THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 11, 1996 TAG: 9609110505
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 54 lines
Many Hampton Roads residents may not appreciate the regional progress this area has made. But outsiders say Hampton Roads has earned a reputation for it.
``That's the perception from those outside - the Hampton Roads approach to regionalism,'' said Leslie Macdonald, vice president of marketing for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.
About 75 people from the Greenville, S.C., region completed a three-day visit Tuesday designed to learn more about regionalism in Hampton Roads. Members of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce have visited 10 other communities on similar trips.
The group came here to study Hampton Roads' regional approach to government, planning and infrastructure, economic development, marketing and chamber cooperation. Hampton Roads has a reputation for making inroads in all those areas, said Greenville's Macdonald,who has helped coordinate previous chamber trips.
After meeting community representatives through a series of seminars and panel discussions, the Greenville delegation shared its observations.
``We've found some of the regional things have worked,'' said R. Charles Eldridge, senior vice president of Wachovia Bank. ``Some have problems.''
One problem is the lack of water for the booming communities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake as well as the political sparring between Virginia Beach and Norfolk.
``I think it's a lack of communication in some cases,'' said Spartanburg Mayor James Talley.
The visitors commended efforts by cities in Hampton Roads to cooperate. But they also spotted familiar shortcomings, such as the lack of clearly outlined duties after the consolidation of the chambers of commerce in South Hampton Roads, economic development and public funding for areawide projects such as transportation.
``It's good to hear how other communities were approaching the issues of regionalism,'' said Bill Painter, chairman of the board of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. ``We're confronting some of the same challenges.''
Similar in size to Hampton Roads, the Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan area boasts about 900,000 residents, Macdonald said. And like Hampton Roads, it is struggling with growth.
Interstate 85, the main thoroughfare connecting Greenville and Spartanburg, needs improvement. The cities in the Greenville area have looked into cooperative efforts between business and local governments.
South Carolina chamber members said they wanted to emulate the structure of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and Southeastern Public Service Authority. They also liked the region's joint marketing.
``The most important thing we've learned has been that people are willing to work together to make a change,'' Spartanburg's Talley said. ``They're not afraid to try new and innovative ways to get the programs together. From all we've heard, the citizenry has been very supportive.''
KEYWORDS: REGIONALISM by CNB