Tobacco Grant will Help Fund $5 Million Complex

Source from:  By JOHN R. CRANE Register & Bee staff writer January 24, 2008 01/25/2008

Give your opinion on this story An $84,000 grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission will be used to clear the way for construction of an agriculture complex on U.S. 29 between Chatham and Gretna. The money, along with in-kind contributions including equipment and labor, will help pay for engineering, design, demolition and disposal of buildings, said Tommy Motley, president of the Pittsylvania County Farm Bureau. The Tobacco Commission grant will help pay for the demolition of the former Billy's Restaurant on U.S. 29 and several storage buildings on about 15 acres of land, Motley said. The complex will include a farmer's market, indoor arena, livestock sale area, offices, classrooms and a banquet hall that can hold up to 300 people. "There's nothing in this part of the county that will do that," Motley said. Once complete, the $5 million complex also will house the Farm Bureau office, currently located in Chatham. The complex is part of a county effort to meet the demands of growth in agriculture. The Board of Supervisors established an agricultural development board last year and recently hired Fred T. Wydner III as director of agriculture development. Figures from the Virginia Farm Bureau indicate there are 1,304 farms in the county covering 44 percent of the county's land, or 288,647 acres. The bureau states that 748 people claim farming as their primary occupation. Jay Calhoun, chairman of the agricultural development board, told the Board of Supervisors I January that he will not seek county money for the complex. County supervisors voted to support the board in its efforts to seek money for the project from the Tobacco Commission and other sources. Enditem