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Watch and hear what Leslie had to say in Town Council meetings and on television news. |
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Interested in learning more about Blacksburg Town Council Meetings? View agendas for upcoming meetings, subscribe to RSS feeds, and listen to a full video of past meetings on the Town of Blacksburg website. |
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About Leslie |
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Blacksburg & You |
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Town Council |
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Copyright 2010 Leslie Hager-Smith |
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Topic: What interest does the Town have in Historic Structures that are Neglected or Demolished?
Place: Blacksburg Town Council Meeting Date: February 9, 2010 Running Time: 5:21
After requiring Mrs. Bev Taylor to keep her historic Main St. house on the market for an additional year, Blacksburg Town Council directed the Planning Commission to draft stricter rules for redevelopment in the Blacksburg Historic Overlay District. The result, Ordinance 1546, was met with vocal criticism from both residents and out-of-town property owners. Some people expressed concern that their property rights were being eroded, even as they accepted public matching grants to improve their buildings. Others found the ordinance vague or confusing. Council took note and voted to table 1546 indefinitely. At the same time, it created a task force to study the issue further and return an improved ordinance for council’s consideration. Please refer to the video below Demolition of the Bennett-Pugh House from the Town Council meeting of January 13, 2009 for more information about this topic. |
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Topic: The Winter of 2010
Place: Blacksburg Town Council Meeting Date: February 23, 2010 Running Time: 2:11
Town staff did an exemplary job of clearing the roads after multiple snowfalls last winter . . . and an anonymous donor stepped forward to fuel their efforts. |
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Topic: Blessings on a new home for Blacksburg Baptist Church
Place: Blacksburg Town Council Meeting Date: October 12, 2010 Running Time: 1:06
Blacksburg Baptist Church has been at the center of religious life in town for over 150 years. Its notable brick church on Main Street is a familiar landmark, and the congregation is well known for its music programming as well as youth ministry, missions abroad, and local outreach efforts like an Interfaith Food Pantry and a home repair ministry called Hearts and Hammers. In October, 2010, council approved a Conditional Use Permit for the growing congregation to build a new church home on 31 acres off North Main Street. |
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Topic: Blacksburg High School
Place: Blacksburg Town Council Meeting Date: October 26, 2010 Running Time: 1:42
Eight months after the Blacksburg High School gym collapsed, parents had grown frustrated with the glacially slow efforts of elected officials to identify a solution. On October 26, 2010 parents came before Town Council to express their frustration and concern. Though Blacksburg has no formal authority to resolve the impasse, individual members of council have worked to facilitate a solution.
You may also read my guest editorial in the Roanoke Times on this subject. |
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Topic: Kroger Gas Station Decision
Place: Blacksburg Town Council Meeting Date: November 9, 2010 Running Time: 5:32
Council made an unusually difficult decision to approve a very large Kroger gas station on busy University City Boulevard. Opponents of the project consider it to be “strip” type development, out of keeping with the town’s vision for the area. Parents of a nearby daycare center expressed concern for their children’s safety on account of increased traffic and the possibility of toxic fumes emanating from the station. The applicant made half a dozen proffers to address these concerns, and Town staff then advanced the request with three more conditions. Upon review, the Planning Commission denied the request in a 4-3 vote, with one member absent. Mayor Ron Rordam subsequently sent a message to council members which read: I have served on Council since 1996. Last night was one of the best meetings I have witnessed in terms of discussion and laying out the reasons for a vote. You all have reason to be proud.
The clip at left shows my comments, but you can view the full, 45-minute discussion online (2:13:15). |
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Topic: Ordinance 1592
Place: Blacksburg Town Council Meeting Date: May 10, 2011 Running Time: 9:12
In 1987, Clover Valley Estates were legally built off Giles Road, adjacent to a single-family neighborhood. The 4-bedroom townhouse apartments were surrounded by green space and parking deemed adequate at that time. Ten years later, a town-wide rezoning established “Transitional” neighborhoods intended to buffer single-family neighborhoods from higher density housing . . . What happens when town code; the interests of property owners; and neighborhood civility collide? |
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Topic: Blacksburg High School
Place: Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Meeting Date: July 11, 2011 Running Time: 4:35
A year and half after the Blacksburg High gym collapsed, our county Board of Supervisors approved a $110 million contract for two new high schools and a renovated middle school. The vote was 5 – 2 with Supervisors Doug Marrs (District B) and Gary Creed (District C) against. The move should put the county on track for opening new Blacksburg and Auburn high schools in 2013. But that was the easy part. Some parents and teachers have expressed concern over reductions in size and scope made to the planned Blacksburg school . . . Finding the money to pay for all three projects will take ingenuity and resolve from staff and elected officials. |