Agenda 12/30/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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SENATE OF VIRGINIA WM. ROSCOE REYNOLDS November 17, 2003 The Honorable Mark R. Warner Govemor of the Commonwealth of Virginia State Capitol, Third Floor Richmond, Virginia 23219 Governor Warner: As you prepare to submit your Fiscal 2004-05 biennial budget, I hope you will consider including a tine item reimbursement for the City of Martinsville in the amount of $450,000. Thanks to your recent action, the City recently landed defense contractor MZM as the anchor of its Clearv/ew Business Park. Just as your grant from the Governor's OPPommity Fund was key to landing that company, the construction of that Park would not have been possible without the support of the federal and state governments. The Commonwealth's Shell Building Construction Program allowed the City to build the building, and VDOT's Bonded Industrial Access Roads Program funded the construction of the access road to the front of the building. The problem with the access roads program came with its time limit. The city was unable to meet the deadline of finding a qualified tenant before the deadline imposed by the current Statute. In July 2001, the city was forced to return $450,000 to the Commonwealth for the state's share of the access fund construction. The local share was $238,000. From past discussions with VDOT officials, it is my understanding that the program's time deadline was intended to keep localities from building roads to rural industrial development sites that were not legitimately able to attract the required new investment. That deadline could not have anticipated the downturn in the economies of Martinsville, the Commonwealth and the nation. Moreover, the Martinsville Clearview Business Park's success in attracting new jobs and investment anticipated that VDOT, under the old Six Year Planning Process, would follow through on its promises and plans to upgrade and improve nearby intersections and streets. As you could see during your