NORFOLK, Va. — Wednesday morning, several people packed a room at the Slover Library for a chance to get to know the new city manager, Patrick Roberts, and hear what his vision is for the city.
“If you read our city code, my vision is the city council’s vision…but if I do take license and talk about one aspect of that vision that’s very important to me…I go back to that issue of neighborhood safety,” Roberts said.
City Manager Pat Roberts previously worked as a deputy city manager in Norfolk. Before coming to Norfolk, he served as Suffolk’s city manager for five years.
Through this new position, he’s building on his relationships with city and community partners. He got to see several of them through a meet and greet presented by the Slover Library Foundation.
“This is an opportunity for him to meet more people in the community,” said Paul Fraim, the president of the Slover Library Foundation.
“My staff and I start with just listening and try to understand and figure out ok how can we get involved, how can we get engaged and help,”
Roberts identified housing as an area in need of growth in Norfolk. He wants the city to continue to build off of the work to develop affordable housing.
“So, all of those categories giving affordable options for individuals and families at every income level, that’s a great opportunity for us,” he said.
He even shared his priorities which include a focus on safer communities.
“Feel good about living in Norfolk, feel good about making an investment, feel good about the interaction they have with the city,” Roberts said
Fraim said the organization looks forward to collaborating with him on new projects.
“We want to be a friend," he said. "We have resources that we can help the city with to improve the library that’s the reason we’re here and also create community engagement.”