Honoring the Past, Building a Future
Mayor Sandy Roberson will not seek reelection in 2027, and that reality causes me to think about the kind of mayor Rocky Mount will need in the years ahead. The complexity of the city has grown, and what the city now expects from its mayor has changed with it. Rocky Mount operates under a council-manager … Continue reading The Demands of a Modern Mayor – 2027
I went in the door of the old Belk building the other morning and met three workman continuing to clear out the cavernous space. It is in need of a buyer. I somehow refrained from hugging the guys after they took time to chat and confirmed some research I have been doing on the block. … Continue reading What Do Developers See The First Time They Encounter Downtown Rocky Mount?
We all know that things in Rocky Mount are precarious. We know because past negligence has finally caught up with us and pinned its “tail on the donkey,” which now is affecting both our reputation and our future. We see it in the empty buildings downtown, the projects that fail to move forward, and the … Continue reading Sorting Out Rocky Mount’s Priorities: Main Street and Beyond
There are buildings on Main Street that are not failing because time defeated them. They are failing because ownership did. Let us begin with what absentee ownership is costing Rocky Mount, NC. These owners are not walking the street. They are not seeing the peeling paint, or the water beginning its work along a parapet … Continue reading Part 1: When Ownership Fails Main Street
This is 'Clapp Your Hands' kind of blog. This week, the bumper sticker I imagine, would read, Save our homeless families and children, United Community Ministries. Not polished, not clever, but direct. In the wake of the recent audit, as Rocky Mount looks at budgets and reductions, one consequence is significant. Nearly three hundred thousand … Continue reading Saluting The Work Of United Community Ministries
