Christiansburg officials have the reputation of being "business friendly" -- what translates to some as a rubber stamping of development. "Never saw a development project they didn't like" has been seen in print about our town officials before. And to many, perception is reality.
Do you think that growth is necessary for the health of a community (just as a business needs to grow in order to stay viable)?
Who has stopped to think that some critics may not be anti-development; there is instead an expectation for growth to be balanced and well planned, maintaining a level of quality that contributes to our community instead of detracting from it?
A frequent writer in the Roanoke Times New River Journals, Michael Miller, wrote about the process for area developments in July 2006. He satirized how someone would go about obtaining approval, writing: "All the people who make the decisions are in the development business, so naturally we are going to approve whatever you want eventually. But we have to follow the process."
The process in Christiansburg has actually been obscured by a state mandated Comprehensive Plan which does not demonstrate much public input or oversight. It has been obscured by an abandonment of FOIA laws for public notice, which is meant to increase public input and oversight. This process has been obscured by a foreshortened town budget development and input process, too.
Do citizens understand the inter-relationship between town and county services and funding? Do citizens understand the purpose and intent of the Comprehensive Plan? Do they believe it's being adhered to?
Can citizens literally trip over the fact that public meetings are being held and what the agenda indicates will be discussed? Even if they don't utilize the rec center or visit town offices on a weekly basis? Do citizens understand how new development may impact the cost of town services or the integrity of their own neighborhoods, during construction periods and afterwards?
Miller pegged the public's perspective on the town's approach to "doing business" pretty accurately when he penned: "... the planning commission will have a work session. That’s where they write the script for the public meeting. In the public meeting they mumble a lot about how they had better consider this carefully and then pretend to think real hard before taking a vote.
"If anybody is watching, they postpone the decision until they can get some more information or unnecessary clarifications. That makes everybody think they care how this comes out. Which of course they do, just not in the way everybody thinks."
If this has in fact been the process over the past 40, 15 or even this past year, it is not an acceptable approach any longer. If this is an inaccurate perception, then its up to town leaders to clarify it.
Learn all you can about each current candidate for office, and vote on Tuesday, May 6th. Then make a pledge:
Attend at least one town council meeting a year (the first and third Tuesday of each month, at 7:30 pm in the Town Hall). Get informed about what's going on in town, and contact a council member to discuss it. Then talk to your neighbors and share what you've seen and heard, and ask them for their ideas or thoughts. Encourage them to attend at least one town meeting a year. Repeat cycle as needed.