Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 8, 1994                   TAG: 9403080121
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROANOKE MAY APPLY FOR GRANT $3 MILLION WOULD AID INNER CITY

Called the Urban Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Communities Program, it is the centerpiece of the Clinton administration's community revitalization agenda, John Marlles, chief of community planning, told council members Monday.

The program will provide $3 million to each of 65 selected localities, which will also be eligible for new Tax Exempt Facility Bonds for certain private business activities and will receive special consideration when competing for funding under other federal programs, Marlles said.

To compete, localities must develop plans that include an overall vision for revitalization of the target areas. The plan must involve participation by citizens, local and state agencies, private businesses and nonprofit organizations.

"I would like to think that Roanoke is in a very competitive position," said Marlles, when council members asked about the city's chances.

"Some of that commitment is already in this area," he said, referring to existing programs such as the Roanoke Neighborhood Partnership.

The city would have to provide professional services to help the community planning group move forward, City Manager Bob Herbert said. Some money for those services may be available through Community Development Block Grants, he said.

Targeted Roanoke neighborhoods would include Gainsboro, Gilmer, Loudon/Melrose, portions of Melrose/Rugby and Hurt Park, Marlles said.

If council chooses to compete, Roanoke would go up against localities both out of state and in Virginia, including Richmond and Newport News, Herbert said.

A complete program report will be presented to council next Monday. Plans must be submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development by June 30.

In other business, council approved rate increases in its contract with Appalachian Power Co. The increases range from 1.5 to 5 percent over a three-year period.

Councilman John Edwards handed out copies of a letter to the editor that appeared in the Roanoke Times & World-News last week, urging that all electrical power lines be buried.

Edwards suggested that the city urge the same. But Councilman William White questioned whether the city had a clear role in the buried-line issue.

Indirectly, the city's role is in asking about viable alternatives, Herbert said.

"Directly, I'm not sure we would have any role. But as a representative of the community, the question is worth asking."