Amelia County EDA hears consultants’ proposal for two‑year regional economic development pilot

At its January meeting, the Amelia County Economic Development Authority heard a presentation from consultants identifying themselves as Rural Resilience Advisors proposing a two‑year pilot regional economic development organization (RTO) that would combine Amelia, Powhatan and Goochland for shared services and improved state‑level visibility.

Liz, one of the consultants, told the EDA the pilot is intended to “help communities like Amelia fit more productively into what we call the economic development ecosystem in Virginia” and emphasized the proposal was meant to spark discussion rather than demand an immediate decision: “Our goal today is not to — it’s to give you this concept to have you talk about and for us to answer questions. We’re not necessarily looking for an answer today.”

The consultants said the pilot would provide common services — such as liaison work with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), quarterly outreach to VEDP teams, site‑inventory support for Virginia Scan, curated market research, and coordinated marketing and trade‑show participation — while allowing each member locality to purchase up to two elective, locality‑specific services. David Denny, the consultant who joined remotely, described the model as a low‑cost test: if the counties do not see value after two years, “no harm, no foul.”

Consultants estimated an annual fee of about $10,000 per county to cover the common services and up to two elective services, with additional costs for any large marketing campaigns or subcontracted graphic production. They said VEDP recognition would be a key benefit because VEDP typically works through regional organizations when routing business prospects and that the consultants had been in preliminary conversations with VEDP staff.

Board members asked for clarification about duration and next steps. The consultants said Powhatan and Goochland were prepared to move forward quickly and recommended a January–March organizational phase with a possible April kickoff; the EDA agreed to place the item on next month’s agenda so the board and the supervisors could consider a formal commitment or deny it.

Why it matters: the consultants argued that smaller, independent localities often receive fewer prospect referrals and that pooling resources could increase Amelia’s visibility with state economic development staff. The EDA will consider bylaws, a budget and a scope of work at the next meeting before taking formal action.

What happens next: the consultants will draft proposed bylaws, a program of work, and a budget for the EDA to review at the next meeting; the consultants said they will not proceed if VEDP indicates it would not recognize the pilot RTO.