Economic Benefits: What are the long-term economic benefits of investing in our greenway system and reopening the campground, and how would you communicate these benefits to constituents who may be skeptical of the costs?

Outdoor and recreational tourism in Roanoke will be one of the legs that spur the economic growth of the city and region. Growing recreational tourism needs to be partnered with furthered growth in sectors like biotech, transportation, and manufacturing. When we get these areas growing, it will take some of the growing stress off of homeowners, who are carrying the bulk of the burden to fund city services with real estate taxes. Working to reopen the Roanoke Mountain campground, finishing and investing in the greenway are two measures that we can implement to get the ball rolling. Roanokers’ can directly enjoy these projects everyday on top of what should be a basis to grow a sector of the local economy.

Community Engagement: How do you plan to engage with environmental groups and local residents to address concerns about expanding the greenway and reopening the Roanoke Mountain Campground? What strategies will you use to ensure transparency and public involvement in the decision-making process?

Being stewards of our natural environment also means showcasing why it is so important to more people, and future generations. Finishing the greenway and giving people that live in the city access to something like the campground on Roanoke Mountain are two immediate and hyper local assets that we can use to show people how important preservation measures and movements are. I will always have an open door to listen to people’s concerns, show up wherever I’m invited, and work my butt off to make sure the city government operates in the same service oriented fashion.

Resource Allocation: How would you work with adjoining localities to secure additional resources for the region's outdoor recreation initiatives, including the greenway and campground projects? Can you support increasing the recreation budget to a specific target (e.g., from 2% to 3%)?

One of the biggest challenges that the future Council has is rebuilding the relationships and perceptions of our neighbors. I am committed to doing that work because we need better regional cooperation across the board for dozens of issues. It starts with showing up and building personal relationships with our neighbors in order to encourage cross jurisdictional cooperation. I would like to see an increase in the recreation budgets overall.