Thursday, December 18, 2008
Vendors, officials need to listen
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Shanna Flowers is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
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In the constant back and forth, mistrust and miscues between Roanoke officials and vendors over the future of the City Market Building, it's a little difficult this season to gauge who's been naughty and who's been nice.
So in the spirit of good will toward men, is it too much to ask the two sides to show a little compassion toward each other as Roanoke tries to hash out how to proceed with downtown's signature building?
The vendors are hurting economically, and who among us can't sympathize with that? But to demand answers from city leaders "before Christmas" about things for which there are no answers yet is unrealistic.
Vendors need to be open-minded enough to accept and appreciate that this is a communitywide endeavor and that lots of voices will be in the mix -- not just theirs.
On the other hand, city officials might not have the answers the vendors crave right now, but they have an obligation to better communicate with these mom and pop business owners.
City leaders can provide reassurance to rattled vendors -- and the community -- by being open and forthcoming with what they know.
Monday, City Manager Darlene Burcham shared some general details for how the market building process will proceed, and Wednesday, Assistant City Manager Brian Townsend reiterated those to me in a telephone interview:
n After the holidays, the city will finalize a contract with an engineering and design consultant. Generally, the process will follow a three-step schedule of events.
n The first step will be for the firm to go over the landmark building, which recently underwent sprucing up after mouse droppings prompted the health department to padlock it. The "fact-finding" mission will collect data about the condition of the building and its HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems.
n Next, the city will host a meeting so the public can weigh in with what it wants the building to be. In a community meeting earlier this fall, some suggestions hinted at retail and nightlife.
n Based on that information, the consultant then will devise as many as three conceptual drawings of the market building of the future. The public will again be tapped for its thoughts.
n Ideally, sometime in the spring, the consultant will have a final concept, which likely will draw the most popular ideas from each of the three concepts. The staff will present the final concept to city council, along with a cost estimate.
There are other steps after that, of course, but Townsend guessed that the market building project could go out for bid next fall.
These are just plans, of course, and nothing vendors should pounce on as gospel.
But they give everyone a clearer picture. If things work right, everyone will be properly informed along the way.
