City Council - Regular Meeting

on China, which is a huge part of our imports. And our inflation at the time was about 2.7%. By the time we got to the next year, we had escalated tariffs on China. Inflation was down to like 1.7%. So it's just not one-to-one. And when you look at the Biden administration, their inflation peaked at like 10% in 2022. And at that point, they hadn't changed tariffs at all, up or down.

So he argues that tariffs aren't driving inflation. He says the money supply, the Iran war, things like health care, education are driving inflation.

So this idea that tariffs are driving inflation is crazy to me. I mean, there are a million factors that go into inflation. Most importantly, money supply and now some of the inflation we're feeling is from Iran. And the other inflation we're feeling, it's not so much on goods, it's on services. Things like education, healthcare, and insurance. I mean, things that were democratic policies for a generation have driven prices up.

But that doesn't negate what many economists argue, which is that tariffs more recently have also added to prices on goods. And so I pushed him on that. But if you listen to the Fed, I mean, the Fed does talk frequently about how tariffs have raised inflation for goods. The New York Fed had a study showing that consumers bore the brunt of the tariffs. There was another Fed study that showed that tariffs were responsible for all of the extra inflation that we've seen in core goods.

Well, I mean, if you look at the Fed studies over years, their whole shtick was we need to import as much as possible. We need to be as efficient as possible because that's going to help American workers. And then it was just false. So the Fed and the various reserve banks and their economists, they are the ones that led us down this path to begin with. So they don't have a lot of credibility in my eyes. Just look at the actual data. If you're telling me prices are going up, Look at the inflation data. The inflation is not coming from goods, right? It's coming mostly from services, again, putting energy aside. So it's just that that is a narrative that they're only supporting by their theories. They're not looking retrospectively at the best data.

But even if he doesn't believe that tariffs are driving inflation, does he get that many Americans may be blaming tariffs for inflation and that that is probably testing their patience right now, just given how much affordability and the cost of living are on people's minds? I asked him about that.

A recent NYT poll put President Trump's approval rating at 37% with voters expressing concerns about his handling of the economy, cost of living, the war with Iran. And recent polls have also indicated that the majority of Americans are against tariffs, connect them to the increased cost of living. Do you worry that your tariff policy has been too aggressive and that the kind of pendulum of public opinion has swung back against the administration?

So I don't think it's been too aggressive. Again, I look at this in the long span of history of decades of a bad trade policy that we're now changing. We know people have concerns about the cost of living. We all do. No one wants to be dismissive of that. We've made huge progress on that in the Trump administration. We have a lot of core staples. You know, when you look at dairy products and eggs and cheese and flour, all these things, prices have gone down for those. The trade policy is really about wages and protecting manufacturing and agricultural production. And I think that the American people are going to see this over time. I mean, again, we've had huge tariffs on China since 2018. We've had tariffs on steel and aluminum since 2018. We're making more steel in America than Japan is making now. I mean, this is a huge turnaround. So there's a lot of success there, and we've made a lot of progress in the administration, but there's certainly more work to do.

Are you worried that if Americans don't see faster results, they'll start to lose faith in this vision of reshoring and the shift in trade, increasing real wages? I don't think they will.

Over the past year, I speak to financial services companies, the American consumer has been really resilient and robust. And so you have some polls that are consumer sentiment, and then you have some hard data that shows what our consumer is actually doing. And the American consumer is quite robust. So we're confident that that will continue. You know, I can't account for the 40% of voters who are just inclined to disagree with whatever policy president does because they don't like the president. They don't agree with him to vote for him. So I kind of take that. And then you have, you know, folks in the middle who are in their pocketbook. They want to see what's happening. I'm confident that, you know, this policy will continue to deliver for Americans as wages go up, factories come back. I mean, we're seeing it now. I think it's really valuable to the American people.

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President Trump gave a big speech about election fraud on Thursday. Networks were so what's the opposite of excited about it that most of them didn't even run it. Not even CNN or MSNOW, Fox News did. So that's where I watch it. Sean Hannity, you've changed. Anyway, what he said and perhaps more importantly, why he said it on the next Today Explained.

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This is The Daily. I'm Natalie Kitroweth. Back to my conversation with Ana Swanson about why the Trump administration is doubling down with the new round of tariffs. OK, I want to step back, Ana, and ask a bigger question that I think has been on a lot of people's minds since Trump trade war version two began, which is. This trade war seems to have gone from being mainly about China to being a war on everyone. And if weakening China is still the primary goal here, doesn't that scorched earth approach undermine China? that purpose? Wouldn't it make more sense for the U.S. to align with all of its allies and focus on containing China rather than risk alienating all of our friends and going it alone against China?

So this is one of the most common criticisms I hear of the policy. And I think that's a very real argument that the Trump administration has alienated partners that they could be working with on the trade issues that really matter for the world, like All of the excess goods that are coming out of China, huge Chinese exports that are putting a lot of pressure on American manufacturers. So why are we putting so many tariffs on Canada and Europe rather than countries like China? But Greer's answer here is really interesting.

So our role as policymakers is to do right by the American citizen. We need to take measures frequently unilateral because the rest of the world is all discombobulated and has different interests than we do. We have to take measures to protect our economy, to protect our industrial base, to protect our agricultural production, to protect our factories and farms and families and the people who work there. That's how I see it. I hear people sometimes say, oh, well, you know, America should just get together with the rest of the West. Everyone should gang up and force China to change. Like, that is not our policy. We're not really about going out and changing the world. We're trying to change the terms of trade. So it does mean to the extent we have to take measures in other countries, we will. But it's less that we're anti any particular country and more we're just pro-America.

And that has been a common criticism. You know, the Trump administration is going very hard against traditional allies, Canada, Europe, and maybe even with China kind of getting into a situation where the U.S. is kind of more aggressive in some instances against traditional allies than it would be against traditional rivals. You know, how do you think about that?

Yeah, so again, this is not a foreign policy shop. This is an economic shop here. And so when I look at someone like the European Union that blocks American agricultural goods for specious, non-scientific reasons, that's a problem. Friend or foe, that's an issue. And I'm not going to say, well... If you guys agree to say nice things about us publicly and say that we're great partners, I will look past all of this like I have for the past 30 years. Like, that's not what President Trump was elected to do. It's not what I was appointed to do.

So he thinks that traditional trading partners have also taken advantage of the U.S. The U.S. has given them a pass for a long time. That didn't really work. So the administration is really intentionally putting pressure on the whole world. The other reality is that the Trump administration did try to go up against China, and that really backfired for them. So when Trump imposed high tariffs on China last year, the Chinese threatened to cut off rare earth exports, which would have crippled a lot of U.S. factories. So the U.S. found that they were pretty limited in their ability to actually confront China.

I live in the real world. So you kind of get these model human types who are like, well, you know, let's all get together. We'll have a meeting and a summit. We'll have these working groups. And by the end of the day, we'll all gang up on China. I mean, the reality is if Europe or someone else has a problem with China, then they can take measures with China and negotiate with China. I mean, I'm not going to give a concession to some other country to do something they should do anyway. A lot of countries in this era of enormous imbalances and non-market practices, they will find, like the United States, that's in their interest to take measures. Now, I think there are some instances where it doesn't have to be unilateral. I just find that countries like those in Europe, they tend to be very slow to move. They tend to be very bureaucratic. They feel more bound by international legal norms than we do. So if we were waiting for the Europeans to agree or the Canadians to agree or anybody else, we'd still be waiting while all this stuff was being offshored.

And what grade would you give yourself on trade policy and achieving your goals?

Oh, well, listen, nobody is perfect. And I always see things that I can do better. And in retrospect, maybe we could have done this, could have done that. But, I mean, we have an A. I mean, when you look at, you know, the past 70 years and really in the past 30 years where we saw all the offshoring, that was disastrous. We lost money. 5 million manufacturing jobs, 70,000 factories, and China became the world's largest supplier and manufacturer, that is a problem. And continuing that policy in the face of those results, a crazy person would do that. So we had to change that. And this is a lot of success in a given year. Are there things we could do better? Of course. Are we going to continue to refine this? Yeah, we are. But I would give us an A.

We talked a lot thus far about how Greer assesses himself and the policies that he's helped orchestrate. If we're evaluating the cost benefit of this Trump tariff regime, how should we assess?

So I do think tariffs have helped some businesses that are trying to compete with cheap products from abroad. But they have also been a huge drag on others. Many businesses now owe a big tariff bill to the government or they have to pay more for their materials because of tariffs. Consumers are paying more. There are also geopolitical costs to think about to U.S. alliances, maybe political costs for Republicans in the upcoming election. But what's also true is that this administration has fundamentally changed the conversation on trade. They did key into some serious criticisms that people have had for a long time about trade and how the past approach, this kind of unquestioning devotion to trade and globalization, had not worked for a lot of Americans. There's this backlash now against their tariffs. But when you're thinking about what comes next, this is a lot for a subsequent administration to try to undo. So some of these changes could be a very lasting legacy for the Trump administration.

You're saying that it may actually end up being really hard for any administration that follows this one, even if it is a Democratic administration, to roll these tariffs back.

Yeah, I think it would be very difficult to undo them completely. There have been so many different kinds of tariffs on so many different things, just a lot of complex changes in policy across dozens of industries. You see companies start to reorganize their supply chains. Other countries have started to reshape the way that they trade with the United States and other countries because of these tariffs. And in the U.S., the politics of undoing the tariffs, too, could be pretty complicated. In the Biden administration, we saw that they debated undoing Trump's China tariffs and decided to just keep them. Now, of course, these tariffs in Trump's second term are much more extensive. They're much more global. It's a different situation. But I think what a future administration might find is a similar conundrum. It's just difficult politics to undo these tariffs. So the net effect might be that the Trump administration really has reordered the global economy for good.

Well, Anna, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me. Anna Swanson covers global trade for The New York Times.

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Good evening, everyone, and welcome to our 7 o'clock p.m. session of the Roanoke City Council. On July 20th, 2026, I'm going to invite our clerk. I had to look over and see who was with us this evening. Ms. McCoy, to please call the roll.

All right. Mr. Hagan.

Here.

Ms. Sanchez-Jones. Here. Vice Mayor McGuire.

Here.

Mr. Nash.

Here.

Mr. Vollison.

Here.

Ms. Powers. Here. And Mayor Kopp.

Here. And we are all present. Thank you. It's my honor tonight to welcome the Reverend James Hamm, pastor of Back to Life Church, to offer our invocation, and then I'll lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Would you please stand?

Let us pray. Eternal and all-wise God, we thank you for allowing us to be here tonight, God. Lord, we ask you just to look upon this council, our mayor, the city council members, and all those who are present. God, we invoke your presence in this place. We ask for peace and understanding. We just thank you for all that you've done and all that you're going to do. Continue to bless this city. Continue to make it great. And we thank you for all that you've done and all that you're going to continue to do. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

I invite Councilman Hagan to certify our closed meeting.

Thank you, Mayor. I move with respect to any closed meeting just concluded that each member of City Council in attendance certified to the best of his or her knowledge that, one, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and two, only such public business matters as were identified in any motion by which any closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed, or considered by the members of Council in attendance. Thank you.

Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Councilman Vollison. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Mr. Hagan?

Aye.

Ms. Sanchez-Jones? Aye. Vice Mayor McGuire? Aye. Mr. Nash? Aye. Mr. Vollison? Aye. Ms. Powers? Aye. And Mayor Kopp?

Aye. And the motion is adopted. We have no presentations and acknowledgements tonight, so we'll move right into our public hearings. The first is a request of Ricardo Stovall to rename Second Street Northeast between Madison Avenue Northeast and Gilmer Avenue Northeast to Bethel Davis Way Northeast in honor of Evelyn Bethel and Helen Davis. The proposed name has further been amended to be Bethel Davis Street Northeast. We have one measure, a resolution, and I'll entertain a motion and second on the resolution.

I'll make the motion. Second.

Thank you, Councilwoman Powers and Sanchez-Jones. Madam Clerk, will you please read the title paragraph?

A resolution renaming 2nd Street Northeast between Madison Avenue Northeast and Gilmer Avenue Northeast to Bethel-Davis Street Northeast.

All right. I'm pleased to welcome Catherine Gray, Principal Planner, who's here for... Do you want to give us a quick overview? Thank you. Welcome.

Good evening, Mayor Cobb, Vice Mayor McGuire, members of council, city manager Turner, So we did indeed receive a request from Mr. Stovall, who is also president of the Historic Gainesboro Preservation District, to consider renaming Second Street Northeast to Bethel Davis Way in honor of Evelyn Bethel and Helen Davis. These two sisters formed the... historic Gainesboro Preservation District. They were present at many Roanoke City Council meetings. They were able to acquire the historic designation for the Gainesboro Library, and they have been honored both at City Council and also by the Virginia General Assembly for their work in historic preservation and the Gainesboro community. So the council has passed in the past regulations for how they should consider renaming requests that come before them. These things have been considered and are addressed in the report that council has received, and they do meet the criteria for renaming the street. one of the things that did come up is that instead of bethel davis way changing it to bethel davis street to meet the naming conventions for the city of roanoke and so that change is in the recommendation that's before you This area of Second Street Northeast sits right beside historic Gainesboro, which is the beloved community of the two sisters. And this would go from Gilmer Avenue, Gilmer Avenue Northeast to Madison Avenue Northeast. And so it's a two block area that this renaming would affect. Staff received, went out to two meetings within Gainesboro to talk about this and received support at both meetings. Staff has also received three letters of public comment supporting this change. And I can answer any questions if there are any.

Thank you so much. I'm going to open our public hearing and ask our clerk if we have citizens that have signed up to speak on this.

We have one speaker, Jordan Bell.

Welcome, Mr. Bell.

Good evening, Mayor, members of council. City Manager Turner. I am the president of the Gainesboro Neighborhood Organization, and I wanted to come down here and say it is our honor to support Mr. Stovall in historic preservation in renaming that street after Evelyn Bethel and Helen Davis. They are what we consider the mothers of historical preservation in the city of Roanoke. Evelyn Bethel called Gainsborough the mother of Roanoke because of the historical value that Gainsborough has to the city of Roanoke. The Davis sisters were just as important in the telling of Roanoke's history as Lucy Addison, Oliver Hill, the Claytor family, and Dr. Isaac Burrow, just to name a few. These two sisters, small in stature, were giants in spirit and courage. I met Mrs. Bethel first and Miss Davis second. My great aunt grew up and graduated high school with one of their brothers. And when I started my history interest in Gainesboro, my aunt said, you need to meet Evelyn and Pete. I knew who Evelyn was, but had no idea who Pete was. Well, come to find out, Pete was the nickname of Miss Helen Davis. The Davis sisters, along with many others, are the reason that is what is left of Gainesboro is still there. These two sisters in retirement took on more responsibility when many people relaxed. Evelyn Bethel once said that her dream is that there will once again be a vibrant residential community in this area when speaking about Gainesboro. So as president of the Gainesboro Neighborhood Organization, we support the renaming of that street to Evelyn. I couldn't remember the amended title, but to Evelyn. and Helen Davis way because without those two sisters, historical preservation would not be what it is in the city of Roanoke. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Great. Great reflection on that. Any other citizens signed up to speak on this?

That's the only one there.

Then I'm going to close the public hearing and invite comments or questions from council. Anybody on this end?

Just saying I knew both of those ladies, and they were wonderful, but they got it done. They had passion about their neighborhood. But you know what? They really had passion about our city. It wasn't just their neighborhood. They truly did have a passion about our city. They were always very respectful to me, and she taught me a thing or two. Vice Mayor?

Definitely support this Thank You mayor Thank You mr. Bell and everyone else who's here to support this I did not have a chance to meet either of these women but I am in awe really of what they accomplished I'm a huge supporter of where it makes sense historic preservation and preserving the stories that are told through our neighborhoods and some of our buildings and it's really a It's heartening to me that they were able to save the Gainesboro Library, and it's disheartening to think that it was ever even on the chopping block. We've done such a great job of saving historic buildings in the city, and we have more of that work that we can continue doing. I just really, again, thank people for coming out and speaking on behalf of this. Gainesboro is the mother of Roanoke. It's the oldest and first neighborhood, and I think this is a really great way to recognize two women who gave a great big part of their life to improving their neighborhood. So I think it's a great idea and I support it.

That's woman.

I support it as well. I met the sister here on council, and I think I remember them always sitting on the right hand, on this side of the room, and they both told me that the reason why they came to council every meeting that they missed one, it was because they loved their city and they wanted to keep, they wanted to know what was going on in their city, so that's why they participated. So I'm happy that it's being

I think the last time I had an opportunity to visit with both of them, there was a celebration for them. I'm thinking it may have been a birthday at the Gainesboro Library. I don't know. Mr. Bell, do you recall? Yeah, we honored the sisters, and I was able to go with Councilwoman Juna Osborne to share a proclamation and honor them. And they were still wearing matching outfits. And their feisty, fierce spirit was so evident, and I love that about them, and it was considered a great honor to have known a little bit of their lives, but this is such a great way to honor their legacy. So thanks to everyone who's come out to celebrate this tonight. All right. Well, I think, Madam Clerk, we are ready to call the roll.

Mr. Hagen? Aye. Ms. Sanchez? Aye. Vice Mayor McGuire? Aye. Mr. Nash? Aye. Mr. Vollison?

Aye.

Ms. Powers? Aye. And Mayor Cobb?

Aye. And the resolution is adopted. Thank you all. OUR SECOND PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT IS FOR THE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE VACATION OF CITY EASEMENTS ACROSS PRIVATE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2415 RUSSELL AVENUE BEARING ROANOKE OFFICIAL TAX MAP NUMBER 1420201 AND TO AMEND ORDINANCE NUMBER 43129-012125 TO PROVIDE AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE CERTAIN CONDITIONS. We have before us one measure, an ordinance, and I'll welcome a motion and second on the ordinance.

Move the ordinance.

Second.

Thank you, Council Member Vollison and Vice Mayor McGuire. Madam Clerk, will you please read the title paragraph?

an ordinance authorizing the vacation of several reserved utility easements held by the city of Roanoke across real property owned by the Foundry Realty LLC, bearing Roanoke official tax map number 1420201, located at 2415 Russell Avenue, Roanoke, Virginia, At the owner's request, authorizing the city manager or designee to execute the appropriate deed of vacation, vacating the city's rights in the existing reserve utility easements, amending ordinance number 43129, adopted by City Council on January 21st, 2025 to allow owner additional time to prepare and record a subdivision plat for the property and dispensing with the second reading of this ordinance by title.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. I'm going to recognize David Collins, our Deputy City Attorney. Who is present for questions or comments, but I'm happy to welcome you to share an overview of this Thank You mayor.

Good evening mayor Cobb members of council and miss Turner The foundry Realty LLC is the owner of the former Walker machine and foundry plant located at 2415 Russell Avenue The property owner is developing the site to accommodate a mixed-use commercial and residential development The owner is looking to build more than 100 townhomes and additional commercial structures. Land records show that there are three reserved utility easements held by the city across this parcel. These easements are shown on the report and the subdivision plat that's attached to the report. These easements are vacant and not being used. In order for the development of the parcel to proceed, the owner has requested the city vacate its interest in the easements. City staff has no objection to the easements being vacated and recommend council adopt the ordinance vacating the easements. Additionally, council adopted ordinance number 43-129-12-125 on January 21st, 2025. This ordinance vacated the public right-of-way on property along Russell Avenue adjacent to the property that the owner is developing. Ordinance required that by July 21st, 2026, certain requirements be completed, which included preparation of a subdivision plot, disposing of the interests that are being vacated and disposed of by the prior ordinance. The property owner has requested an additional period of time, 60 days, to fulfill those requirements. City staff has no objection to that. Catherine Gray with the Planning Department is also here to speak on that should council have any questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Collins. I appreciate that overview. I'm going to open our public hearing and ask our clerk if we have any citizens signed up to speak on this item. No, we don't on this matter, no. Thank you. And I will close the public hearing, ask if council members have any questions or comments. Vice Mayor.

I support this because we're not, as I understand it, giving anything away. We're just relinquishing these easements. And for those, Mr. Collins mentioned, but this is the foundry development that I think folks are familiar with. But Um, I just wanted to say, I am really excited for that project. Um, I think it's going to deliver a really valuable addition of, um, townhomes that will be in high demand. And then the commercial mixed use elements that will be incorporated in that, I think are going to be really transformational for Norwich, um, in the same way that the Greenway has really transformed, um, Waseena. So, uh, I just thank staff for their work on this and, um, uh, planning staff and legal staff and, uh, Support this and I'm glad to give them the time they need to get get it done, right?

Vice mayor anyone else? All right, madam clerk, will you please call the roll?

Yes, mr. Hagen miss Sanchez Jones Vice mayor McGuire. Mr. Nash, mr. Volusen. All right, miss powers mayor Cobb.

All right, and the ordinance is adopted.

Thank you all very much. I

At this time, I'm going to recess the city council meeting and turn the meeting over to Vice Mayor McGuire, who is going to guide us through our legislative committee public hearing.

Thank you, Mayor. Call to order. The first ever public hearing, as I'm aware of, of the Legislative Committee. I appreciate everyone who is here for that. And I want to, as I call it to order, give a few opening, wait, I think first, do I need to call the roll? Yes. Madam City Clerk, could you please call the roll?

Yes. Mr. Hagan? Here. Ms. Sanchez-Jones? Here. Mayor Cobb?

Here.

Mr. Nash, Mr. Vollison, Ms. Powers, Ms. Appel. All right. And Ms. Trigg.

Okay.

Thank you. Chairman McGuire. I'm here. All right.

Thank you. Well, halfway here. I want to just offer a few opening remarks. Thank our colleagues, Ms. Appel, for being here, Dr. Siebert. What I'm hoping to do today, the point of this is City Council is preparing our legislative agenda for the 2027 General Assembly session, which starts in January of 2027. So it may feel like we're a little bit early on this, but really to kind of back up and give you what I think the timeline will be today, what I'm hoping is that we will hear from the public on some of your priorities or whatever priorities you would like to share on what you think is most important for Roanoke. I don't presume to know exactly what everyone will share, but what we're hoping to get is feedback from the public. Then we are also, I think, Ms. Turner, And her staff are getting feedback from staff. And then we are also going to be getting feedback from council. So there's sort of three areas that feedback is going to come in. We'll hopefully hear from some folks tonight. We will meet again. I'll recite this at the end of the meeting. But in August, what I hope to have is closer to a draft of that legislative agenda. And then by September, we hope to have something to finalize at our September 8th meeting. with the idea that then we can start meeting with our state legislators in October and start working with them and their staff to get a heads up and a leg up on preparing for the session in January. So that's a little bit of the timeline, and today I don't know, and I'll ask the clerk to correct me, if someone did not sign up but would like to speak, we can still make an exception for them to do that? Or how does that, how would that work?

We can.

Okay.

But I do have a few signed up.

We'll do that case by case if someone wishes to speak but did not sign up. So with that being said, I'll also ask my colleague, Mr. Vollison, who is the vice chair of this committee, if he had anything that he'd like to say.

Bring on the comments.

Bring on the comments. Okay. Well, with that, I think that what we will do, hold on, I have an agenda here, is... Oh, we have to approve the minutes. I'd like to make a motion that we approve the minutes from the previous legislative council meeting. I'll move. All right. Thank you both, Mayor Cobb and Councilman Hagan. And would you please call the roll?

Hagan. Aye. Ms. Sanchez-Jones. Aye. Vice Mayor McGuire.

Aye.

Mr. Nash. Aye. Mr. Vollison. Aye. Ms. Powers. Aye. Ms. Mayor Cobb.

Aye.

Ms. Trigg.

Mr. Pell.

Pell. Okay. I'm sorry.

Okay. Well, thank you very much. I think if we can, then we can turn to open the public hearings.

Okay, that's okay.

All right Yeah, well invite speak well do we need to I need to read this And we'll invite speakers to come up we'll call you two at a time That's fine. And how many speakers do we have?

We have five speakers signed up five speakers.

I Let's keep it to three minutes, please. All right, thank you, ma'am. Can you call the first two speakers? I will.

Alicia Grubb and Virginia Sweet.

Good evening. I guess I was prepared to say Mayor Cobb. I need to say Chairman McGuire and committee members and city manager Turner. So I'm actually here to talk about a legislative item that will come up in September, not in January. And that is the designation of opportunity zones that the governor and her staff will be making by September. I am the president of the Mountain View Neighborhood Association, and I'm speaking tonight to urge city council to prioritize the designation of Census Track 10 to be a qualified opportunity zone on its legislative agenda. Census Track 10 is comprised of Mountain View and Hurt Park neighborhoods. Hurt Park does not have an active neighborhood group, but I have spoken with some stakeholders in that neighborhood and believe they would support the comments I make tonight as well. For those who are unfamiliar, the best marker I can give you is the OG Tacos Rojas on 13th Street. Our neighborhood goes from there to the railroad tracks, north and south, and then over to 10th Street and over to 18th Street. For decades, our neighborhoods have been plagued by slumlords and blight. Things began to improve from a residential standpoint after our area was a HUD-focused area and some new housing was built and vacant homes were renovated. However, the historic and neighborhood design districts, along with the increased construction costs after COVID, make it financially unfeasible to build or renovate properties in the current housing and construction market. Additionally, the vacancies, blight, and lack of code enforcement makes our neighborhood unattractive to investors and residents alike, though we try to convince them. I mean, who wouldn't want to live a block away from Tacos Rojas, a mile from downtown or Grandin, and right next to the Greenway with gorgeous views of the mountains and the Roanoke Star? Our neighborhood has a lot to offer, but we need help to take the next steps, and we hope you see what I saw eight years ago when I bought and fixed up my house and what so many longtime residents value about our neighborhood. If our neighborhoods are designated a qualified opportunity zone, it would allow aging business owners and those interested in change to sell their properties with less of a tax burden when selling the property, and it would allow investors to clean up brownfield sites and provide new opportunities for residents and those passing through. Much like Wasena, a thriving small business district will attract residents, developers, and responsible landlords who want to see this historic and wonderful neighborhood come back to life without pushing out long-time homeowners. We hope Council will urge the governor and her staff to designate Census Track 10 to be an opportunity zone so our neighborhood can continue to grow and thrive. I have attached with my remarks a letter of support from our neighborhood, as well as one of my fellow neighbors, Cam Chase, and Laura Hartman is here with me tonight as well in support. We thank you for your time.

Thank you very much, Ms. Grubb. Next speaker is dr. Sweet.

Yes Greetings mayor Cobb vice mayor McGuire and Chairman of this committee and thank you for having the public hearing. I think that's great members of council and our city manager Turner the The 2026 General Assembly passed more bills on landlord-tenant rights than in the previous five years. What a great year! However, more protections are needed, and now is the time to keep pressing legislation to protect tenants who are living in unsafe and unhealthy dwellings. Renters who do complain are sometimes evicted when the lease is up. They find themselves homeless. The courts are at the center of this failure. Now, I realize this is going to require state legislation that will benefit Roanoke, but it's not specifically for Roanoke. But I propose amending Code of Virginia Title 36, Chapter 6, Section 106, the Housing Uniform Statewide Building Code governing violations to the Building Code. Presently, the law states that fines up to $2,500 can be levied after six months if the situation is not remedied each day after that period constitutes a separate offense and is then again subject to fine. The Roanoke City General District Court hears code violation cases on the first Thursday of each month. The dispositions are published on the city's website. When I have attended this court, I have seen several repeat offenders, which is a nice way of saying slumlord. I see continuances that last up to a year or more. With continuances, repairs that are made escape a fine, so they don't hit that six-month penalty, and escape a separate offense after six months. Meanwhile, the renter is living in unhealthy and unsafe conditions. A continuance is granted for issues such as a contractor was supposed to show up last week, but he didn't, or it rained last week. We couldn't get it done. Anyway, I propose that the code is amended to increase fines for noncompliance, and specifically, I suggest that the penalty for not addressing the issue for violating the city's code enforcement Have a minimum fine of $1,000 because right now it's the judge's discretion and she says $50 Then after 60 days then that should be fined if it's going to be something that takes even longer than a Continuance would be made only only if only if the owner of the property can demonstrate that he's working consistently and show the percentage of work completed. Removing the judge's discretion by imposing a minimum penalty and not granting contingencies will protect tenants. It will incentivize landlords to repair their properties. It will reduce the city code enforcement staff time and monitoring violations. Thank you for your time and your consideration.

Thank you very much, Dr. Sweet.

Next two speakers Laura Hartman and on Patel Dr. Hartman, how are you?

Hi? I'm well. How are you? I bring you greetings from the bus riders of Roanoke advocacy group here to remind you that a great city deserves great transit I sat in on the GRTC board meeting earlier today, and one of the takeaways was that we don't have a lot of money to make our transit greater, and that's why I am suggesting that at the state level, we need to specifically ask for more support. We need to ask for the addition of dedicated, sustainable, and recurring revenue sources for our transit programs, including operating expenses. As we know, transportation is the largest source of carbon pollution in Virginia. We know that here in Roanoke, 11% of our households don't have access to a car. We know that good transit is necessary. Transit is a multi-solver. It helps our economy, it helps people with health, it helps access with education, and it creates something closer to justice for people with less privileges. So we definitely need to ask the state to pass along dedicated funding sources, either from the allocation from the federal government. Most of that money goes to people in cars. And so some of that needs to be allocated to people not using cars, such as transit. I also think that we should consider regional funding development options. Maybe we could have a transportation improvement district, such as the Central Virginia Transportation Authority in the Richmond area that can levy taxes. So then you can have a transportation sales tax district. in order to fund better transit. A great city deserves great transit. There are so many reasons we need better funding for our local transit, one of which is on my mind right now about our operators and mechanics union. They are still a year later on a temporary contract because they need to negotiate for something better, and we are still struggling to get enough operators at the rates that they're being paid. Many other improvements that are needed for our system require more funding, and to try to get all of it locally does not seem feasible. We are wondering if we're renewing our contract with TransDef. That has not been announced, or at least not obvious to me after that RFP in December. I am wondering if we have hired someone for that transit director position that was posted I think back in December. It appears that transit in this city has been put on the back burner. But we're asking you to please pay attention to transit. Even the thing on the back burner can boil over. This is something that matters if our city is going to be as great as it deserves to be. Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Hartman. And we will look into and try to get an answer on that question that you posed about the contract with Transdev and where we are with the transit director position. Get back to you. You're welcome. Hi, Mr. Patel.

Hi. Chairman McGuire and Vice Chair Voloson, right? And the rest of council. So I guess, I mean, I'm not going to be as succinct and as eloquent as the others, but I just... I really support what they said already, like great comments. Every time Laura speaks, love it. I would suggest hopefully increasing the funding for the busing, for the buses. But I also wanted to talk about the other modes of transportation. So I support buses, but I also support the bikes. So the bike paths, the airports. So we need more funding for that expansion for the airport. And I really think that's critical to bring in new businesses and draw tourism. I also find it really important to focus on what we have existing and not try to build new things in the sense of new roads, but just maintain the roads we have. So ask VDOT to not build more, but build better what the current infrastructure is and also focus on our stormwater and sewer. I heard, I believe from Dwayne, don't quote me on this. But 80 years backlog on our stormwater and sewer or something like that, it was terrifying to hear that fact. So I just want to see a way we can get the state to come back and help us try to kind of resolve that backlog and try to get back. Because I had a friend who just came back from Guatemala. I may have butchered the pronunciation. So he came back and he got sick because they don't have proper water infrastructure there. And so they can't really rinse their vegetables and stuff. And what happened was he got two different things, E. coli and one other foodborne illness. And that's because the water there wasn't as good. And we have such a great water system here. And I just want to make sure we preserve it. And that backlog is just very alarming to me that we have. And then the last thing I would want to say is I would love to see TIF. So TIF, I'm blanking on the full form now. But it's essentially taxes, incremental tax financing, where you get to, what was that? Thank you, I'm not tiff, thank you so much But I want to see if we can get something like that going to help build more affordable housing in the area Because it's not just one factor that causes us to get affordable housing It's multiple factors and it takes a village to build that so I appreciate your guys's time. Thank you so much Thank you very much.

Mr. Patel

and the last speaker i have on this matter is ben for sure mr for sure rhymes with for sure right that's what we i remember welcome back uh thank you uh chairman mcguire vice chairman volusen council members mayor cobb uh I'm a co-founder of the Southwestern Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance, and we were active in the last legislative session where some important measures for data center regulation were passed, but there's still a long way to go. We're working now with groups in other localities to try to craft an agenda for 2027 in data center regulation, but also the issues behind the issue, which I would like to outline. get through this as fast as I can because there's a lot. So there's four major areas relevant to local governments that we would like to see prioritized. First one, obviously, is data center regulation. This is not just direct regulation of data centers, but also related topics like energy, water usage, government transparency. And there were a few specific bills from the last session that we can point to. One of them, HB1515, was actually continued to 2027 and calls for a two-year moratorium on data center construction and approval. The tech industry is full throttle on building these out, especially in southwest Virginia, and we need a pause so that legislators and their constituents can decide how they want this to go. HB 496, so there was an amended version of this that passed that is a good law. It requires regular disclosure of water usage for operational data centers. The original version, however, required that data center proposals make public their water usage rate estimates and prevent them from shielding it with non-disclosure agreements. SB 334 ran out of time at the end of the last session and would need to be reintroduced, but it requires a public hearing for the disposal of any public land for a large industrial facility, including a data center. The reason that we're fighting to stop a Google data center in Botetourt County now is because the county did not need to tell the public that they were making a deal for one until the agreement had already been signed. There are other ideas that haven't been proposed or at least weren't last session but are worth considering. There are currently no mandates for end of life processes for data centers once they shut down. I think we should consider if a locality does want to bring in a data center or maybe even with other major developments of having a public bidding process rather than taking the first company that waves a few million dollars in front of their faces in order to claim some new territory ahead of their opponents. We should consider treating data centers like utilities, like APCO or the Western Virginia Water Authority. The companies that operate them sure do want us to depend on them like utilities, so maybe we should oblige them and treat them that way. It's not a guarantee they'll always act in the community's best interest, but it's a better trade-off for the resources they're trying to lay claim to. Other aspects that I can see I'm running out of time for, but we'll just touch on. I think we need economic and industrial development authority reform. These are bodies that are responsible for every data center deal that comes to a locality with very little disclosure required. New York State in 2021 passed some industrial development authority reform, so this is not completely unprecedented. Additional priorities are community empowerment for people who are working nine to five jobs to be able to have more information and influence on their local government's processes. And the last of them is small tech, locally and individually controlled, that reduces big tech's influence and our dependence on it. Just the last one, there was a bill, Delegate Lilly Franklin's right to repair bill, HB 1324, that was continued to 2027. So data center's most immediate issue, but it's all part of a larger constellation, and I hope that you will prioritize some of these things. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Vershoor.

And do we have one more person who would like to sign up or to speak? Yes. Maybe two. No problem. Thank you. Come on down. Miss Lee?

Yes. My name is Katherine Lee. Hi. Good to see you all again. Mayor Cobb, Vice Mayor McGuire, city staff, esteemed council members, city attorney. I apologize. I'm a little flustered. But that's just because I filled out the form. And I'm still getting my legs under me for participation at these meetings. Um, but I, I wanted to also, um, echo what was said before me, um, to thank you all for giving us the opportunity to comment, um, as to what you are proposing to bring to the Virginia state legislative, um, meetings. And, um, specifically, I'm here to talk a little bit more about, um. The matters that have been, um. the genesis of which are being addressed, starting to be addressed in the recently passed amendment to the Virginia State Code. Specifically, I'm talking about Title 15.2, Subtitle 2, Chapter 22. so 15.2-2209.5, the citing of data centers and site assessment. I'm specifically interested in bringing this explicit section of code to your attention because as a former developer of large scale energy projects, having worked as a GIS analyst, development engineer, business development analyst, and developer of projects of this scale and intensity, I'm incredibly intrigued by what seems to be the clear distinct contrast as to the specificity in this recently amended section of code when compared to previously existing sections of code that address the citing and kind of like review processes recommended by the state to locally elected officials when considering approval of projects of this scale and intensity. There's a couple really great examples already existing in the state code that speak on this, 15.2-2288. special exceptions for solar photovoltaic projects as well as 15.2-2241.2 bonding provisions for decommissioning of solar energy equipment facilities or devices. There's also a section of code that I plan to hopefully speak on later if I'm able to get my information put in correctly at the end of this meeting that speaks to when applicants feel after the process of approval or denial of a permit that that final judgment was granted on unconstitutional terms. And so the reason that I call this topic to your attention, which feels fairly heavy to me, and I hope to speak a little bit more on it to give some more information, later down the line is because what I have been increasingly seeing in the energy development space is that even when localities correctly and effectively put in place a special use permitting process, as you guys have done, and I cannot congratulate you enough on doing that, It really is a huge milestone and I think you should all be very proud of yourselves. But even after that's done, if a developer, specifically it seems like of these data centers, goes through the process and is unhappy with the outcome, what they've been doing in states like Texas and other spots in the Midwest is suing the localities. on the basis that that denial was unconstitutional. So again, I hope to speak to this a little bit more. These are topics that I think are relevant in these Virginia state legislator conversations. And I just implore you to maybe reflect and ask your peers when attending these things, maybe why these things are so different. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. I believe we had one final interested speaker.

yes Jack left your left good to see you see all council mayor vice mayor attorney city manager my bosses Siebert I have a bunch of stuff, unsurprisingly, so I'm going to try to move quickly here. And I apologize. I uncharacteristically signed up like 10 minutes late, for which I'm eternally apologetic. The two things I want to start off with are ways that we can advocate for more control over our local city. We live in a Dillon rule. And so the first thing I want to advocate for is policies to allow us to exercise more control over the housing supply. My concern is I think we need to work to prevent another Crystal Springs debacle while also working to keep housing affordable and dense. Right now the city's tools for doing that are mostly prescribing building lot size and number of parking spots. And I just think there's a lot more creative ways that we can have control over housing supply markets. Similarly, I also think that our ability to leverage progressive taxes is really limited. Again, because we're a Dillon Rule state, being able to open up more taxation would prevent us from having to go back to the meals tax again and again and again, and potentially allow us to tax wealthier citizens of Roanoke to benefit all. I also want to encourage greater education funding, of course. It is a big topic right now, and I think that we should be doing all we can to try to leverage our Title I schools to push for more funding. And I also want to call on the city to support public sector collective bargaining, not just for teachers who were included in last year's bill that was vetoed or last session's bill that was vetoed, but also for public employees that were excluded, university employees, many of whom live here who work in Virginia Tech, Orono College, Nursing staff were also excluded and then also legislative aides who are always excluded from these conversations. Legislative aides were not included in the public sector collective bargaining for what I hope are obvious reasons. One of the main opponents of public sector collective bargaining were municipalities like Richmond who in one hand provide lip service to unions and on the other hand fight against collective bargaining. Many of you here have supported unions and supported collective bargaining, which are really important, but I think that VML in particular is an organization, and the General Assembly needs to hear from cities that support this. So if you can bring that and provide a sort of counterweight, I'd really appreciate that. My moonshot crazy proposal is I'd love to see a train from Charlottesville to Richmond. It's so nice being able to get to DC really easily. I think having transit that would get us all the way to Richmond would be exceptional as well. And then with the remainder of my time, I'd like to also echo support from my previous speakers for supporting tenant protections, better transit funding, more regulations for data center and renewable energy incentives. I think those are all keystone policies that can really help Roanoke City. uh i know that was a lot very quickly in the next couple days i'll probably email my manifesto to vice chair mcguire thank you your chair mcguire vice mayor mcguire thank you dr i look forward to getting the manifesto

Well, thank you all to everyone who spoke. I did not, I forgot at the start of the meeting, I was going to quickly run over, but now I think it works just as well. In our previous, so that was all really helpful. Thank you. And again, we will be working to consolidate that. In our previous legislative program, we broke matters out, and I suspect we'll do something similar for 2027 by transportation, environment, civil liberties, governance. There were a few others. And so we will probably break things out that way again. I wanted to just quickly, if you weren't at some of the previous council meetings, because a couple of the items we actually last year, I thought had a strong legislative agenda and several of the items that all of council worked on were passed. One of those was increasing the value for land bank acquisition. so that the city can better access dilapidated, abandoned properties and get those back into occupancy. The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine passed capital funding. We had asked to get that back in the budget. We requested additional tools to provide localities with the ability to restore tree canopy, putting in different ways, and several of those did pass. Several bills passed that allowed expanded use of solar, including balcony solar, which I think could be really important for some of the renters or apartment dwellers in Roanoke. All of the civil liberty priorities, repeal of the anti-marriage amendment, cannabis retail sales, reproductive health care, voting rights restoration for the formerly incarcerated, all passed. And then there were a number of others. We had top priorities and then positions. And a number of our positions also we made progress on. And one in particular that was relevant to, I think, what Mr. Patel brought up was the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund. getting additional money there so I just throw some of that out that what we'll be doing is looking to take this feedback again looking at what progress we made last year and where we still have work to do and need additional tools from the state to do that so I really again appreciate everyone for your input please do if you did not in advance send your comments or any information get that to us and I think I'd like Mayor just to stop there and see if any of the legislative committee members, anyone else has anything that they would like to share or add at this point. Mr. Nash.

I have a question about, I think it was, yes, the, was it, no, it wasn't. Ms. Grubb, you said the Opportunity Zones. Opportunity Zones. I was trying to take all these notes. Now I'm a slow writer. So I was trying to, like, jot down all this stuff. But for that one being in September, what do we need to do on the city side since that's not a part of, like, a legislative agenda? What do we need to make sure we're doing so that the governor knows? Like, are we currently studying? Because September's coming up quick. Like, it's basically August now. So, like, are we currently studying and planning? Yeah.

Staff has been working on it. We've identified five that we think are high priority. We just recently, as of last week, received a survey from the governor's office. And so we have completed it. Yeah, we've been working on this for a few months. And so we'll make a recommendation soon. And I will say track 10, which is the one that she speaked of, was one of the high priorities.

Perfect. All right. Thank you very much.

Great question. Anyone else have any comments? Ms. Appel? Chair Pell?

I just wanted to note that the school board and Roanoke City Public Schools is very appreciative that when we develop our priorities that they get incorporated in what the city also presents to this legislature and also that today we got to celebrate year three of the completion of the community builders program which is now part of state code and we got to celebrate that that ceremony today and we went from 50 in our first year to over 150 in our third and so again that came through because of legislative advocacy so thank you

Thank you. I really value the relationship that we have with our school board and your participation in these committee meetings. So thank you very much. There is no other discussion. I will just... Reiterate upcoming meetings Monday August 3rd at 20 on 2026 that st. Yeah, we'll be in still being 2026 Monday August 3rd at 9 a.m The legislative committee meeting will meet again. I expect that we will be kind of discussing some of what we've heard here in addition to any updates from our State and federal lobbyists and then we will meet again Tuesday September 8th at 9 a.m. Council as city is closed on Monday September 7th So If there is no other discussion, I will gavel us out, Mayor.

We're coming up. This is just to end the public hearing. We're going to hear citizens in just a minute.

Thank you for not letting us forget you. If there are no other speakers for the legislative committee hearing, I will close gavel us out.

All right. Thank you. I'm going to reconvene our city council meeting. And at this time, we're going to turn to our hearing of citizens upon public matters. And we set this time aside as a priority for citizens to be heard. If deemed appropriate, matters will be referred to the city manager for response, recommendation and or report back to city council. As you come forward tonight, our clerk will call two names at a time. The mic is on. As you are probably aware by now, there's a little box in the corner with a green light, a yellow light, and a red light. Green means start. Yellow means you have a minute left. And then red means please wrap it up. We're glad to everyone, thankful to everyone who's come out to speak tonight. And I'll ask our clerk to...

begin calling two by two our citizens who signed up to speak tonight first speaker will be Brenda Allen followed by Ricardo Stovall

Yeah, you can just set it right down there in front if you want yeah If you want us to see it, that's a perfect spot Thank you Good evening mayor vice mayor members of City Council city manager I

Since November 2025, HGPD has reached out to the following offices regarding the renovation of the last home in HGPD Northeast, Historic Gainesboro Preservation District, but I'm just abbreviating it. The mayors and the assistant deputy city manager. Since March 2026, HGPD has reached out to the housing program's policy officer, delegate Rasu's office, and city council members. We have heard nothing from the mayor's office. We have sent emails, requested meetings and yet no response. Even delegate Russell's office reached out to city managers on our behalf, all with no affirmative response to our questions. HGPD requested a meeting with the city housing programs policy officer on four eight 26. He declined due to a schedule conflict. On 4-16-26, HGPD acts for an update on the last home to be renovated. Again, the housing program policy officer did not respond. On June 5th, 2026, HGPD received an email from the assistant city manager stating funds had been nearly expended. She has mostly ignored emails and phone calls from HGPD since November 25. Renovation Alliance, contractor for the City to Rehab Homes in Gainesboro H2 District, informed HGPD on 7-13-26. $62,000 of the total $500,000 ARPA funds allocated is what is left over for Gainesboro Northeast. The home rehab project ended on June 30th, 2026. We learned through a meeting with Renovation Alliance on 7-13-26, the project would be extended to 9-30-26. However, the last home in HGPD will not be rehabbed. The Housing Programs Policy Officer contacted the homeowner on 7-14-26 to inform the homeowner of the news. HGPD has been disrespected and ignored at every level by this so-called all-American city as the ninth time winner of this award. We have a couple of questions. One is, how does the city justify not using the remaining funds to renovate the last home and seek other resources? Is the city interested in urban renewal part two by letting this historic 1885 historic home decay and be bulldozed? It is time to do right by this homeowner and conduct yourselves in a professional manner. Operate in good faith with integrity. There is a signed contract between the city and homeowner. HGPD is asking that you honor it. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much, Ms. Allen.

Mr. Stovall. Mayor Cobb, City Council, City Manager. My name is Ricardo Stovall. First, I'd like to thank you for honoring my mother, Helen, and my Aunt Evelyn and renaming the street. I appreciate it. My concern is concerning the housing project. We started rehabbing. We started with June 2023. idea was to rehab houses on Patton and Gilmore Northeast we started that project we were granted five hundred thousand dollars to renovate homes that were owned by the owner that lived in them so far basically four have been completed the fifth one has not been completed and we got from Desi Winadette to not to go forward with any of the remaining. That was started and we feel like it should be finished. Other projects we had requested, a park on Wales that's going forth. a stage next to the Gainesville Library that's in the planning and also the road on Gainesville which has been completed. So I'm requesting that city council consider whatever funds are remaining from that $5 million to rehab this house. We have done four and we're asking for the fifth to be done and that will complete our project. And in closing, no home left behind. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Sobol.

Anita Wilson and Jerome Hayden.

Welcome, Ms. Wilson.

Mayor, city manager, city councilman, attorney. I'm Anita Wilson, a core member of the HGPD, District 2H2. And we met, we gathered together on June 23 with Manager Cowell. to propose fixing the homes on Gilmer Avenue, the homes that have been overlooked for many years. $500,000 was allotted for this housing project from the city's offer fund. The last house met the criteria. This house was the first house approved. Why hasn't the house been completed? We have met monthly with Wayne Lefferts, your former city planner, talked with three city managers, the mayor, councilman, and numerous others concerning this overlooked northeast residential neighborhood. We have plans And we have given plans to each city councilman when we made these plans. And the city former official, Wayne Leverage, said or promised that parks and recs could give money to the project if there were any left out of the $1 million that has been provided for the park. If you go on Wells Avenue, you can see that they have not used that $100 million. But as the first house approved, why has it not been completed? And why hasn't the work been done? I thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Wilson. Welcome, Mr. Hayden.

Good evening, Mayor Cobb, council members, city manager, Ms. Turner, and staff. I'm representing Historic Gainesboro Preservation District H2. In April 2023, the city of Roanoke presented their community hub concept to economically revitalize the Gainesboro area. The resources that would be used were from the American... Rescue Plan at ARPA. When presented to the community, it was rejected by the members of Historic Gainesboro Preservation District H2. The plan was seen as the start of gentrification and eventually its long-time residents would be pushed out. The historic Gainsborough Preservation District, H2, members presented an alternative plan to redistribute the ARPA funding that would include the rehabilitation of homes in the HGPD H2 area. After months of collaborating with Wayne Leverage, former Roanoke City planner, manager, A core group of HGPD HD members formulated goals that better suited residents living on Gilman Avenue and Patton Avenue Northeast, which are the last two Northeast neighborhood streets that were not destroyed by Roanoke's urban renewal. From this collaboration, Roanoke City allocated $500,000 of ARPA funds to implement one of our goals, which was to renovate owner-occupied homes of low- to moderate-income-based residents in the HGPD H-2 area. As of this date, most of the renovations have been completed. However, there's one last home left to be renovated. This home, like many of the others in this historic district, was built in 1885 and needs some repairs. The homeowner who grew up in this home would like to spend the remainder of her years in her home. We were told that there is not enough money left in the budget to complete the renovations on this last home. On October 24, 2026, in an email from Wayne Leverage in response to an email from Wanda Rowe, the following information regarding how opera funding would be spent was listed. Gainsborough Road infrastructure and safety improvements on Gainsborough Road, 2.5 million. Outdoor public gathering and recreation spaces, $2 million. HDPD H2 area owner occupied housing rehabilitation repair grants, $500,000. He also made the statement in the email, and I quote, so the budget below is the starting budget. As we get actual costs of the road project and the land acquisition, we can readjust funds as needed, end quote. Through the Roanoke City Freedom of Information Office, we learned that the cost of the pocket park on Wales Avenue was approximately $283,000. And that means that there are funds left from the budgeted $2 million for outdoor public gatherings and recreation spaces to be used to complete the last home. Therefore, the Corps members of PDHT have been trying for several months to schedule a meeting with city personnel responsible for this project to discuss an alternative plan that would allow this last home to be renovated. And I close. The Corps members of HD PD H2 would like to know why the city personnel responsible for these projects are refusing to schedule a meeting with us. Roanoke City has taken pride in engaging with their citizens in projects that benefits its citizens and the city. We are asking that a meeting be scheduled to discuss our concerns. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr. Hayden.

Dr. Monique Bishop and Kate Woolley.

members of city council city manager, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I am here to ask that public transit remain a priority and not be placed on the back burner. For many residents, especially older adults and people with disabilities, public transit is not a convenience. It is a lifeline. It provides access to employment, health care, grocery stores, education, and opportunities to participate fully in our community. While we have made progress, there is still significant work to do when it comes to accessibility. Too many bus stops lack sidewalks, ADA compliant boarding areas, benches, shelters, or safe pedestrian access. Riders who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes, or other mobility devices should not have to navigate uneven ground, grass, or unsafe roadways simply to board a bus. Every resident deserves a safe and dignified transit experience. Investing in accessible bus stops is an investment in equity. It demonstrates that our city values independence, inclusion, and equal access for all residents. Accessible infrastructure also benefits parents with strollers, veterans, seniors, and anyone with temporary mobility limitations. As you consider future budgets and capital improvement projects, I urge you to continue investing in public transit and accessible infrastructure. Transit should not be viewed as an afterthought or something to address only when funding is left over. It should be recognized as an essential public service that strengthens our economy, supports our workforce, and improves quality of life throughout our communities. throughout our community. I encourage the council to work closely with Valley Metro, disability advocates, and transit riders to identify and prioritize bus stops that need accessibility improvements. By listening to those who rely on the system every day, we can make meaningful investments that have a lasting impact. A community is judged by how well it serves its most vulnerable residents. Let's ensure that our transportation system reflects our commitment to accessibility, dignity and opportunity for everyone. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Welcome.

Hi. I was just at a committee meeting earlier today for y'all. My name is Kate Woolley. I am here to reiterate my colleague Dr. Bishop's call for the specific updating of non-accessible city bus stops. The ADA will have its 36th anniversary this year, and as part of our commitment to our disabled brothers and sisters in Roanoke, we would like to urge you to go not just to the letter of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but above and beyond. As the ADA says, any bus stop either newly created or receiving significant alterations is required to be brought up to ADA standards. However, there are many bus stops that have not gotten alterations, and in fact, we would hesitate to call bus stops at all, as they are a sign in a ditch. These Bus stops are not just undignified and unsafe for the most abled riders, but for riders who are disabled in any way, be that temporary, walking on crutches, permanent but limited, somebody who uses a walker, or a lifelong disability, somebody who uses a power wheelchair. Yes, we have radar to support our disabled citizens, but it is the belief of BRAG that every citizen of Roanoke should have access to every public service of Roanoke, not just the ones that have been created specifically for that. I would also like to invite all of you to come to our next meeting. We hold these at the Gainesboro Library on the first Thursday of every month at 5.30 p.m. We would love to see any of you here. In addition, I have brought our points in an open letter, which I will be handing this way as soon as I'm done. Have an excellent night.

Thank you. will be Jennifer Truskowski and Fran Fussell.

Welcome.

Hello. Thank you, honorable city council. Thank you for listening and having me. I'm Joy Truskowski. I live in Old Southwest, and I am an ESL teacher. I've been working with immigrants, both adults and children, for 14 years in Roanoke. And I've worked with people from all over the world, all different languages, all different backgrounds, all different religions. We've shared meals. We've been to each other's homes. You may or may not be aware that ICE is operating in Roanoke. We know of cases where people have been detained while their loved ones sometimes wait for days or even a week before they even find out where their family member is. Some of them are deported back to their dangerous home country. Others are held in warehouse detention centers. The detention centers all over this country are abusing detainees. They are given rotten food, exposed to artificial light 24 hours a day, forced to sleep cramped together in cages in unsanitary conditions, denied contact with their attorneys and loved ones, denied vital medical care, and even assaulted. 52 people have died in ice facilities during this current administration many due to medical neglect and some due to suicide I Cannot wrap my heart and mind around the fact that our government is choosing to treat anybody like this So what can we do in Roanoke? and so I'm asking you to Please terminate whatever contract you have with FLOC and remove all FLOC cameras from the city or do anything you can to move in that direction. The FLOC cameras automatically record license plate numbers and track who is on the road or sidewalk and when. FLOC claims that the data belongs to Roanoke City. We know that federal law demands that police cooperate with ICE. We know that it is easy for ICE to access the FLOC data if they really want to. We also know the direction of our federal government. First, they were going after the worst of the worst. Then it was anybody who was undocumented. Then they started taking legal status away from refugees, asylum seekers, and others with documentation. So I have many students who are afraid to go to the store. They're afraid to come to class. They're afraid to go to work. I'm terrified for them. If you want to protect the people in the city, I'm asking you to please remove the flock cameras. In all the 14 years I've worked with my students, I have never had a problem with any immigrants, documented or undocumented. I've worked with them too. They all come here wanting to become citizens, live and work safely, raise their families, and contribute to society. Is Roanoke a place where they can do that? Thank you so much for your consideration and time. Welcome.

Thank you. Thank you for being here for me. My name is Fran Fussell. I live at 705 Highland Avenue. I'm the mayor's neighbor down the street. To the council and to the mayor and the vice mayor and the city manager, I just wanted to say I moved here voluntarily at the beginning of last year, and I love it. I am here to say I think you all are doing a great job. And I just wanted to touch on some of the things that I love about Roanoke. Okay, so I volunteer at Highlands Park Elementary School, and when I used to walk across the park, there was a big section of the sidewalk that was all messed up. You all got in there and made it way better than it was. I was afraid one of the children were going to get up and hit another child in the head with a brick. But before that happened. And then you all have a multitude of trash containers. People cannot say they can't throw away trash. Trash containers are everywhere, and they are empty regularly. And the grass is cut. It was cut this morning. And the dog park, I love the dog park. And you can't say you can't pick up the dog poop because those little poop things are everywhere. So, you know, all of that is just wonderful. And I know we have the homeless thing going on, but I will say the city, I feel very hopeful. Things are being done to try to help those people. Because I had to go to DSS this morning to see one of my families. I'm a CASA volunteer. And there's a window dedicated to helping homeless people on Monday mornings. It's 8 to 12, and it's an initiative just for that. I thought, that's really great. And then the trails. The trails are wonderful around here. They're beautiful. They're clean. I can go there any time. I feel safe. It is great. There are activities going on here all the time. I feel welcome here. People are very nice. I've fallen down a couple of times on the old sidewalks. But that's on me. Also, another thing I like about Roanoke is that you all have saved old buildings. And the neighborhood school concept, I love it. The schools are not too big, so the people can know the students because the schools are not, it's not one of those 1,000 people schools. It's like a two or three or 400 people school. You can know people there. I love that. And the trees, oh, the trees are beautiful. And you all are planting new trees, too, because they're like people. They die. So we have new trees being planted. And I just wanted to say, I think everybody that's responsible, a big attaboy, pat on the back. Thank you. I love it. It wasn't directly related to what everybody was saying. And my church is at the Gainesboro.

Very, very dependent on what you all are doing there.

So thank you for listening, and all I can say is keep up the good work. I love it here. See you all around town.

All right. Thank you so much.

All the speakers.

Well, that was a nice way to end.

Got one more. I got one more.

Oh, no, we have more.

I have one more. Jordan Bell. Jordan Bell. It's up here.

I hate to follow that good message with this message, but good evening mayor and city council members. This has been weighing very heavy on my heart and I've really battled with coming down here to talk about this, but I convinced myself to come and talk about it because I think it's important to address. I want to address a comment that was made during a discussion surrounding a council vote that was brought to my attention through social media last week. Councilman Volusen told Councilman Fajon Nash that Councilman Hagan owned him because of how he voted, while two other council members voted the same as Councilman Nash and Hagan. I am not here to question anyone's character or to call anyone a racist, because I believe we should be careful about assigning motives to people. But I do believe we have a responsibility to recognize when our words carry historical weight. In America, the idea of a white man owning a black man is not just a figure of speech. It echoes one of the darkest chapters in our nation's history. For generations, black Americans were legally treated as property rather than as citizens with independent voices and equal dignity. Because of that history, those words can resonate in ways that go far beyond a political disagreement. Perhaps the intent was to suggest that Councilman Nash was simply following another councilman's lead. If that was the intent, there were many ways to express that criticism without using language that recalls a history of ownership and subjugation. The reality is that every member of council has a voting record that can be examined, questioned, and debated. Four members, including Hagan and Nash, voted the same on the matter that was called to attention, but only one council member's character was questioned, which was the African-American's council character, Councilman Nash. You may question his politics, but saying someone owns him because of the way he votes is questioning his character, and that's one thing that cannot be questioned. Voting in agreement with people of different political parties or political views without disrespectful disagreement is a part of public service. We all have the right to disagree with one another's decisions and to hold our elected officials accountable, but questioning someone's vote should never require language that diminishes their independence or carries historical implications that distract from the substance of the issue. I also hope that Roanoke's local government does not become a reflection of the toxic political environment that has become so common in our national politics. Our community deserves better than personal attacks, inflammatory rhetoric, and language that divides rather than informs. Local government is where neighbors solve problems together. It should be a place where disagreements are handled with respect, civility, and a shared commitment to serving the people of Roanoke. This moment is not about condemning a person. It is about recognizing that words matter. They shape public trust, they shape how our community feels and is seen, and they shape the example we set for our children and future generations to come. I hope we can move forward with a renewed commitment to speak to one another in ways that respect the dignity and independence of every member of this council and every citizen of Roanoke moving forward, even if we strongly disagree. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Bell.

And one other speaker, Catherine Lee.

Yes, welcome back.

Yes, my name is Catherine, and I'm I'm here to speak again in support of all the other speakers that went. And then also to explicitly request or I guess follow up on some of the council discussion that occurred at the continuation of the public hearing resulting in the approval of the proposed zoning amendment specifically related to the special use permitting process for data centers as a permitted use. At that meeting, I understand there was some discussion and conversation around acknowledgement that perhaps there is some more research that can be done to help inform application requirements from the developers towards the planning department in order to ensure that these things are being appropriately vetted. Um, and more specifically, um, I was one of the members that submitted some recommendations, um, members of the community that submitted recommendations, um, earlier in the year to you all. And I did email you all again, apologies for falling off the map for a little bit. Um, so I just want to, again, congratulate you on that hearing and to say, um, part of the reason that I think this congratulations carries a lot of weight is that, um, in all of those former roles I mentioned, um, as a developer, I was the one that was contacting each of you individually, um, to, introduce myself as a representative of the company to understand who you are and what you cared about and then to source and execute not only contracts but approvals to allow for the effective permitting of these large scale energy projects. So I'm quite intimate with the process. And that being said, I have a lot of compassion and empathy for the level of responsibility carried on the weight of all of your shoulders when it comes to these matters. So again, congratulations. Along those lines, I do have a joke where I say And please bear with me because this is going to sound silly at first, but we shouldn't be afraid to die because our bodies are built to do it and therefore it's kind of like being afraid to go to the bathroom. That being said, just because it's something that's natural doesn't necessarily mean you should be going to the bathroom and places where that's not really okay. or doesn't excuse taking someone else's life. And so, speaking independently of any group, just as a representative of myself, I do not necessarily oppose development because I do view it as one of the unique qualities of our country going back to its founding. That being said, I do think it's really important to ensure that development is done in an ethical manner. So I wanted to make a suggestion to you all in support of exploration of some of those recommendations, but to also encourage open and frank conversation between you all as representatives of but also members of the community and the people in the community with interest or attachment to this matter to appoint a special committee or a subcommittee to on your behalf and working with yourselves and the county staff further explore some of those recommendations. In part because I also hope to provide an avenue for you all to educate yourselves on what is and isn't normal to expect when speaking with developers on matters of large-scale land use. Thank you very much for your time. Again, I'm going to do better next week, you guys. I'm sorry for the confusion of sign-up.

Thank you. All right. Thank you. We appreciate you coming down tonight. That's all of our speakers?

All of our speakers. Okay. Thank you.

Well, again, thank you to everyone who came out tonight to speak. We appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness and concerns and questions. And there being no further business set forth to come before the council this evening, we are adjourned. Thank you.