ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607240044
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
In January 1995, Roanoke's elected and appointed leaders huddled with a leading public administration guru in a small conference room in Charlottesville.
Individually, they took psychological tests, trying to figure out what made one another tick. They talked about what they liked and disliked about Roanoke, and where they wanted to take the city.
From time to time since then, those talks have continued in one-and two-day miniretreats, first at Roanoke Regional Airport, and later at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.
Like the January 1995 retreat, the sessions have been led by Bob Matson, who heads the University of Virginia's Center for Public Service.
Now, scores of hours and thousands of dollars in travel and conference expenses later, city leaders have come up with a "vision" they believe is suitable for Roanoke's future. And they're getting ready to take it public.
A draft vision statement will be on City Council's agenda for review during its Aug.5 meeting. Absent any major last-minute glitches, the final wording will be adopted at its meeting Aug.19. The city then will seek input from residents.
By design, say those involved in crafting it, the draft vision statement is hardly specific. It begins: "Roanoke, 'The Star City,' appreciating its past and planning for a shining future, will provide a superior quality of life through educational, economic and cultural opportunities for all people who live, work and visit here."
What follows are four subdivisions, grouped under the headings Effective Government; Economy; Education and Quality of Life.
"They're pretty generalized statements," said Vice Mayor Linda Wyatt, who has probably been the major force on council behind the visioning process. "What we're talking about is more ethereal, almost - a set of lofty ideals. What we're after from the citizens is, 'What does that language mean specifically in terms of moving Roanoke to the future?' That's where citizens have the capacity to have their buy-in, to say, this is how we see things for our city."
Council will take those specific ideas, she said, and hand them over to the city administration. Ideally, it will come up with a set of goals and objectives - considering budget restraints - that will guide Roanoke's future for years to come.
The visioning idea is not new to the region. The New Century Council engaged in a similar process, as did Roanoke County government more than a year ago. The difference it will make in Roanoke, Wyatt said, is that residents will have a yardstick by which to judge the city's progress.
"This is a set of measurable goals and objectives for this city that have never been there before," said Wyatt, who saw the visioning process work wonders when she served on the Board of Directors for the National Education Association. "For years, we've operated on a cycle from yearly budget to budget. This is long-range planning. It's an accountability factor that we've never had before."
Of course, all that planning takes money. The three-day retreat in Charlottesville, for instance, cost taxpayers $3,126. City officials were unable on short notice to calculate the remaining charges, which include conference room rentals at Hotel Roanoke and Matson's travel expenses. Matson himself has never submitted a bill for his consulting.
Not everyone on council buys completely into the "vision thing." During the most recent miniretreat at the Conference Center of Roanoke July19, some new members seemed a little frustrated that coming up with the vision statement took more than 18 months.
"There comes a point in time where we have to say, 'we are through crafting a vision statement,''' Councilman Nelson Harris said, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice. "I mean, we are through looking up words in the thesaurus or dictionary. ... Otherwise, it kind of goes on an on."
Councilman Jim Trout agreed, suggesting that they finish work on the statement and stick it in a drawer.
"I think we need to take this elevator to another floor," Trout chimed in. "And put this statement in the file cabinet and move on to this $250 million capital-improvement plan."
Trout later explained that he didn't mean the statement ought to be ignored, just that the city should stop visioning and begin producing results.
"The difference between dreamers and builders is, builders get up in the morning and go to work," he explained. "Dreamers have a habit of being dreamers."
Others wondered how council will incorporate the specifics it's likely to hear from residents.
"To a large degree, those participants represent special interests, they are activists in that sense," Mayor David Bowers said. "How do we represent the little old lady in the gingham dress?"
And to some extent, Roanokers have already heard what they will hear about visioning in the coming months. That's because some of the language in the current draft sounds remarkably like wording published in a 1985 document the city produced titled "Roanoke Vision: a Comprehensive Development Plan for Roanoke, Virginia 1985-2005."
For instance, that document says, "Roanoke and its downtown should serve as a dynamic center for the region." Part of the new document reads, "Roanoke, with its vibrant downtown, will be a dynamic, diverse regional center of commerce and tourism."
The 1985 vision says: "Roanoke should be a city of neighborhoods. The preservation and enhancement of the city's existing neighborhood fabric - its attractive homes, tree-lined streets, neighborhood commercial sites and local employment sites - should be maintained."
The current draft reads, "We will be a diverse, urban community of stable, safe, caring and friendly neighborhoods."
"I never saw that, OK?" Wyatt responded. "But if the last time we had a vision that anybody could be held to is 1985, that's 11 years ago. I would hope we would revisit this more than once every 10 years. I would think those goals and objectives would be revisited every year at budget time, and those goals that are completed marked off, and new ones added."
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