2004 State of the City
Mayor C. Nelson Harris
STATE OF THE CITY 2004
September 14, 2004
Clarion Hotel
[Note: The State of the City Address will be cablecast on RVTV-3
on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 29, 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.]
Good morning, members of City Council, city administration, the Regional Chamber of Commerce, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens.
It’s always an honor to come before our business, civic, educational and governmental leaders to talk about something we all care so deeply for – and that’s the City of Roanoke.
This is a prime opportunity for those who contribute their time, talents and resources to the city to gather together, to hear about our shared successes and give careful consideration to the challenges ahead – I thank you for being here.
As the Mayor of Roanoke, it is my honor to represent our city in a variety of ways and to work with a dedicated, tireless City Council. Please join me now in congratulating them for their service.
But for every one of us fortunate enough to be in this room today, there are hundreds of others in our city who, like us, give their all each day to make Roanoke the finest city in America. So instead of applauding just a few, today, let's salute the many, the great citizens of Roanoke, Virginia.
Roanoke: An-Award Winning Year
Our country and our citizens have faced a challenging year of local and regional concerns, a statewide budget crisis, national economic uncertainty, and ongoing global threats. Despite these challenges, Roanoke has remained committed to finding innovative ways to conduct our business and remain focused on our priorities.
Our ability to move ahead in areas important to our community’s health and prosperity has much to do with the exceptional leadership each of you provides.
That has been increasingly evident with the national recognition our city continues to achieve.
- Partners for Livable Communities, a national, nonprofit organization, this year chose Roanoke as one of “America’s Most Livable Cities” for 2004.
- This year Roanoke was ranked Number One in the nation for e-government for the third year in a row by the Center for Digital Government, the only city to do so.
- Our City Manager Darlene Burcham, was named one of the nation’s top “Doers, Dreamers and Drivers” by Government Technology magazine. It is a testament to her hard work and the strength of our city administration as a whole that continue to shape the state of our city.
The City’s Financial Condition
Our service delivery and financial condition - with a $211.7 million general fund budget for 2005 – has remained remarkably strong. The city adopted this year’s balanced budget without adjusting tax rates or making significant reductions in service levels.
The General Fund revenue estimate will grow 3.5 percent this year, providing additional funding for schools and other priority expenditure items. The city is gaining $5.8 million in new revenue this year thanks to a 4 percent growth in our tax base.
In this past year, the City has issued more than $80 million in refunding bonds, which will save us nearly $5.4 million between now and 2024. And overall we are saving taxpayers millions of dollars in interest over future years thanks to refinanced bonds.
With this sound financial foundation Roanoke is primed to continue supporting several major projects and developments across the city in the upcoming year such as new Fire-EMS facilities, Phase II of our Police Building downtown, the Riverside Center for Research and Technology, Patrick Henry High School, expansion and renovations at the Civic Center and the Downtown West Parking Garage.
Roanoke’s economic development is continuing to be a driving factor in our city’s growth. This year will bring new construction by Carilion on property in the redevelopment area as well as continued development in the city’s Enterprise Zones. We are utilizing open warehouse space on Norfolk Avenue as flexible business lease space. Right now there is only 1,500 square feet remaining thanks to three recent new leases. Clearly, businesses know that opportunities are on the rise in Roanoke.
Our city’s balanced budget and council’s goals to support growth, as well as our neighborhoods, schools, infrastructure and economy – and our ongoing move to embrace technology and new ways of doing business – are clear signs that this year will be every bit as great as the one just ended. With the success of this past year and with an ambitious vision for Roanoke’s future growth, we can continue to move forward together as a community.
Our Commitment to Education
In this year’s budget we were able to designate 25 percent – or $52 million - to Roanoke City Schools with the strong belief in the importance of excellence in education.
The state of our schools is perhaps one of the most important issues in our community with good reason, and we are fully committed to work with the School administration to help our public schools achieve their goals. But we cannot overlook the great work already being accomplished.
Right now:
- 15 schools are fully accredited.
- The 2004 graduating class – more than 650 seniors – earned more than $2 million in scholarship money.
- Eight of 10 candidates at William Fleming earned the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma this year.
- Roanoke City Public Schools employs 19 Nationally Board Certified Teachers, the highest teaching credential.
And those are just some of the many wonderful achievements this year. Looking ahead, our schools also have a vision of creating an incomparable education environment for students of all grade levels and in every school in the system.
This year the school system will continue its five-year capital improvement plan, which calls for improvements to Fallon Park and Westside elementary schools, new air conditioning at Monterey and Raleigh Court elementary schools as well as permanent additions to other schools. The new Roanoke Academy of Math and Science will open this winter, bringing a state-of-the art facility to Northwest Roanoke. In addition, three new classrooms will open in January at Crystal Spring.
As I mentioned earlier, the construction on the new $46.75 million Patrick Henry High School already is underway and is scheduled to be completed in 2007. As many of you already know, this is much more than just a new school building. The new PH is a 330,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility designed to accommodate 1,750 students. It represents a key addition to both our school system and the city.
Over the next few years you will see the new three-story building taking shape. It will include a new gymnasium, high-tech library-media center, a cyber cafe and auditorium, and four separate “learning communities” with self-contained laboratories, workrooms, and administrative spaces. Safety and security will be increased as well.
Safety in all of our schools will continue to be enhanced throughout the system this year as a result of recommendations from the Safety Task Force which has brought forth a number of new safety initiatives already beginning to take shape. $1.5 million will be allocated to safety and security with new security cameras, prevention programs at all levels, and additional guidance, discipline and security personnel.
Roanoke’s commitment to enhancing instruction and student performance has led to the hiring of additional full-time staff and athletics trainers, more technology staff, increased support and more funding for preschool programs. This year Roanoke City Schools will provide 23 preschool programs for 648 children, 146 more than last year.
Regional Cooperation
The state of our great city has a direct effect on the region. After years of uncertainty, followed by careful planning we were able to celebrate together the creation of the Western Virginia Water Authority, which is a remarkable development in the history of the Roanoke Valley and the Commonwealth of Virginia. By combining the resources of the city and the county we are proving to our citizens that we can cooperate in a way that benefits everyone.
For many years, some thought that there was no conceivable way that the City of Roanoke and Roanoke County could agree to work successfully together. We are proving that regional cooperation – that being the key word – can work.
We will continue to build on the momentum from the Water Authority to seek out new ways to cooperate and, again, discover how we as governments and businesses can collaborate to deliver the best services to our citizens. In that spirit, we have the ongoing operation of the Roanoke’s Regional Fire-EMS Training Center, the joint manning of the Clearbrook Station and the new combined regional Police driving range. We are now looking at additional opportunities to consolidate Fire and EMS services.
Cooperation extends to the more recent discussions and planning for a regional library system that would combine the city and county resources to serve the residents of the Roanoke Valley and of those who visit here. We are finally experiencing the positive results from working together. The services and impact of a regional library system is something that would greatly benefit our citizens and students for countless years.
We also have looked beyond the Roanoke Valley and expanded our regional cooperation with the New River Valley with the new Smart Way bus system, connecting Roanoke with Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. We also have the Maroon Express Bus, linking Roanoke College to the Valley View Mall area. A new transportation service connecting Roanoke to Franklin Co., Rocky Mount and Ferrum College is on the horizon. Again, these are new ways to look at the resources we have and then provide the very best services to our citizens.
These are prime examples of regional successes in just the past year. They would not have been successful without the support of our residents or you, our business community. And we are continuing to call on you for that support.
As many of you know, several of us – as a regional contingent – traveled to the Dulles headquarters of Independence Air to convince them that the Roanoke region was a perfect place to expand their operations. It should go without saying that a low-cost air carrier would be a tremendous benefit to our entire region. Those Independence officials asked us whether our business community would support them if they chose to move into the Roanoke Regional Airport. Without hesitation or doubt all of us around that table said “yes.”
I ask you – as they did us – how much are business travelers willing to pay for round-trip airfares? Would you continue to support Independence Air if they were to set up shop here? And are you – each of you – willing to commit to helping them not only survive, but thrive, in Roanoke? I throw these questions out not just as rhetoric but as serious questions for you each to consider.
Could they give us a final decision then and there? No. But I truly believe Roanoke caught their attention, again, because of the vision and dedication to working together.
The State of Our Neighborhoods
Last week City Council agreed to move ahead with plans to renovate the First Street/Martin Luther King Bridge and memorial, a project that’s important to Roanoke’s past, present and future. It is symbolic as well of our desire to build on our city’s history with a strong vision for what’s ahead.
I believe that the state of our neighborhoods shows that we are continuing to make them safe, attractive and clean. We are seeing the results of commitment to improving the quality of life for our residents in all areas of the city. The Department of Housing and Neighborhood Services has been leading the way. For example, they helped to shape the award-winning Southeast…By Design” pilot project, which has transformed the Southeast area. They are also leading the development of a Housing Strategic Plan to increase the housing opportunities for a variety of needs and income levels.
Yet another truly exciting development is the launch this fall of the Cradle To Cradle – or C2C – International Housing Design Competition, which will bring in architects from around the world to design and build high-quality homes in the city. This C2C Competition will give Roanoke an opportunity to partner with the design and construction industries to construct 30 high-quality, environmentally friendly, affordable, and market-rate housing throughout our neighborhoods. The housing competition clearly shows how Roanoke is a leader in our region while moving into the international spotlight. We will be able to showcase our Star City in a whole new way while innovative homes are being constructed here. It is a unique opportunity, and Roanoke is going to shine.
These achievements are just some of the hallmarks of a city that cares for its neighborhoods and housing stock. In addition, both City Council and City administration have committed over several years to fund the improvement and upkeep of our housing as well as our infrastructure. For several budget cycles, including this current year, we have fulfilled that promise to citizens, and I believe we are seeing daily, vivid results throughout the city with better curbs, gutters, sidewalks, streets, and paving. Look at the new traffic calming measures and improved landscape of Williamson Road, as well as ongoing similar roadwork in the Bullitt-Jamison corridor and you will see a city being transformed.
We’re making our neighborhood streetscapes more attractive in areas such as the Grandin Road Project, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. And we are continuing to work with VDOT and our city engineers to substantially improve traffic conditions at the Elm Avenue-581 interchange as well as throughout the city, along our interstate ramps and heavily traveled streets. Specific plans also are in place to improve traffic conditions near the intersection of Valley View Boulevard and the Towne Square Shopping Center – one of the busiest roadways in Roanoke. While it is certainly encouraging to know that is a popular area of town, we are making decisions and listening to you to make these streets safer, cleaner and better overall.
Citizen and business input continues to shape the creation of the new Zoning Ordinance which is slated to be adopted by the end of this year. Seven neighborhood plans covering 11 neighborhoods have already been adopted, and all of the remaining neighborhood plans are scheduled to be completed by July 2005.
Municipal Services
Libraries
We also are continuing to strengthen our neighborhood resources with improvements to our parks, recreation centers and greenway system. In the next few months we’re putting more public access computers into our libraries and 10,000 electronic e-books to our library web catalog. In addition to the regional library discussions, Roanoke is looking at how to make our libraries better with the ongoing comprehensive library study. With the study we want to determine what the future library system will look like and what it would take to elevate the level of service. We’re doing this for our citizens, with their input.
Technology
For the past several years Roanoke has been a leader in our region and in the nation with the strides we have made to be a city that embraces new developments with technology. The expansion of the downtown WiFi zone announced last Friday, which doubled in coverage area, and the installation of wireless kiosks in the Market Building, have been key components to making sure our citizens have more opportunities to be connected.
With that in mind, our technology staff is providing new ways for our citizens to access the Internet and our Geographic Information System. This new “community portal” will allow residents and visitors to look up neighborhoods in Roanoke and find useful information such as schools, bus routes, parks and places of worship.
Roanoke is dedicated to finding new ways to meet citizens’ needs. We have done that recently with the consolidation our Social Services offices, the implementation of the Municipal Volunteer Service, improving our employee development programs, using minority and women-owned small businesses for renovations to the Bankruptcy Court and Fire Station #1 – which earned the APWA National Award for Project of the Year, and hosting the first regional Building New Partnerships Conference.
From our front line employees to senior administration, Roanoke employees have rededicated themselves to continue enhancing the services to our citizens. By this time in a year, we all will be able to celebrate even greater success with:
- The completion of first stage of the Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project
- The repair of historic Mason’s Mill
- The continued renovation, expansion and new entertainment choices at the Civic Center
Public Safety
The creation of the Street Crimes Unit and the regional Police driving range this past year have been just two more examples of how our police department continues to garner national and state recognition and why Roanoke continues to be a safe city.
The Roanoke Police Department has a mission to find even more ways to combat crime and ease citizens’ concerns with new programs such as the Geographic Policing Initiative. The department is beginning to phase in this version of community policing, giving citizens the personalized service they want and deserve, while enhancing officers’ ability to provide fast and effective service.
The department also is embracing technology by implementing upgrades to the Criminal Intelligence Unit and with paperless reporting, allowing for more efficient ways to catch criminals and solve crime. The Mobile Command Unit will partner the department with the Fire-EMS Department to better manage critical incidents and disasters.
Fire-EMS also has identified ways to branch out by forming the new Swift Water Rescue Team, which will be called to duty when emergencies develop from flooding, such as rising flood waters or people trapped in vehicles caught in flood waters.
I must also note that Roanoke’s Fire-EMS was selected to receive the Governor’s 2003 Virginia Fire Services Award for Excellence in Virginia Fire Service Management, and the number of working structure fires continues to drop, thanks in part to successful inspections, code enforcement programs and public education programs. Again, these are clear indications of the positive state of Roanoke.
What Lies Ahead
These are just a few of the highlights from this past year and but a glimpse of what lies in the year ahead. What is even more exciting to me as mayor and as a resident of this city is realizing that even more great things will continue to develop within our neighborhoods, our downtown, inside our office buildings and schools.
Throughout this past year you have seen the new Roanoke brand image, the mountain shape, the colors representing the union of urban landscape, neighborhoods and the Blue Ridge Mountains, with our beloved star in the middle of the image.
Another important part of this image: the rays emanating from that star. Those rays are meant to symbolize the soaring spirit of optimism within our city. Although Roanoke has its faults, challenges, and naysayers, I truly believe that we are a city continuing to soar. That optimism and determination by each of you and your families, co-workers and neighbors are part of what makes this a city with unlimited possibilities.
I believe that Roanoke is the thriving heart of this region and is positioned to do even greater in this next year and the years ahead. We will continue to develop from that historic railroad working class town to a digital center of commerce and education.
Your enthusiasm and your support for Roanoke makes it a high honor to serve with my friends and colleagues on this City Council, and I thank each and every one of you for all you are doing as we build a brighter future for ourselves and for our children.
God bless you, and God bless Roanoke. Thank you.
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