Roanoke Rapids Main Street Director Charles Williams is asking people how to make Roanoke Avenue cool again.
After today's meeting with state Main Street officials he’s more prepared for that task.

“We’re ready,” he said following today’s meeting, the kickoff for preparing the city and Roanoke Avenue Business Alliance for three years of direct work with the state. “I’ve been trying to meet people and get acclimated to the area.”
Williams said he talks to people he meets on the streets for their ideas and when approached by people at the grocery story Tuesday he explained to them, “My job is to make Roanoke Avenue cool again.”
While some people tell him it’s a waste of time or they don’t envy his job, Williams said, “No one has told me we’re going to fail.”
Elizabeth Parham, director of the state Main Street program, which is administered through the state Office of Urban Development, told officials today to support the local Main Street manager. “We have high expectations for Main Street directors. Charles has become one of the board faces for RABA.”
The next step in state assistance for the local Main Street program will be reconnaissance visits where people will be interviewed and local issues are discussed. “We want to start to set up an economic vision forum. We will identify seventy-five to one-hundred key individuals that need to be in attendance,” when the findings of the visits are discussed.
One of the most important things that will be discussed is the future economic role downtown plays, Parham said. “We will come up with a community wide vision everyone buys into.”
The needs identified through these efforts will be included in the vision statement. “Everyone has a role in the community vision,” Parham said.
Main Street will spend five days in Roanoke Rapids studying different aspects of the city, the visit culminating with a public presentation of the findings.
Parham gave RABA some work to do to prepare for the upcoming visits, including having a photographic inventory of buildings on the avenue. “When opportunity comes knocking and it will come knocking you will have that information.”
Parham told the RABA board today they need to look at every partnership imaginable. “You’ve got people who own property here who want to see good things happen.”