Accomack Board elects Wolff chair for 2021

In their annual organizational meeting Wednesday, the Accomack County Board of Supervisors elected  Atlantic District Supervisor Ron Wolff as chairman for the 2021 year.   Chincoteague Supervisor Billy Joe Tarr was elected to serve as vice chairman. The group again elected to conduct regular meetings at 5 p.m. on the third Wednesday of every month.

January’s regular session will be conducted on Wednesday, January 20. The Board has been conducting meetings at Metompkin Elementary School during the COVID emergency and is expected to continue to do so until further notice,

The Board then voted to serve as the fiscal agent for the Town of Parksley’s  Municipal Utility Relief grant contingent on the Town Council’s approval of the agreement. The agreement will provide $10,048.51 in CARES Act funding to assist residents of Parksley who are behind on water and sewer accounts that are in arrears. The Board approved a similar agreement with Onancock at their December meeting.

The Board also voted to accept Expansion grant funding for the Comprehensive Community Corrections Act and Pretrial Services Act for the funding to implement  a regional Pretrial Services Program in Accomack and Northampton County.

The Board also voted to approve an EDIP grant to Sentinel Robotic Solutions, LLC in  the amount of $235,500 and to appropriate this amount to the Economic Development Authority for this purpose subject to the condition that the EDA and SRS execute a performance agreement approved in form by the County Attorney.

SRS, currently located in Wattsville  will lease land at the Accomack Industrial Park adjacent to the Accomack County Airport’s runway where it will bring the UAS industry to the Melfa Airport.  SRS hopes to use the Airport for testing, operations, and training with various Group 1 to Group 4 UAS programs. The concept of operations would be SRS to establish a premiere UAS facility with direct access to the Accomack County Airport’s runway to attract UAS programs to the Airport thereby creating additional direct and indirect revenue to the County.

The grant will be used to pay for improvements in the property which is expected to result in greater economic activity at the Airport. The project is expected to generate fuel sales at the County Airport equal to at least 272,000 gallons within the first 80 months of operation.

Delegate Rob Bloxom who also serves on the Economic Development Authority

County Administrator Mike Mason said that the approval of this agreement does not necessarily mean that the project will actually materialize but it sets the stage for the EDA, County and SRS to come to a series of negotiated agreements that will have to be worked out governing

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