VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher, right, and Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority Chairman Larry Yates, shred the $1,004,890 promissory note, used on the Red Onion waterline replacement project, as the loan was converted to a grant by VCEDA.
CLINTWOOD, VA – JULY 24, 2020 — The promissory note for an up to $1,004,890 loan from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) to the Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) was shredded this week following earlier action by the VCEDA board to forgive the loan and convert it into a grant.
The funds, originally awarded in 2018, were used by the IDA to finance the replacement of the water line serving the Red Onion State Prison and the Red Onion Industrial Park in Dickenson County. Originally, the loan was approved for up to $1,004,890, however, only $807,074.04 was disbursed for the project which was completed under budget with the assistance of the Town of Clintwood.
“VCEDA is pleased to assist the Dickenson County IDA by converting this loan into a grant and relieving them of this debt,” said Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA executive director/general counsel. “Infrastructure projects, like the Red Onion project, help to lay the important groundwork for economic development in Southwest Virginia’s e-Region, thereby creating jobs and opportunities for additional growth. We would like to thank the IDA and the Town of Clintwood for working together to make this project happen.”
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.