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?

The greenway system is an entryway into our city and region, a connector of our localities, and a doorway to economic opportunity for our city and region’s growth.

The economic benefits include supporting tourism, employee talent recruitment and retention, redevelopment opportunities (Riverdale, Norwich, potential expansion within Evans Spring), local downtown and regional festivals, fitness and a healthy environment.

I believe our Mill Mountain is underutilized as an economic benefit for our city and region. Re-opening the campground would add a much-needed local camping amenity drawing people from the Blue Ridge Parkway, the City of Roanoke, and tourists from all over the nation. I also believe that utilizing the Discovery Center on Mill Mountain as a Visitor Center (with point of entry for Mill Mountain Zoo, information about the Mill Mountain Star, information and guides to the trails on the mountain and greenway system in the Roanoke Valley, gifts celebrating the Star and Zoo, etc.) would greatly enhance the visitor experience on the Mountain. With the 75th anniversary of the Star, the extraordinary asset of Mill Mountain Zoo, and current efforts to expand trails on the mountain, the timing is perfect to re-open the campground and broadly engage citizens and tourists alike. The economic benefits will be exponential as the “experience” of visiting the mountain will be greatly enhanced.

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?

I appreciate the leadership VOICe is providing in raising the profile and importance of the Roanoke Mountain campground and greenway expansion. I believe we as local governments, through our community engagement offices and best practices, need to more broadly engage our constituents in hearing about their awareness of and hopes for the potential re-opening of the campground and greenway expansion. This increases broad-based input and “ownership” or connection to the project. Through communication initiatives that include print articles as well as social media engagement, public meetings throughout the city and region, we can share the investments already made as a locality(ies), how these investments benefit residents and tourists, how expansion will further benefit the city and region’s growth, and how citizens can not only be engaged in the decision-making, but also become investors in the growth and expansion.

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%)?

I would work collaboratively with neighboring localities to ensure that we are exploring all available options for funding and resources to support and sustain our outdoor recreation initiatives and amenities. I would build on the outstanding partnership we have with the Roanoke Regional Partnership, Roanoke Outside and the Roanoke Regional Greenways Commission to research and explore funding options. As we begin work on our FY25/26 budget, I will support consideration of an increase in the recreation budget that best aligns with our projected revenues and within the current capital improvement projects.