Hello. My Name Is Billy Martin, and I Am a Member of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors
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Hello. My name is Billy Martin, and I am a member of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors. I am pleased to provide my thirty-fourth message to the residents and businesses of Botetourt County. The weather is warming up so quickly that on some days, it feels like summer is already here. We hope that this summer will be an especially encouraging and exciting time in Botetourt County as we move forward into a new normal. As I mentioned in my last message, the Botetourt County Fire and EMS team has been diligently working to get vaccines to Botetourt County citizens. Our first responders worked with the Town of Buchanan to distribute vaccines at Limestone Park this past Sunday. They have reached out to deliver vaccines to residents who do not have the ability to travel to distribution sites on their own, and they are also engaging with local companies to distribute vaccines to employees. Thanks to their efforts, more of our Botetourt residents and workers have received life-saving vaccines that will enable them to go about their lives and interact with loved ones more safely. Everyone 16 and up is now eligible to receive a vaccine. To find a vaccine site near you, please go to the county’s COVID 19 website at web.botetourtva.gov/COVID19 and click on the button to register for the vaccine or call 540-530-7077. With more of our County population fully vaccinated and optimistic projections for the summer months, I am pleased to announce that Botetourt County plans to reopen its library buildings and administrative offices on June 1st. The details of reopening plans are still being finalized and things will not be exactly as they were before the pandemic. Nevertheless, we all look forward to reintroducing more in- person and in-building services this summer. At the same time, we will continue all contactless services, such as phone and curbside services, to provide safer alternatives for anyone who does not feel comfortable coming into a public space. For the past 13 months, our County departments have adapted to the pandemic environment, finding ways to meet community needs in a way that prioritized everyone’s safety. I am so proud of our hard-working County employees who used their creativity and ingenuity to deliver and even expand their services during such a difficult time. From all of us in the County, we are so grateful to all of you in our community for your patience and generosity as we adapted, experimented, and delivered needed services as safely as possible. Budgeting is another key aspect of preparing Botetourt County for a future new normal. On April 20th, the County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing for the fiscal year 2022 budget. This budget was the result of intense work from County staff on the Budget Task Force, constitutional officers and the Budget Subcommittee. As a result of these collective efforts, I am pleased to share that there will be no tax increases in this year’s budget. The final budget will be adopted on June 22nd, giving the Board of Supervisors flexibility and time while awaiting new guidelines for the 2021 federal stimulus package. Earlier this week, the Board of Supervisors approved the budget for the Botetourt County Public Schools. We were privileged to work with the School Board and School Superintendent Dr. Russ on a budget that met all of our goals and ended in a win-win situation for everyone. Normally, we would need to make heavy use of local dollars to support the many capital project needs for our school system. However, we were all relieved to find that our schools will be able to support many of these capital needs on their own with a combination of operational savings from the past two fiscal years, direct funding from the CARES Act, and upcoming funds from the federal stimulus package. In other news, you may know that May is Business Appreciation Month. We are grateful to many of you who go out of your way to support our local businesses, especially during this challenging pandemic. I encourage you to continue that support to help our local businesses thrive and continue to provide goods and services for our community. Speaking of businesses, I am happy to once again welcome the Munters Corporation to Botetourt County. Munters is a global leader in energy- efficient air treatment and climate solutions, specifically producing industrial cooling systems for data centers around the world from their 17 production facilities. They will be locating a new 365,000 square (365,000 SF) foot facility at Greenfield. The property closing has been scheduled, and grading will start soon with a target completion date of Summer 2022. We look forward to seeing this $36,000,000, state of the art facility with its 200 employees get off the ground. As we look to the future, it’s also important to look back at our past and appreciate the incredible Botetourt residents who have come before us. I would like to thank our Board of Supervisors member Steve Clinton, who is leading an effort to place an historic marker for Mr. Norvel Lee from the Eagle Rock area. Mr. Lee was a talented African American boxer, winning the Light Heavyweight gold medal in boxing and the Val Parker Trophy as the outstanding boxer at the Helsinki Olympic Games in 1952. While he declined to follow a professional boxing career, Mr. Lee served on many boxing organizations and continued his positive influence in the sport. As a World War II veteran, senior USAF Reserve officer, Mr. Lee was a Tuskegee Airman as well and a youth mentor and more, Mr. Lee exemplified the tenacity, work ethic and community focus so highly valued in Botetourt County still today. We look forward to honoring his legacy through this historic marker. In one last look toward June, I’d like to invite you to promote Botetourt County in IronMan 70.3, a world-class triathlon event in Virginia’s Blue Ridge that brings in 3,000 or more participants from around the world. The local competition begins with participants swimming in Carvin’s Cove. They will then bike up Route 11 to Buchanan, up Route 43 to the Blue Ridge Parkway, then back to Roanoke for a run through the Roanoke River Greenway. This fast-paced and grueling race is an amazing way to promote our beautiful Botetourt County and Roanoke Valley region, and we look forward to hosting the participants soon. As you can see, we have a lot to look forward to this spring, summer and beyond. Thank you again for joining me today to hear about these exciting developments, and thank you for everything you do to make Botetourt County a kind, strong and resilient community. May God bless Botetourt County! .