Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea delivers State of the City address

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - In Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea acknowledged the challenges the city is facing, but he emphasized positive developments during his state of the city address Thursday morning.

Lea delivered the annual address at the Hotel Roanoke, to a crowd of several hundred assembled by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Lea said he was sharing a story of resilience in the face of challenges, including a lack of affordable housing, the opioid crisis, infrastructure needs and violence.

“We know that work must be done, but there are a lot of positive things that are going on,” Lea said. “And when we are faced with adversity it becomes more important than ever that we pull together as a community.”

Lea cited a long list of accomplishments during the last year, including economic development, support for the city’s most vulnerable citizens and major projects funded with American Rescue Plan dollars.

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