Friday, July 06, 2007
Preserve green space in Northwest
From the RoundTable blog
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Valerie Garner
Garner, of Roanoke, is chairwoman of the Countryside Neighborhood Alliance.
The commentary by Vice Mayor David Trinkle on June 25, titled "River Rocks," was very interesting indeed. To take liberty with the opening line -- "Well here we go again" -- this response is not about the amphitheater or Elmwood Park or flooding or the process at the council meeting.
It is however about Trinkle's comment regarding natural treasures. The Roanoke city-owned Countryside Golf Club is Northwest city's natural treasure. It is a treasure for the entire city if our leaders would just open their eyes.
It is our park. It is our only park. It is a park that pays for itself, at a minimum. To paraphrase Trinkle's commentary, it encourages citizens and visitors alike to get outside and enjoy the green space, mountain views while getting exercise on an affordable public golf course.
The visitors come from out of state as guests at the airport hotels. The William Fleming High School golf team uses it for practice. The competition-size pool was covered and was used for swim competitions and community gatherings.
The Countryside Neighborhood Alliance had our May Neighborhood Month event at the pavilion. It was bursting at the seams with music and fellowship that cannot be quantified in tax revenue. The $50,000 consultant hired to formulate a new parks and recreation master plan for both Roanoke and Roanoke County stated that a park that pays for itself is the ideal for any city. The consultant identified the lack of any park facility in this annexed portion of Northwest city.
Regarding Trinkle's words, "We have some natural treasures in our midst," our beautiful Countryside Golf Club was envisioned as a signature, green park for the city decades ago. Fortunately for us, this was visionary back then.
Now, more than ever, we need more green space in Roanoke. Strategically, the future of Roanoke, in terms of quality of life and economic vitality, should synergistically tie in all our assets -- our entire city -- with this largely ignored natural asset that Roanoke almost destroyed.
To Trinkle and all the "For the City" council members: The citizens in this community ask you to view the Countryside Golf Club as one of the city's treasures and not only as a tax base for projects we will rarely use.
Who stands as our visionary for our community?
