By Todd Jackson

Archives Reprint

   todd.jackson@roanoke.com

   981-3253

    Roanoke's latest attempt to create a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial continues to roll forward.

    City council got its first official look Monday at a detailed plan to use downtown's First Street bridge for a King memorial, and seemed generally receptive to it.

    The city has already approved a $2.2 million steel replacement of the old iron bridge. A council-authorized citizens committee has been working on a concept to include King memorial elements as part of the replacement. The committee has recommended that a park - including a bronze statue of King - be developed on the bridge's northern end.

    The new bridge would include a pedestrian sidewalk on its western side and would also be open to one-way vehicular traffic from downtown into the Gainsboro area, according to the committee's recommendation, which incorporates about $500,000 in additional improvements.

    State and national officials of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - an organization started by King - have seen the Roanoke committee's plan and approve of it, said Perneller Chubb-Wilson, a committee member and president of Roanoke's SCLC chapter.

    Chubb-Wilson said she walked over the First Street bridge into downtown countless times growing up. She said the memorial is already being referred to as "bridging the gap," which is a fitting way to describe it.

    Alison Blanton, president of the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation, told the council that her group is supportive of the memorial but would prefer that the old iron bridge be saved. Blanton said it's the last historic bridge that spans the city's downtown railroad tracks and is an important link to Roanoke's railroad past.

    The council took no action on the memorial plan Monday. However, outgoing Councilwoman Linda Wyatt, who was attending her last council meeting, released some frustration at residents who have criticized the plan for several reasons, including the use of the bridge as a memorial, its cost and the lack of attendance of King committee members at its regular meetings.

    Wyatt said there are some who always want to "tear down" anything the city does, which has included several other attempts to name something after King.

    "You can be a builder, or you can be a detractor," she said.

    In other matters Monday, council:

    Gave final approval to the Western Virginia Water Authority - the city's joint water and sewer venture with Roanoke County that's set to start operation July 1. As part of the changeover, the city's water infrastructure at Carvins Cove will be owned by the authority, but the large tract of forested land that surrounds the cove reservoir will continue to be owned by the city.

    Approved a $150,000 federal grant to be used for additional renovations of the historic Dumas Hotel, just down the street from the Hotel Roanoke. The city has also agreed to spend $600,000 on the project.

    Approved a $235,000 cost overrun involving utility infrastructure improvements along the downtown railwalk, including the area in front of what's commonly known as Warehouse Row on Norfolk Avenue. City Manager Darlene Burcham said the overrun prompted the city to revise its policy in dealing with American Electric Power, and such an overrun will not happen again.

    Honored Wyatt, Mayor Ralph Smith and Councilman Bill Bestpitch for their service. Their terms on council end next week.

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