I attended the CRC Comprehensive Plan Community Forum this evening at the Victoria library, and it was enlightening…
We want to preserve our Heritage and History, Hometown feel, safety and security (Police & Fire)
We want more commercial enterprise, Clothing and shoe stores, better access to healthcare, more restaurants, Ice cream parlor/Coffee House (we had one, it closed), a 24 hour Gym, an indoor pool, a community garden in each town, child care, and a drive in theatre,
We want to get rid of derelict buildings, poverty, empty store fronts.
And we don’t want Walmart, Strip Clubs, drugs, harmful industry, litter(cover those CFS trucks), plastic bags, or stray animals…
Most the things things we want to add, we had in the past, but all the retail disappeared when Walmart opened in Blackstone, and everyone ran away, thinking they were saving money, but were in fact, destroying the economies of both towns. Hopefully its not to late to fix it.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I’d say Kenbridge/Victoria need to go ahead and recognize that their future is as bedroom communities for South Hill and Blackstone/Fort Pickett. Make it easy for people to open up restaurants and entertainment. Lower the business taxes, business licenses, and stupid small town red tape. They are never going to land a big job producing industry here. Let the big towns have the industry, and make these two towns a nice place to simply live.
Kenbridge can start by resuming leaf pickup.