THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410140568
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: VIRGINIA
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: EASTVILLE LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development likes what it sees in Northampton County. And it plans to give money, expertise and national exposure to the ``green'' industrial park that locals hope to build on the harbor in Cape Charles.
County Administrator Tom Harris announced at this week's meeting of the Board of Supervisors that the president's council had selected the proposed Port of Cape Charles Industrial Park as a site for one of the nation's first ``sustainable technologies industrial parks.''
``The president's designation gives Northampton County and the town of Cape Charles a major boost for our mutual efforts to build a strong and lasting economy,'' Harris said.
Tim Hayes, who heads the county's program for sustainable development - economic growth that does not damage the environment - said the council was looking for sites where federal assistance could reap immediate results.
``They were looking for communities where there was already a commitment to profitability with social and environmental responsibility,'' Hayes said.
The Cape Charles site is one of four model industrial park designations nationally. The others are in Rochester, N.Y., Brownsville, Texas, and Chattanooga, Tenn.
The president's designation brings with it some important perks: Federally paid experts will help design the park, and Northampton should receive an as-yet-undetermined amount of money to build it. But Hayes said just winning the designation is a plus.
``It sets us apart, gives us national exposure,'' he said.
The port would be developed by the town of Cape Charles, Northampton County, the Cape Charles-Northampton County Industrial Development Authority, the Eastern Shore Economic Development Commission, the Eastern Shore Railroad and area property owners.
John Nottingham knows well how poverty in Northampton County has eaten away at the community. He chairs the new industry subcommittee of the county's Sustainable Development Task Force.
Nottingham hopes the proposed port will provide needed facilities for significant development.
``This is a major part of the community's strategy to create real family-wage jobs with benefits, and an economic base that will benefit all of us now and for the future,'' Nottingham said. by CNB