ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 18, 1996 TAG: 9606180064
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
EAT YOUR heart out, Seattle. Newsweek magazine may have recently declared you the city that all America seems to want to move to, but that was before Roanoke won its fifth All America City Award in Fort Worth, Texas, this past weekend.
For sure now, they must be sleepless in Seattle - worrying that un-grunged Roanoke is poised to surpass the Emerald City as the hippest, happeningest address.
Possibly they're jittery in Cleveland, too - Cleveland being the only other city in the nation ever to ace the creme de la creme of community awards five times.
Roanoke officials are, of course, taking the national attention in humble stride. No gloating for the TV cameras, no vainglorious, untoward demonstrations of municipal arrogance - if you don't count ordering that the Mill Mountain Star glow All-American red, white and blue throughout the summer.
Mayor David Bowers, declaring himself "speechless," went on to suggest that ``the honor, glory and credit for this award goes to the citizens of Roanoke, who have a tradition of working together to solve problems." He is right.
The National Civic League's coveted award recognizes, above all, residents' involvement in problem-solving efforts by local governments. That involvement was evident enough in the three projects Roanoke cited in its entry for this year's competition:
* Restoration of the landmark Hotel Roanoke and construction of an adjacent conference center - with the help of an unprecedented public-private partnership and millions of dollars raised in the community.
* The old Jefferson High School building's escape from the wrecking ball and its transformation into a community arts and cultural center.
* The Roanoke Valley Trash Transfer Station - a project that turned hard-sell solid-waste disposal to neighborhood-renewal advantage.
We know Roanoke is special, but it doesn't hurt to win outside notice of this occasionally - and winning it five times is extraordinary. Our congratulations thus extended, we need to mention a couple of minor qualifications.
First: The pride shouldn't stop at the city's boundaries. Residents from throughout the Roanoke Valley contributed, after all, to the hotel and Jefferson Center projects. While other governments were less helpful, the projects clearly have valleywide benefits.
In 1979, which Roanoke city counts as the second time it was named an ``All America City,'' the award in fact was shared by Roanoke County, Salem and Vinton - the four jurisdictions having jointly entered the contest under the Roanoke Valley banner. It would be well to keep in mind that many of the challenges facing the valley could be better met if that ``tradition of working together to solve problems'' were more regionally established.
Second: True citizen participation remains as often a goal or appearance as a reality in city decisionmaking. The point of such participation should be to have it meaningfully affect the outcome. Roanoke is doing far better than most in this regard, as the All America City award attests. But the city shouldn't rest on its laurels.
The best way to sustain the glow from the award would be to build on the community wisdom that it recognizes. There's no shortage of problems susceptible to creative, regional solutions developed with broad public input. For the residents of Roanoke and the valley, such problem-solving is its own reward.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB