ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Council meeting on Tuesday attracted a full audience as members tackled key community concerns, including Evans Spring, the school budget, and new rules for downtown events.
Evans Spring
Residents voiced worries about Evans Spring, the last large open space in Roanoke, which spans about 150 acres. Plans for major development in the area have raised environmental concerns.
“We have continuously asked you to please think about the wetlands we have,” said one community member.
Virginia Sweet, a member of Friends of Evans Spring, emphasized the importance of protecting the inland marsh, which is rare in the region.
“We want Evans Spring protected because it is an inland marsh, which is very rare. We do not want highly commercialized property there,” Sweet said. She also noted efforts to preserve the tree canopy in the area.
School budget changes spark uncertainty among residents
The council also discussed recent changes to the school funding policy and short-term solutions for overcrowding in schools.
The city now adjusts the school budget by adding or subtracting 34% of any change in local tax revenue from the previous year’s amount. This approach aims to smooth out large fluctuations in funding, meaning schools get smaller increases in good years but are less exposed to big cuts in bad years.
Council approved over $4 million for temporary learning cottages to ease crowding at two high schools, but some community members see this as only a temporary fix.
Emily Casey of the Roanoke City Council of PTAs and PTSAs expressed concern about ongoing cuts.
“Budget cuts to our middle school students have made them lose tutors and Saturday school. Our elementary students have lost their Spanish program. We cannot continue to keep making cuts to our schools if we want our students and Roanoke city by extension to succeed to the best of our ability,” Casey said.
Proposed policy for public events raises concerns for downtown businesses
The city is considering new permits and fee structures to offset costs related to street closures and traffic control during events.
Some business owners worry that higher fees could make it harder to host popular events that are vital to their operations.
Jason Martin, owner of three downtown restaurants, highlighted the importance of events to his business.
“They’re extremely important to my business model, which is becoming harder and harder every day with the climate. Not being able to do the events we rely on would be extremely detrimental to not only my business but also my employees that count on the earnings that they use to support them and their families. I cannot stress this enough, this is a huge part of our end of the year money,” Martin said.
Mayor Cobb and Vice Mayor McGuire indicated support for pausing the new event policy to engage more with affected groups and explore creative solutions.