Roanoke City Council greeted the new executive director of the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at its meeting on Monday Feb. 1. Landon Howard comes from Mobile, Alabama to replace David Kohljede, who retired last month. Howard also spent 15 years at a similar visitor’s bureau in Chattanooga, TN, which has undergone a downtown renaissance of its own over the past few decades.
“We’re so excited about being here,” Howard told council members. He worked in marketing for both bureaus. He called this area “the most beautiful part of America.” Howard also said he was a big believer in co-op efforts; in Mobile he worked with other Gulf Coast city destination spots on joint projects. “We believe in regionalism,” said Howard.
Councilman Rupert Cutler liked that approach, saying, “I’ve always hoped that we do more in the way of regional promotion.” Howard said, “the number one goal of an agency like the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is to create jobs.”
Greenways: Another portion of the Roanoke River Greenway is closer to being built – a segment that would stretch to the Memorial Avenue Bridge – as it will go out to bid later this month. That’s according to Roanoke City Manager Darlene Burcham, who will leave office in March. City Council passed an ordinance that will ensure the Army Corps of Engineers access to property along the Roanoke River as they work on the ongoing flood control project and the adjacent greenway. When finished, the greenway and Roanoke River, complete with new bench cuts, will be turned over to the city, which owns the property.
Snow Removal: Burcham praised the work that 50+ city employees did after a foot of snow fell on Roanoke last weekend. All of the major roads and most of the residential streets were cleared by Monday, if not sooner. Residential areas were “obviously more challenging,” said Burcham, since some parked their cars in the streets, impeding the progress of plows.
Burcham said snowstorms last weekend and in December were the only two of significance during her decade as city manager. Without dedicated snow removal equipment “sitting ready,” she noted, Roanoke instead straps a plow blade on as many pieces of equipment as it can and recruits employees with commercial licenses to help out. “Some city workers slept overnight in firehouses when they could not get home during the most recent storm,” according to Burcham. The city worked “day in, day out, 24 hours a day” to make streets passable as soon as possible. Burcham also noted that the two recent snowstorms has forced the city to dip into its contingency fund for overtime and road clearing materials.”
Burcham also praised the work done by Roanoke City police in locating the body of young Aveion Lewis, found in a landfill, calling it a “very challenging case.” Mayor David Bowers said Council was “saddened” by that death and by that of Morgan Harrington, the Virginia Tech student whose body was found last week in Charlottesville. Councilman Dr. David Trinkle knows Harrington’s father from his work at Carilion. There will be a memorial mass for Morgan Harrington this Friday, February 5 at 3:30 p.m., at St. Andrews Catholic Church.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]