Donald Trump campaign stop will cost Roanoke taxpayers almost $20,000

Last edited Thu Jul 28, 2016, 01:15 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: The Roanoke Times

Donald Trump campaign stop will cost Roanoke taxpayers almost $20,000

Posted: Thursday, July 28, 2016 11:15 am | Updated: 11:22 am, Thu Jul 28, 2016.

By Sara Gregory sara.gregory@roanoke.com 981-3227

A visit by a presidential hopeful means exposure and attention but also costs, and Roanoke taxpayers will be on the hook for the latter. ... Roanoke officials say Donald Trump's town hall Monday at Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center cost the city $19,900 for police, fire and emergency personnel who staffed the event.

Timothy Martin, a spokesman for the city, said Thursday in an email that costs by national campaign visits vary based on a few factors. ... "The public safety costs associated with national campaign visits are usually absorbed by the locality within which the event is held," Martin wrote. "Costs vary with each campaign visit based on the location utilized, coverage area, and weather related contingencies." ... Roanoke worked with the U.S. Secret Service on Monday to ensure safety around Trump's visit, Martin said.

About 2,000 people attended Monday's town hall, and more were turned away after the ballroom and an overflow room filled up. Supporters started lining up to get in a little before 5 a.m. and the lines grew throughout the day. ... To prepare for Monday's town hall, which Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence attended alongside Trump, Roanoke police closed down sections of two roads around the hotel. During the day, police and Roanoke Fire-EMS handed out bottled water to keep those in line hydrated in the 90-plus degree temperatures. Roanoke Fire-EMS treated 19 people for heat-related illnesses.



ERICA YOON | The Roanoke Times

A person standing in line outside Hotel Roanoke was taken into an ambulance Monday. Temperatures reached the low 90s

When President Barack Obama visited the Roanoke Civic Center in 2008, the city made about $4,000 profit, The Roanoke Times reported. For that visit, the $6,750 cost to the city was offset by $10,650 in rental fee collected by the city for the campaign's use of the arena. About 8,250 people attended Obama's rally. ... When Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin visited Salem that same year, that city spent about $16,000. Palin's event, at the Salem Stadium, drew about 16,000 people.

This story will be updated.

Read more: http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/donald-trump-campaign-stop-will-cost-roanoke-taxpayers-almost/article_d8578ebb-f9c4-5f43-8f38-74e0ebabfa07.html

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It was this visit:

Donald Trump gripes about hotel hot air, says he might not pay bill

Trump has a meltdown in Hotel Roanoke, VA,literally

and

Street closures in Roanoke for Trump event Monday

Cities might have to start acting like towing companies: payment in cash, in advance, and then you get to move about freely.



Jean Shepherd