By Angela H. Hill
Approximately 30 people attended the Patrick County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday, seven of whom addressed board members regarding a Community Development Block Grant for Meadows of Dan.
Available through the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, CDBGs are designed to help localities fund community improvements such as housing and infrastructure. Competition is stiff for these grants, which do not require any matching funds or repayment.
The Meadows of Dan Community Association is asking Patrick County to apply on its behalf for a $700,000 grant that would fund a wastewater treatment system for the area’s retail corridor just off state Rt. 58. Proponents said that until sewer service is established, few if any new businesses will want to set up shop in the area.
“If we want to do away with grants nationwide I’ll be the first to drop my ballot in the voting box,” said Karl Weiss, Blue Ridge District Supervisor. “But that is not the case, and we want our fair share … We want to get the grant application in before the March deadline, because if you dangle the money in front of Martinsville or Floyd or Carroll County, they’ll take it.”
Of those addressing the board, five county residents favored the grant and two voiced opposition. All five county supervisors said they support applying for the grant. Under federal grant guidelines, Patrick County must apply for the grant on behalf of the Meadows of Dan Community Association.
Craig Alderman, whose family owns Blue Ridge Motel and Restaurant in Meadows of Dan, said he felt left out of the revitalization effort in general. “How can you do a tourism project and not contact the property owners in the middle of it?,” Alderman asked board members. “It’s a ‘me’ project, not a ‘we’ project.”
Peter Jonas, a Meadows of Dan resident who owns a rental cottage, said he feels the Meadows of Dan community is off to a good start, having already snagged a $35,000 grant that paid for consulting and planning by The Lane Group Inc., an engineering and architectural firm with offices in Galax, Abingdon and Big Stone Gap.
“This is an opportunity to enhance local business or to increase local business in Meadows of Dan,” Jonas said. He pointed out that because of its proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mabry Mill, Meadows of Dan is well-positioned to capitalize on its high visibility.
Greg Locke, who has lived in Meadows of Dan for almost 11 years, said he’s afraid that without revitalization, the area will turn into one of the many “ghost towns” he’s seen from his days riding motorcycles throughout rural Virginia.
“We want you to help us get the money from where we can,” Locke told board members. “We need this basic infrastructure or nothing is going to go anywhere … We love our little town and we want to be able to go forward, not backward.”
Trinity Goad, president of the Meadows of Dan Community Association, also asked the board to consider applying for the grant. “With anything, there is always opposition,” Goad said, “but to grow you have to overcome opposition … The county has always been great about working with us and we appreciate it greatly, but revitalization of our town would provide access for us to grow.”
James Henningsen, a Meadows of Dan resident who introduced himself as “one of the ‘deplorables’ ” said he does not favor the grant. “I can’t figure out how all this money can be spent on private enterprise,” Henningsen said. “Everybody wants to grow Meadows of Dan. I want to know where on Heaven’s Earth you can place any more businesses.”
Henningsen said he’s also tired of hearing loud motorcycles in the area. “I didn’t move to Meadows of Dan to live in a circus,” he continued. “It’s a personal project and I’m against any public funding for it.”
Brenda Quesinberry, chairman of the Patrick County Planning Commission, also addressed board members, emphasizing that the grant does not dip into local coffers and does not need to be paid back. “The funds are there,” she said. “If we don’t get them, they’re going to go to someone else.”
“We need to bring people into Meadows of Dan and to keep the people in Meadows of Dan working,” Quesinberry continued. “We can’t do that without tourism. For most of the businesses in Meadows of Dan, tourism is very important. It’s not for one individual. It’s for everybody in the community.”
Felecia Shelor, owner of Poor Farmers Market and an organizer of the revitalization effort, told the board that this grant will address only the issue of not having a sewage system – a move recommended by The Lane Group that should be entirely covered by the $700,000 grant.
“We have existing businesses in Meadows of Dan and we can continue to operate,” Shelor said, “but unless we address the sewage issue, new food-service establishments can’t open because the cost [of installing a septic system] is prohibitively expensive.”
Roger T. Hayden, Dan River District Supervisor, said that he’s in favor of applying for the grant, but is disappointed that supervisors weren’t consulted earlier in the process. “Nothing is free. Period. But I’m not opposed to the grant if it’s something we needed or were going to do anyway.”
Rickie Fulcher, Peters Creek District Supervisor; and Crystal Harris, Smith River Supervisor and board chairwoman, also voted in favor of applying for the grant. “My heart is in Patrick County, and it doesn’t matter which part,” Harris said. “We all need to support this and anything that will help this county grow.”
Mayo River District Supervisor Lock Boyce also voiced support for the grant. “I’m strongly in favor of this project,” Boyce said. “It’s something that’s long overdue.”
Sewer project details, including a map that shows exactly which part of the Meadows of Dan business corridor the proposed sewer system will serve, will be brought to the Board of Supervisors’ March 13 meeting.
In other board action taken at Monday’s meeting, board members approved the appointment of Brandon Simmons to the Planning Commission; and Amy Sawyers to the Social Services Board.
