Board approves economic and grant steps: Tobacco grant application, Electromechanical expansion agreement, opioid‑abatement proposal

Washington County supervisors voted March 25 to authorize three separate funding and development actions: a Tobacco Commission grant application for Highlands Business Park site engineering, county participation in a Commonwealth Opportunity Fund (COF) performance agreement for an industrial expansion, and a proposal/cooperative agreement for a Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority grant.

Tobacco Commission grant. The board approved a resolution authorizing the county administrator to apply for a Tobacco Commission grant funding $60,854 for planning and engineering for Lots 6 and 7 at Highlands Business Park. The Washington County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) previously approved a $60,854 local match for the project. Board members noted the IDA already delivered historic core‑drill records to the engineering team and asked the IDA to seek any available cost savings before final contracting. The motion to authorize the application passed 7‑0.

Electromechanical Commonwealth Opportunity Fund performance agreement. Supervisors approved county participation in a COF performance agreement tied to an expansion by Electro Mechanical into an existing Bristol Compressors building. Under the arrangement described at the meeting, Electro Mechanical has committed about $16.55 million in investments (including roughly $15 million in machinery and tooling) and to create 109 new full‑time W‑2 jobs at an average annual wage of $47,115. The state awarded a $300,000 COF grant to support the project; local incentives include a $250,000 county grant matched by a $250,000 IDA contribution. The Board authorized the chair to sign the performance agreement; the vote was 7‑0.

Opioid Abatement Authority proposal and cooperative agreement. The board authorized submission of a proposal to the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority seeking $4.2 million over five years (approximately $840,000 per year) for a county‑led regional program serving schools and communities across 15 jurisdictions. The proposal would leverage roughly $30,000 in local opioid‑settlement funds and designates Washington County as fiscal agent for the participating localities if the state authority approves the request. Supervisors approved both the grant application resolution and the related cooperative agreement unanimously (7‑0).

Why it matters. The Tobacco Commission funding would pay preliminary infrastructure planning at an industrial park intended to attract employers. The Electro Mechanical expansion ties state grants to local job creation and capital investment that could broaden the county tax base. The opioid funding, drawn from national settlement proceeds administered by Virginia, supports prevention and intervention programs in schools and communities; the board emphasized that opioid settlement dollars must be dedicated to abatement and cannot be used for general operations.

Implementation and next steps. County staff will submit the Tobacco Commission application as authorized, execute the COF agreement and follow state reporting requirements for the COF award, and submit the Opioid Abatement application and execute the cooperative agreement if the proposal is accepted. The IDA and the company will finalize local matching commitments and project engineering details.