The additional time may also play in favor of efforts to salvage the park’s caretaker’s cottage.

When the lease ended, the city had sought proposals for the former fire station, which is in need of significant repairs.

The city intends to pay to cross railroad tracks on which rail enthusiasts hope to run a tourist-attracting excursion train.

“I have ran out of patience with these people loitering and what they’re doing,” Mayor Sherman Lea said about those in street medians.

Melrose Athletic Club, which runs Champ’s Gym, is in a legal battle with the city, which insists the group vacate a former Southeast Roanoke fire station.

Council members say the spending isn’t extravagant — there’s just not enough money in each member's budget for travel.

The sudden activism around the cottage prompted visible frustration among some city leaders and members of City Council.

Roanoke is planning a $13 million upgrade of the recreation center, the largest spending project the parks department has ever undertaken.

City Council’s advocacy against police reform laws sparked controversy and spurred some departures from the board.