The Roanoke Regional Business Leadership Fund was established in 2003 by the business community to participate in the local and statewide political process by supporting candidates who understand business concerns and their impact on our communities. Oversight for the BLF is provided by a set of approximately 25 business leaders from the region.
As consistently covered in the media, ongoing concerns related to the homeless and public safety are having a significant impact on the city of Roanoke and more specifically, downtown Roanoke. Many factors have been identified as contributing to the current situation, and the fact is, Roanoke is not the only city facing these issues. Housing affordability, services and support, mental health and substance abuse programs, the community response, weather conditions, and various policy initiatives have been mentioned as reasons homeless and low-income individuals and families are attracted to the Roanoke Valley. We all recognize and empathize with those that find themselves in need of such support.
Years of hard work resulted in an attractive downtown where people liked to live and do business, but we are now at a crossroads. This ongoing situation has reached a point where downtown living and conducting business (running a business, shopping, entertainment, etc.) is being jeopardized due to safety and related concerns. The BLF feels strongly that the leadership in Roanoke city has not reached a balance between the needs of these individuals and the needs of citizens and businesses located downtown.
It is our understanding that businesses are now expressing concern in finding employees willing to work downtown. Some businesses are now looking for new locations outside of downtown Roanoke. Tourism and the arts are being affected (hotels, restaurants, theater, museums, entertainment, etc.), as well as those that either live or would like to live downtown. We all have heard some of these unfortunate stories.
One specific concern is that the city of Roanoke, for whatever reason, is not able or willing to enforce the codes and statutes that have been put in place to assist in dealing fairly with some of these issues. Maybe even more significantly, the business community has not been “invited to the table” on a regular basis when our city leaders are debating and considering workable solutions to these ongoing problems. By essentially ignoring the business community’s concerns in practice, the city does not benefit from ideas and resources that we could assist with. The BLF sincerely requests that the city leadership reach out to the business community in an open and transparent manner and allow for constructive dialogue on a recurring basis.
There are usually two sides to all issues, but to essentially ignore one over the other is not productive. If we continue to operate as we are today, the members of the BLF have grave concerns about the future and viability of downtown Roanoke, which historically has been the focal point for business, tourism, the arts, education and entertainment for the region. The recently announced New Downtown Safety and Visibility Enhancement Plan is a welcome first step, but more is needed. The city of Roanoke must 1) provide a more open and receptive relationship with our business community and 2) strike a better balance between the needs of downtown business and the needs of the unsheltered downtown. The fact is, we want the same thing: an economically viable and safe downtown that we all can benefit from.
Lee Wilhelm wrote this on behalf of the Business Leadership Fund, of which he is chairman.
