Roanoke City Council works as a team
In December of 1890, Roanoke, Alabama was officially incorporated.
In 2016, four polo-shirt wearing men and one woman with red glasses sit ready for a recent meeting of the Roanoke City Council. All members of the Council are present for this meeting except for Mike Parmer, who is absent due to sickness.
About a dozen people sit facing the Council members, listening to resolutions, ideas, and complaints brought forth by regular citizens and Council members themselves.
These gatherings of civic-minded individuals have molded Roanoke into what it is today by playing a role in creating actions that push the city forward.
The City Council meeting presents a good opportunity to discover how your community is evolving (or whether it’s not). Roanoke Fire Chief Ronald Cameron has been attending these meetings since about 2008. He said he finds great benefit in attending the meetings. “It’s good to come and hear what the town’s business is. It’s good to see and hear it all firsthand.”
In addition to investing in Roanoke, the Council also contributes to and facilitates cohesiveness amongst other municipalities in Randolph County. Bishop Wright, a county commissioner, sits in on this meeting.
“What we’ve tried to do as a Council is work with our County Commission. We call on them, and they call on us,” said Mayor Mike Fisher. “If we have problems, we can ask for help, and if they have problems we certainly want them to ask us for help.”
Fisher has held the office of mayor since 2008 and is currently planning to run for reelection later this year.
Mayor Fisher said he is proud of the way the Council works as a team. During his first week, he told the Council that he intends them to work together as a football team, with him being the quarterback. “I owe the Council members a lot of credit for working with me. My first week here, we sat down and agreed to disagree and to leave any disagreements here at the meeting,” said Mayor Fisher. “We aim to do what’s best for our city.”
Whether it’s investing in Roanoke, such as its approving an additional $15,000 to Handley High School each month for projects that will help keep its facilities up to par with schools in larger cities or making an effort to have a more cohesive relationship with the county, the Roanoke City Council meetings are a testament to the goodwill and efforts of citizens who care not only for their own livelihoods but for the livelihoods of those around them as well.
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