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Home My WebLink About1/17/2003 - Special 51 January 172003 , Roanoke County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke, Virginia 24018 January 17, 2003 The Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia met this day at the History Museum and Historical Society of Western Virginia, Center in the Square, this being an adjourned meeting from January 2, 2003 for the purpose of attending the Greater Roanoke Valley Leadership Summit meeting. IN RE: CALL TO ORDER Chairman McNamara called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. The roll call was taken. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Joseph P. McNamara, Vice Chairman Richard C. Flora, Supervisors Michael W. Altizer, Joseph B. “Butch” Church, H. Odell “Fuzzy” Minnix MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Elmer C. Hodge, County Administrator; Paul M. Mahoney, County Attorney; Diane S. Childers, Clerk to the Board OTHERS PRESENT: Elected officials and staff from the Cities of Covington, Roanoke, and Salem; Counties of Alleghany and Montgomery; Town of Vinton; Barry DuVal, Roanoke Regional Airport Alliance Consultant; Ray Smoot, Virginia Tech; Beth Doughty, Roanoke Regional Alliance and Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce; Wayne Strickland, Roanoke Valley Allegheny Regional Commission; Kent Chrisman and John Bradshaw, Roanoke History Museum; Jim Sears, Center in the Square; and Jay Turner, Roanoke Regional Airport Authority. 52 January 172003 , IN RE: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Mayor Ralph Smith, City of Roanoke, welcomed the participants and introductions were made. Mr. Jim Sears, Executive Director of Center in the Square, thanked the localities present for the continued support of Center in the Square. He stated that Center in the Square is an economic development organization which is achieving its mission through the arts. He emphasized its importance in improving the quality of life in our region, attracting and retaining business, and providing facilities for educational opportunities. He noted that there are approximately 600,000 annual visitors to the facilities, of which approximately 300,000 are school children. Mr. Kent Chrisman, Executive Director of the History Museum and Historical Society, spoke regarding the O. Winston Link exhibit. He noted that the history museum, founded in 1957, has a perspective of regionalism and that their goal is preserving, promoting, and publishing the history of the region. The O. Winston Link exhibit is designed to capture the closing chapter of the industrial revolution and will eventually be housed in the Roanoke Passenger Station facility. It is anticipated that this facility, combined with Hotel Roanoke, will provide additional tourism opportunities for the region. The exhibit will contain the largest collection of O. Winston Link works in the world. 53 January 172003 , IN RE: DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS Mr. Barry DuVal, Roanoke Regional Airport Alliance Consultant, noted five key factors for economic competitiveness: ? Competitive workforce ? Intellectual capacity to compete in a knowledge-based economy ? Quality of life ? Pro-business environment ? Public/private partnerships ? Connection of the region to the outside world (highways, rail, information highway, jet service) Mr. DuVal reported that major airlines are struggling due to the after- effects of September 11, as well as their significant fixed costs. He indicated that low- fare carriers are succeeding in the current environment due to their lower fixed costs and operating expenses, as well as their focus on small to medium size markets. The trend throughout the United States is the formation of regional alliances, which are public private partnerships, to recruit low-fare carriers. Mr. DuVal noted that the two airports in Virginia that have shown significant growth in the past year are Norfolk and Newport News. Norfolk is served by Southwest Airlines and Newport News is served by AirTran. The recruitment of low-fare carriers improves economic competitiveness and increases access to key hubs such as Atlanta and New York. There are two essential components to the trend of forming successful regional alliances: (1) A strong pledge of support from regional businesses. (2) An air service improvement fund, typically in the form of a public private partnership, to reduce operating costs for airlines, thereby 54 January 172003 , allowing the air carrier to expand service in exchange for cost reductions. The formation of the alliance is critical in encouraging existing airlines to lower costs or expand services, or resulting in the recruitment of new carriers. Mr. DuVal noted that Virginia Tech is the largest user of the Roanoke Regional Airport. Ray Smoot, Vice President of Administration and Treasurer of Virginia Tech, provided the following usage data for Virginia Tech’s air travel in the past year to areas serviced by AirTran: 634 flights to Atlanta, 143 flights to New York, and 3,500 flights to other cities. This is approximately $1 million in air fare at the AirTran rate. This figure does not include individuals coming to Virginia Tech (recruiters, student travel, researchers, etc.). Mr. Smoot noted that the greatest negative he experiences in trying to market the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center is air service. The two complaints regarding air service are that it is too expensive and relies on the use of commuter planes. Ms. Beth Doughty, President of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, reported that in the annual survey conducted by the Chamber, air service has consistently ranked in the top three issues of concern for the past four years. For this reason, she sees promise in the ability to pull together the public private partnership in an effort to attract a low-fare carrier. An additional advantage of the partnership is viewing a broad region, and the chamber has a network in place consisting of other chambers that are facing similar issues which can be utilized to assess and mobilize a 55 January 172003 , broad business coalition to ensure the project’s success. Mr. Jay Turner, Vice-Chair of the Roanoke Regional Airport Authority, reported that the authority is using initiatives to try to encourage some of the existing carriers to return to jet service versus prop planes. Mr. DuVal reported that based on research, AirTran is the best candidate for a low-fare carrier to service this region. The Regional Alliance is implementing a travel pledge campaign to demonstrate the demand of the business community and their interest in supporting a low-fare carrier. The Regional Alliance will be asking businesses to pledge a percentage of their air travel to AirTran. Some of the largest users of the airport in this region have already begun examining usage rates. The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce will be assisting in the administration of the travel pledge campaign. IN RE: CLOSING COMMENTS Mr. Wayne Strickland advised that the next Mayor and Chairs meeting would be held on February 14. The next leadership summit meeting will be in April 2003. Mayor Don Davis, Town of Vinton, requested support for two legislative items that the Town has pending in the General Assembly: (1) A Charter Bill Amendment which would require that any employee running for elected office must resign from their position. (2) Legislation which would modify the requirement for grant 56 January 172003 , applications and allow Towns to use their own demographic information rather than the County’s demographic data. Mr. Ray Smoot advised that Virginia Tech will be hosting the next leadership summit on April 11, 2003 at 12:00 noon at the Donaldson Brown Center. IN RE: ADJOURNMENT Chairman McNamara adjourned the meeting at 1:30 p.m. Submitted by: Approved by: ________________________ ________________________ Diane S. Childers Joseph P. McNamara Clerk to the Board Chairman