Accomack Board approves planning grant for Mary N. Smith Cultural Enrichment Center

The Accomack County Board os Supervisors voted Wednesday to authorize County Administrator Mike Mason to execute a Planning Grant Agreement with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development  to execute a planning grant for the development of the Mary Nottingham Smith Cultural Enrichment Center in the amount of $50,000.

The grant will be used to :

• Create a Management Team
• Develop a preliminary engineering report for the facility
• Craft a staffing and operations plan
• Create a furniture, fixtures and equipment plan
• Based on the results of all assessments and community input, compile the proposed best use of the facility.

If the County and the the MNS committee is successful in completing these tasks, it will be positioned well to apply for VDHCD construction funds to renovate the facility.  Construction grants can be as much as $1.7 million and will not compete against other grants the County intends to pursue with the agency per the state contract.