Fifth District Supervisor Larry Roberson Gives His Last Report

Fifth District Supervisor Larry Roberson Gives His Last Report

By Linda Farneth

The Colonial Beach Town Council showed, outgoing District 5 Supervisor Larry Roberson, their gratitude for his service to the community and the town of Colonial Beach.

Mayor Eddie Blunt presented Roberson with a plaque thanking him for his 12 years of service on the Westmoreland Board of Supervisors. During those 12 years Roberson has represented the interests of Colonial Beach Citizens.

In November Tim Trivett ran against Larry Roberson and won the election. Trivett will take his seat as District 5 Supervisor in January.

During the meeting Larry gave one last report to the Council and citizens of Colonial Beach.

“Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.” Roberson started then added, “One for Robin, it looks like they are going to renew the enterprise zone for several more years. Hopefully the town and the county will be able to use that to bring in more businesses to the town.”

Robin Schick asked Roberson who they should seek out to give a presentation on the issue. Roberson said the council should reach out to the Northern Neck Planning District Commission since the enterprise zones encompass many counties.

What is the advantage of being designated within the Enterprise Zone?

According to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, “The Virginia Enterprise Zone (VEZ) program is a partnership between state and local government that encourages job creation and private investment. VEZ accomplishes this by designating Enterprise Zones throughout the state and providing two grant-based incentives, the Job Creation Grant (JCG) and the Real Property Investment Grant (RPIG), to qualified investors and job creators within those zones, while the locality provides local incentives.”

Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland, Kilmarnock and Warsaw make up one Virginia Enterprise Zone. (According to the 2019 VEZ map.)

Learn more about VEZ’s here.

Roberson also announced that the Supervisors are discussing employing another crew at the Oak Grove Rescue Squad. Roberson said he learned there will probably be crews added to some of the other rescue squads through out Westmoreland county. “You’re looking at at least 30 people being hired plus part time on top of that.” “We definitely need a better coverage.”

He also reported that the new radio tower should be active by the end of January which will greatly improve emergency communications.