County staff plans stakeholder meeting on industrial‑revitalization loan for Pruegerville School proposal

Madison County staff said they will meet with stakeholders to clarify an application for the state’s Industrial Revitalization Fund that a private applicant has proposed to use to rehabilitate Pruegerville Elementary School.

The program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), would provide a loan to be administered locally. Staff said the county may receive funds and, if the board chooses, could have the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) administer the loan as a revolving fund. The applicant, identified in the meeting as Mr. Shapiro, would be the borrower and would be responsible for the one‑to‑one match and performance metrics required by DHCD.

Staff said the grant/loan is competitive and that an applicant scoring above threshold could be awarded funds that flow into the county or the IDA, depending on the administrative choice. The board clarified that these are not county budget dollars and that any repayments would be handled under the selected administrative structure.

Next steps: Staff scheduled a stakeholder meeting with IDA representatives and legal counsel to review administration options and planned to bring a recommendation to the board at its first March meeting. Supervisors asked staff to confirm consequences if the borrower defaults and to clarify whether IDA administration would keep repayments in Madison as a revolving fund.