Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 13, 1990 TAG: 9004131102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
At a campaign forum sponsored by Downtown Roanoke Inc., all the candidates said they consider downtown to be vital to the city's economic health and promised to work to continue revitalization if they are elected.
It was the first time the organization had sponsored a forum for candidates, but it hopes to arrange similar meetings in future council elections. Most candidates voiced strong support for a convention center that is estimated to cost $25 million to $30 million, but few got into details about how it would be financed.
Councilman Howard Musser, a Democrat, said the state should help pay for it, but he doubts that the General Assembly will provide any substantial amount of money. "I feel the city will have to bear the burden for most of the cost," he said.
Musser said he thought the city should have been more aggressive in the past in seeking downtown housing. He recalled that after he was elected in 1982, he told then-City Manager Bern Ewert that he thought the city should have first sought housing in the downtown renewal effort.
"If you have people living in downtown, you help create a demand for other things," Musser said.
William White, a Democrat, said he thinks the city needs to provide the public facilities that will encourage private developers to build downtown housing.
White supports the idea of the city's becoming a dues-paying member of Downtown Roanoke Inc., but he said he would want to be sure that the city had enough money for basic services before he committed himself.
Council should be willing to meet with business leaders to discuss their concerns and develop a public-private partnership on some issues, White said.
Councilman James Trout, a Democrat running as an independent, said a convention center is "a cornerstone and absolutely essential" to revitalization.
If voters approve the consolidation of Roanoke and Roanoke County, Trout said, the merged government may be able to use revenue from the meals tax to help pay for a center.
Republican Roland Macher said the city needs an expanded convention and tourism bureau to help attract more conventions and tourists. Roanoke is not spending enough money on advertisements and other promotional materials to promote tourism, he said.
"I question where we have been in the past 10 years," he said, adding that similar-sized cities such as Asheville, N.C., spend more than $1 million on such promotion. Roanoke spends only $218,000, and not all of that is earmarked for advertising and promotion.
Macher said the city needs to develop more free or low-cost parking. Because parking rates are so high, he said, some businesses have to subsidize parking for their employees.
"To have successful neighborhoods, you must have a successful downtown," said James Harvey, a Democrat and former councilman.
Harvey said he supports plans for the proposed Dominion Tower and a convention center, although he thought that a better site for the center would have been the block on Campbell Avenue east of the City Market building. Consultants have recommended that the center be built on the site of the old Norfolk Southern office buildings north of the railroad tracks.
Harvey praised property owners and merchants for their willingness to pay higher real estate taxes to help finance renewal. Property owners pay an additional 10-cent real estate tax.
The Rev. Cecil McClanahan, an independent candidate, said he supports the proposed Henry Street revival project.
by CNB