Before that, however, Councilman Carl Ferebee and planning board Chairman Gregory Browning would like to see some tweaks that place a premium on recreational opportunities that could promote healthier lifestyles in five areas of the city.

Those areas are the communities of Bunker Hill, Chaloner, South Rosemary, Hodgestown and Chockoyette.

(Documents pertaining to the plan may be found at this link)

“I think the planning board did a great job,” Ferebee said this evening at a joint meeting of city council and the planning board, where the plan was reviewed.

He said, however, that more emphasis should be placed in those areas in promoting wellness. “There could be walking trails in those communities. There should be a little more focus to help get grants.”

An emphasis on recreation, he said. “It helps a lot of areas.”

Browning said, “I see a few more tweaks.”

Browning said he agreed with Ferebee that an emphasis on recreation goes to help wellness and spills over to crime prevention. “With youth, having planned recreation helps keep them busy.”

Overall, Browning said he was pleased with the direction a steering committee appointed to oversee the new plan, which hasn't been updated since 1989, is headed. “We need to really look at having adequate rental property. That's still a problem.”

Ferebee said afterwards, “I think it's going in the right direction. It's been some time and things have changed.”

Dale Holland, of Holland Planning Consultants, told city planners and council members the plan is to help chart growth in a city that is within a county that is the only one in its region expected to lose population in the future.

It includes a 10-point plan to maintain critical infrastructure; focus on improvement of Roanoke Avenue; support infill development, which is focusing on filling undervalued and empty buildings; maintain an efficient transportation system; protect existing residential areas; develop the WestPoint mill site; support an environment friendly to business and industry development; develop the entertainment district; preserve the city's environmental quality and preserve the city's historic district.

Infill development is particularly important in Roanoke Rapids, Holland said, as the state has all but put the brakes on annexation unless it is voluntary.

But because the city does not control water and sewer, voluntary annexation is all but moot. “The city has got to find other ways to (find incentives).”

Brownfield sites are another option, Holland said, which can be cleaned up for industrial and commercial use. Including the WestPoint site, there are 11 brownfield sites within the city. “Grant funds are available for cleanup,” he said.

Cleanup is crucial in the potential marketing of the WestPoint site, Holland said.

Holland said the city needs to explore residential and non-residential uses within the Avenue area. “If a town loses its central business district, it's lost its soul. You've got an interest in protecting that public investment made in that business district.”