City Council

Agenda — 5 items

1. Adoption of Ordinance to amend the Regional Extraterritorial Arrest Agreement.Adopted Ordinance No. 43146-021825. (7-0)
2. Amendment of City Ordinances pertaining to the Removal of Hazardous or Illegally Parked Vehicles.Adopted Ordinance No. 43142-021825. (7-0)
3. Amendment of Resolution No. 42871-011624 to authorize the School Board of City of Roanoke to Enter into a Public Private Partnership with Subsidiaries of Secured Futures, LLC, for Lease of School Property for Installation of Solar Panels.Adopted Ordinance No. 43149-021825. (7-0)
4. Acceptance and Appropriation of the FY24 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) Award Reimbursement Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance Office for the Roanoke Sheriff's Office.Adopted Ordinance No. 43143-021825. (7-0)
5. PUBLIC MATTERS FOLLOW-UP.Kathryn Hedrick, Inclusive Services Manager, reported on the following matters:Fare Free DayDr. Hartmann of the Bus Riders of Roanoke Advocacy Group reminded Council that February 4 was a fare-free day for Valley Metro, and Mr. Hagen wanted to know if this resulted in any increase in ridership. Report Back:Transit Equity Day 2024—5750Tuesday, January 28, 2025—4553Tuesday average for 12 months—4896Transit Equity Day 2025—5700; an increase in 804 riders over the 12-month averageTransit Equity Day was created by a network of unions in 2017 and first celebrated federally in 2021. February 4 is the birthday of Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks, who famously refused to give her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Mrs. Parks’ actions helped spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which eventually led to the desegregation of public transit.While Transit Equity Day is observed in honor of Mrs. Parks’ actions, there were notable Roanokers who also took a stand against segregated transit.Sarah Craig and Mary Walters both refused to move to the back of the city bus on separate occasions in early 1941. Ms. Craig appeared before a judge because of her actions. Ms. Walters was fined ten dollars and given a six-month suspended jail sentence.Margie Jumper was on a city trolley on her way home from work in 1946 when she also refused to give up her seat to a white man. Ms. Jumper was arrested and paid a fine for violating the city ordinance requiring racially segregated seating. In 2003, the Roanoke Chapter of the NAACP honored Ms. Jumper with the Rev. R.R. Wilkinson Memorial Award for Social Justice.In 1946, William Simmons boarded a Greyhound bus traveling from Roanoke to North Carolina, and like the previous people mentioned, refused to move to the back of the bus. He later sued Atlantic Greyhound for $20,000. He won his case in 1947, but was awarded only $25.While we honor the sacrifice and courage of Rosa Parks on Transit Equity Day, there were so many other brave men and women who fought for equal rights and integrated public transit. Roanoke should be proud of the role her residents played in seeing this come to fruition.

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