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Supervisor Steve Clinton pictured earlier this year made a proposal for an economic development study

Amsterdam Supervisor Steve Clinton proposed a Board of Supervisor's Study of County Economic Development policies, procedures and properties in the other items section of the December 16 regular board meeting.The board will read over the three page proposal and return with comments to move forward or not in the January meeting which will also be the first meeting beginning at 2 p.m. and if necessary any public hearing at 6:00 p.m. Clinton had proposed an in house study, but Terry Austin the Buchanan supervisor asked if an outside consultant might be considered as well.

"I think every thing needs to be updated once in awhile and we need to do this if the board agrees," Clinton told the Botetourt View after the meeting. The proposal would be included in the 2010 budget in April if it moves through the process and is approved for study. That budget year begins July 1, 2009.

The general purpose of the study would be to determine the effectiveness of the current existing program of economic development. The supervisors seemed to think it was a good idea. Clinton pointed out that no new large business had located in the county in quite sometime and that the Greenfield Center was underutilized in the scheme of the industrial and business parks set aside by the county.

The current policies were set in 1988 -twenty years ago.  Clinton said that the need was there for an update in a climate much different than two decades ago. He stressed this had nothing to do with current economic conditions but rather a need to examine what is being doing and to see what is going well, what needed attention and what things may have changed since policies were put in place.

He pointed out the following pluses over the past twenty years:

• Construction of four business and industrial parks
• Development of a Comprehensive economic development strategy
• Construction of a regional sports complex
• Development of  of a marketing strategy for tourism and sports.
• Development and expansion of regional and state partnerships.