Roanoke council adopts grants, lease amendment and historic marker support; approves fare-free Transit Equity Day

The Roanoke City Council on Tuesday approved a series of routine ordinances and resolutions, including federal- and state-funded grants, a lease amendment for an innovation network building, and a request to support a historic marker application.

Grants and fiscal agents: Council adopted ordinances authorizing the city to accept a 2024 Virginia Department of Emergency Management State Homeland Security HAZMAT team grant and a FY24 Southwest Virginia all-hazards incident management team grant, in each case authorizing Roanoke Fire‑EMS and the city to serve as fiscal agent. City Manager Veil Marie Turner said the regional team is routinely called to respond to disasters and that grant funds support training, equipment and regional response capacity.

Tourism and events: Council also approved acceptance of a Virginia Tourism Corporation grant to support marketing and operations for the 2025 Roanoke Go Outside Festival; staff said the grant helps keep the festival free to the public and this is the third consecutive year of funding.

Lease amendment and economic development: Council approved Amendment No. 1 to the lease with Roanoke‑Blacksburg Innovation Network at 709 South Jefferson Street (the Ramp accelerator building). Council members described the site as important to the business ecosystem.

Historic marker for Lucy Addison: The council adopted a resolution supporting an application from Roanoke City Public Schools to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to place a historic marker recognizing Lucy Addison near RCPS' central office (the site that will become the Community Empowerment and Education Center). The school system said the building, originally constructed in 1928 as Lucy Addison High School, is central to the community story and the marker would be placed in the city's right-of-way with city commitment to perpetual maintenance if approved.

Transit policy: Council affirmed the Greater Roanoke Transit Company (doing business as Valley Metro) decision to implement fare-free Transit Equity Day for Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, and authorized the city manager to take necessary actions; council asked staff to provide ridership data for fare-free events.

Formal actions (summary of recorded votes): - Motion to amend the consent agenda to include an additional closed meeting under Va. Code §2.2-3711(A)(7) (maker: Mister Boleson; seconder: Mister Hagen): recorded roll-call votes were Aye from Miss Sanchez Jones, Vice Mayor McGuire, Mister Nash, Mister Vollison, Mister Hagen and Mayor Cobb; motion adopted. - Ordinance accepting the 2024 VDEM HAZMAT grant: roll-call recorded unanimous Aye; ordinance adopted. - Ordinance accepting FY24 Southwest Virginia all-hazards incident management team grants: unanimous Aye; ordinance adopted. - Ordinance accepting Virginia Tourism Corporation grant for the 2025 Go Outside Festival: unanimous Aye; ordinance adopted. - Ordinance approving Amendment No. 1 to lease with Roanoke‑Blacksburg Innovation Network (709 S. Jefferson St.): unanimous Aye; ordinance adopted. - Resolution supporting historic marker application for Lucy Addison: unanimous Aye; resolution adopted. - Resolution affirming fare-free Transit Equity Day (02/04/2025): unanimous Aye; resolution adopted.

Why it matters: These actions fund training and regional emergency response, support public events and tourism outreach, preserve and acknowledge local civil-rights–era history, and advance transit access initiatives. Council recorded votes and authorized administrative steps for grant acceptance and contract execution as part of routine municipal governance.