Resident urges halt to Amherst County 'Gateway Project,' cites $3.5 million county commitment

John A. Marks Jr., a District 5 resident, used the public-comment period at the Amherst County Board of Supervisors' May meeting to ask the board to pause the Gateway Project and reassess county exposure to debt.

Marks told the board his records show the county has committed $3.5 million to the Gateway Project: $1,000,000 from ARPA funds and $2.5 million borrowed by the service authority, with an expectation that project revenues will cover long-term debt service. He quoted the support agreement: “If at any time revenues are insufficient or expected to be insufficient to make any of the payments referred to in paragraph 3 here, the county service authority shall notify the county administrator... and the county administrator shall request a supplemental appropriation from the board in the amount necessary to make such payment.”

Marks said he was not aware of a formal written commitment from the project developer on timing, scope or completion and urged the board to demand a developer memorandum of understanding with consequences for noncompliance before proceeding. “I would urge this board to temporarily halt work on this project,” he said.

Board response and procedure: The chair confirmed Marks’s remarks were a statement of opinion and asked whether he was making a formal information request; Marks said he was not making a FOIA request. No board action or motion to pause the project was taken at the meeting.

Ending: Marks’ public comment joined other items on the agenda in prompting supervisors to note outstanding questions about specific projects and to refer technical follow-up to the county administrator and relevant authorities.