sharp contrast to Roanoke City Council meetings where the City’s own citizens are disrespected … much of the time not even being afforded the courtesy of looking at the speaker at the podium. Sometimes they even get up and leave during “Hearings on Public Matters”. Other times the Mayor and Council members look down at their desk shuffling papers totally ignoring the citizen at the podium - they twirl in their chairs, make side “chuckles“ with other Council members and generally give the impression they could care less about what a Roanoke citizen has to say - Unless you are an attorney, a business representative, or someone who is running for City Council that the majority supports - like at the last City Council meeting on Dec. 17th where Bill Bestpitch appeared after being invisible since he was voted off Council. If that was not the most obvious campaign speech at a Council meeting I have ever heard. He was pictured “full frontal” and had unlimited minutes and went on and on and on - Mayor Harris gushed and Fitzpatrick spoke up to even give the ARB more time (6 months) rather than the 60 days asked for by Bestpitch to save a Marshall Ave. home from condemnation and demolition. They have had many, many, years to address this. Campaigning at City Council is not allowed at Council meetings but of course we know the exceptions … like Valley Forward. If they like you, if you have connections, if you have money, if, if, …. If not then let’s spin in our chairs, shuffle our papers, and look amused.

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I recall a Roanoke City Council meeting some time ago where a County resident addressed City Council on a Commercial Business expansion where their home had been damaged. Their home bordered Roanoke City where the Commercial Business was situated. The County resident was told that there was nothing they could do and advised them to join a neighborhood group, huh? Where was the regional cooperation for this County resident and the same respect that the County showed the City citizens? What a stark contrast and eye-opener this has been for those of us who don’t know better in how your local government respects the citizens that elected them.

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The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors treats Roanoke City residents with more respect then our own Council does…. Gees, how depressing. I ask you Roanoke City citizens who are not represented on City Council, why are you so apathetic?