A Message From Mayor H. Kyle Fletcher
January 1, 2012
The year 2011 has been an eventful and historic year for the Town of St. Paul. Multiple events were held throughout the town in celebration of our 100th birthday, as well as the first publication of a book on our history, “St. Paul, Virginia, A Centennial Journey”. The historic Hillman House project was completed and now serves as home to the Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority and Welcome Center or the Town of St. Paul. Our annual Clinch River Days had a record breaking crowd this year.
Although St. Paul was dealt a devastating blow with the closure of our high school in 2011, we are extremely fortunate to be able to reflect on the many blessings bestowed upon us this year.
Downtown St. Paul has been listed on both the state and federal register of historical districts. A CDBG Downtown Revitalization Grant was awarded and work to improve our downtown area is underway.
The Farmers Market had another successful season and was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Tobacco Commission to provide a permanent structure for our local farmers and artisans.
Located in both Wise and Russell Counties, the Town Council designated Castlewood High School as our new “community school” and the home school of Estonoa Wetlands and the Vencil Learning Center, which will continue to provide community based environmental educational opportunities for all area students.
The Oxbow Center has hosted several Clinch River Initiative meetings promoting a regional cooperative effort to bring outdoor recreation and tourism to far Southwest Virginia.
In another cooperative effort, the Town of St. Paul, Castlewood Water & Sewage Authority, and Wise County PSA have been working toward the construction of a Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility which is being funded by Rural Development, the Tobacco Commission, and ARC. Construction should begin in early 2012.
The Town of St. Paul was honored to be designated as a Virginia Main Street Community. We are one of only four communities in the state of Virginia to be selected by Governor McDonnell. This designation will be a tremendous asset as we move forward with economic restructuring and downtown revitalization.
We have constructed a Veteran’s Memorial and the veteran’s brick wall will be added in 2012.
During the past, several new businesses have opened in St. Paul and we look forward to bringing more business and industry during 2012. The construction of the Dominion Virginia Hybrid Energy Center will be completed in 2012.
As the New Year approaches, we look forward to completion of our many ongoing projects and participation in the statewide efforts to bring tourism to Southwest Virginia. In the upcoming year, we will begin new projects such as the rehabilitation of our water tank system and improvements to our wastewater system. We will be working on façade and streetscape improvements to our downtown area and improvements to our Farmers Market.
I believe the future of St. Paul and our tri-county region is bright. By managing our long term fiscal goals and our natural resources, we will be able to provide incentives for business expansion and tourism. Town leaders continue to work on long term goals to ensure present and future economic stability for our town and its citizens.
We look forward to making 2012 another exciting and prosperous year for the Town of St. Paul.
Hubert Kyle Fletcher, Mayor
March 9, 2011
In my last update to the residents of The Town of St. Paul, I stressed the importance of developing a viable downtown business district supplemented by quality shopping and a diverse industrial mix in the outlying areas that will translate into job opportunities and an expanded tax base. We must continue our efforts toward this goal while working to attract tourists by enhancing and developing outdoor activities that embrace the areas' natural resources, particularly our stretch of the Clinch River.
The cooperative efforts of the Vice Mayor, Town Council members, the Downtown Revitalization Committee, the Farmers Market Committee, St. Paul Tomorrow, town employees, and several volunteer citizens, resulted in multiple grant awards for the Town of St. Paul this past year:
- Heartwood Video Grant ($3500.00) - To create a video promoting tourism for the Town of St. Paul at the Heartwood in Abingdon, VA.
- Library Equipment Grant/Rural Development ($18,750.00) – To purchase furniture and equipment for the J. Fred Matthews Library.
- Farmers Market Grant/Rural Development ($11,200.00) – To purchase equipment for the Clinch River Farmers Market.
- Farmers Market Grant/Tobacco Commission ($100,000) – To build a permanent structure for the Clinch River Farmers Market.
- Downtown Revitalization Grant/DHCD ($770,000) – To remove blight from the downtown area, improve building facades and streetscapes.
In a recent meeting of Farmers Market managers held in Bristol, the Clinch River Farmers Market received another $1500.00 grant for advertisement and promotion of the market. The Farmers Market has become a valuable asset to our community. It will be reopening soon for the 2011 season and I urge everyone to visit and shop at the Farmers Market.
The Hillman House Project has been completed and will serve as the home for The Heart of Appalachia as well as the St. Paul Visitor’s Welcome Center.
The Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center is still on schedule to begin production in 2012. We are continuing to work with Dominion to provide raw water, sanitary sewer, and industrial wastewater services to the facility. We are moving forward with the construction of the Regional Wastewater Sewer Plant to expand sewer services to the power plant as well as a cooperative effort to provide additional sewer services for Wise County and Russell County.
There will be a special election on April 5, 2011 to fill the school board seat vacated by Vanessa Perry, who resigned last fall. This election will be a vital step in the fight to keep St. Paul High School and I encouraging every eligible voter in the St. Paul area to vote in this election. The candidate who opposes consolidation and supports community schools is Jess Powers.
I would like to remind citizens we will be celebrating the Town of St. Paul’s 100th birthday this year. Special events for a Centennial Celebration are being planned and will be announced soon.
The town has purchased a new 2011 garbage truck. We will keep the old garbage truck in use one day per week in order to have a back-up system when the new truck needs maintenance. This will prevent interrupted garbage service for our citizens we sometimes experienced with only one truck.
As spring arrives, our Street Department will be trimming, cleaning, and sprucing up the town from the long harsh winter. I ask that we all make an effort to keep our community clean and litter free. Help us to keep Oxbow Lake, our park, trails, roadsides, downtown streets, and residential areas clean.
We are beginning to realize many of our goals as we continue to work toward new ones. I greatly appreciate the cooperative efforts of the town leaders, business owners, and citizens to improve our community.
April 1, 2010
The accounting procedures for the Town of St. Paul have passed three audits and the Town's finances are in good order. There is a weekly meeting of the Downtown Revitalization Committee whose purpose is to revive Main Street and the Business District, renovate the Willis Building, and work with LENOWISCO to secure grant funding to realize these goals. A Farmers' Market has been established and had a very successful first year thanks to a very dedicated committee and community members who have supported the market. Construction on the historic Hillman House is scheduled to begin this spring and will serve as a tourist information center. We also expect to begin construction soon on the Huddle House restaurant.
The Town of St. Paul, Castlewood Water & Sewer and Wise County PSA have joined in a mutual agreement to build a new sewer plant that will expand economic development. We have been aggressive in securing stimulus money to improve the Town's water infrastructure and will soon begin work on rehabilitation of our water system.
The Town of St. Paul is now an associate member of the "Crooked Road" and a full partner with the Spearhead Trailblazers. The Town is in the process of placing Blue Belle Island in the Nature Conservancy to protect this 24.5 acre area for walking the nature trail, fishing or bird watching.
In terms of being prepared for rapid internet and fibber optic communications, St. Paul is served by Jet Broadband, Verizon and recently Sunset Digital Communications, which provides fiber optic and rural area communication. Virginia Mountain Micro is also now available for internet service. The Town now has call service through Altel or Verizon and we hope to have AT&T available in the near future. We have developed a new and informative website at
www.st.paulva.com to help keep the public informed.
In the Highway 58 redevelopment area of St. Paul, construction of a new Huddle House restaurant is scheduled to begin soon and be completed by fall. The Town Council and Mayor have worked closely with our civcic groups such as St. Paul Tomorrow, Farmers' Market Committee,Beautification Committee and the Clinch River Days Festival to broaden the future economic development opportunities for our town.
St. Paul is the home of Dominion Power, whose presence will contribute to economic growth and expand commercial opportunities. We have maintained a good working relationship with Dominion and our police department has quickly adapted to the increased traffic created from an additional1200 plus workers traveling in town on a daily basis.
I believe the Town of St. Paul should have an expanded mission for the future. The Town must develop a viable downtown business district supplemented by quality shopping and a diverse industrial mix in the outlying areas that will translate into job opportunities and an expanded tax base, while working to enhance and develop outdoor activities that embrace the areas' natural resources and attract tourists. With the Clinch River being one of the most beautiful and diverse rivers in the country, St. Paul could be known as a desirable tourist destination offering water activities, historical exhibits, cultural events, lodging, and other attractions.