Mayor David Bowers gave his State of the City speech at the Jefferson Center, Thursday morning.
Bowers spoke to a room full of people about the past, present, future and his vision for Roanoke.
Bowers touched on future plans, including to entirely renovate Elmwood Park within the next 18-months.
Bowers says some changes to Amtrak are also on the agenda. "I'm working with State Senator John Edwards to extend Amtrak from Lynchburg station to Roanoke. Taking the bus to and from Lynchburg is a great way to travel and if you haven't tried it for business or pleasure you should, but our goal is to get the train to Roanoke," said Bowers.
Mayor Bowers is asking all of Roanoke and surrounding cities to "ACT Now".
"ACT" stands for academic, cultural and tourism economic development.
Bowers says these are the three areas that pose a challenge.
