Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 8, 1993 TAG: 9301080263
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BOWERS: GOVERNMENTS OUTDATED
If the Roanoke Valley is to grow and compete in the global economy, the fragmented local government structure must be ended, Roanoke Mayor David Bowers said Thursday night.Bowers stopped short of advocating a renewed effort to consolidate the localities, but he implied that merger would stimulate economic growth.
Bowers, long a consolidation supporter, said valley residents - particularly those in Roanoke County, where consolidation was handily defeated in 1969 and 1990 - must decide whether they will permit an outdated governmental structure to shackle the valley economy.
Bowers said there is a link between the governmental system and the recent bad economic news, including the layoffs of hundreds of workers in the valley.
Reacting to Wednesday night's speech by Norfolk Southern Corp. Chairman David Goode urging valley leaders to look beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, Bowers said the valley should heed the advice.
"[Goode] was like a prophet looking down from the mountain. His job was to tell us what we need to do," Bowers said.
Now it's up to the valley to decide how it should be done, he said.
Speaking to the Williamson Road Action Forum, Bowers said the valley lacks the "tools and means" to compete globally with its current governmental setup.
The Roanoke Valley can't compete effectively with Charlotte, N.C., and other Southeastern cities if it doesn't make changes, he said.
"Our local governments are not adequate to meet the demands of the 1990s," he said. "You'e got to have something else if you want to grow and expand."
He reminded the audience that he supported consolidation when it was rejected two years ago by county voters by more than a 2-1 margin. Roanoke voters approved it by nearly the same margin.
"We should have consolidated when we had the chance," he said. "I'm still for it."
Amid the gloomy economic news and Goode's stern message, Bowers called on county residents to voice their ideas for unifying the valley and looking beyond the mountains to foster economic growth.
If county residents still oppose consolidation, he said, it would be a waste of time to try again. But perhaps there are alternatives, he said.
Bowers said he sees little cooperation on major issues, such as the Hotel Roanoke project, the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and construction of industrial shell buildings.
Roanoke is the only locality trying to keep the Roanoke Valley Rampage hockey team in the valley, he said.
Bowers told the audience that the valley can become a major tourist center if the Hotel Roanoke can be reopened and other attractions are upgraded.