Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 20, 1995 TAG: 9506200091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
At the time, everybody nodded. Several officials said they thought the report had some good, if not obvious, ideas. Then they all went on their way, promising to talk more later.
The report hasn't been heard from since. And to make matters worse, no one seems to know where the responsibility for taking action falls.
Some point to Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, who spearheaded the effort to convince the localities to kick in money to fund the $30,000 report. Cranwell also solicited financial support from the business community, which contributed $15,000 to the project.
"I really don't know what's going to happen with the report," Vinton Mayor Charles Hill said. "I haven't heard anything from the other governments, nor have I heard from Dick Cranwell, who called the report together.
"I guess I was anticipating that at some point, he would get the group back together."
Cranwell, however, says he has done his part, and now he's waiting for the local governments to take the helm.
"My purpose was to try to bring people together to look at the suggestions," he said Friday. "I don't think those of us at the state level ought to do anything except facilitate when it comes to figuring out what local government officials should do."
The report by Towers-Perrin consultant Bill Evans outlined suggestions for regional cooperation. Among the consultant's recommendations: increased collaboration in the placement of fire and rescue stations; creation of a shared dispatch center; regionalizing refuse collection; joint purchasing of goods and health care insurance; and expanded bus service.
Evans also advocated establishing a council of governments, consisting of officials and administrators from Roanoke, Roanoke County, Salem, Vinton and Botetourt County, with any necessary funding to be provided by the General Assembly.
Efforts to petition state legislators for funding would be most effective if there were evidence of broad-based, valleywide commitment, Cranwell said.
"Hopefully, local governments will look at what Towers-Perrin has said and see if they can work together," he said.
Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
Roanoke Mayor David Bowers plans to include the report's recommendations regarding managed health care as a plank in his July 10 State of the City address. If the city and county enrolled all their employees in the same program, they could save money while ensuring equality in health benefits, Bowers said.
In addition, Bowers and Roanoke County supervisors have said they are looking forward to discussing some of the proposals at a joint meeting July 11.
The report, however, calls for the five governments to come together - not just Roanoke and Roanoke County - and no one has scheduled a meeting that includes all the jurisdictions. When Salem City Manager Randy Smith presented the report to City Council members at their May 22 meeting, he told them he had no recommendations.
The business community has been a little more enthusiastic. Tom Brock, chairman of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, lauded elements of the report, especially the proposed council of governments, in a recent edition of the group's newsletter.
"That's an organization that would cut across political boundaries," Brock said in a subsequent phone interview. "When you look at things that are good for the region, it might, and in some cases definitely would, involve cutting across local governments."
But at least one elected official has said the creation of a new body is unnecessary.
"It's always easier to create a new body to deal with issues rather than going to a forum that's already in place, but it isn't needed," Roanoke County Supervisor Harry Nickens said. "The Fifth Planning District already serves as a regional forum with local representatives, and I guarantee you Wayne Strickland and his crew is just about as apolitical a group as you'll find when it comes to dealing with politicians."
Nickens said he supports the philosophies behind the consultant's report, but was disappointed by the lack of in-depth analysis and new information.
"That document appeared to recount for us things we already know about our region and past cooperation efforts," he said. "It's kind of like that old saying about giving someone your watch and then paying them to tell you the time."
Staff writer Kimberly N. Martin contributed information to this report.
by CNB