By DAN TELVOCK
The Fredericksburg Area Chamber of Commerce is asking its 1,100 members if they support Spotsylvania County joining the Virginia Railway Express.
If the online poll results are pro-VRE, they could put additional pressure on the four supervisors who have not supported joining the commuter rail service.
About 400 of the 1,100 Chamber members are in Spotsylvania County. The Chamber also includes members from the city of Fredericksburg and Stafford, King George and Caroline counties.
Chamber Executive Director Bob Hagan said the results will be released to the Board of Supervisors at a future meeting.
"One of the things we are going to try to be working on at the chamber is identifying issues that are near and dear to the hearts of our members," Hagan said. "What we are going to do is put together some hard numbers of what percentage of our members support or oppose VRE."
Spotsylvania supervisors last debated joining VRE in 2006 but tabled a vote indefinitely. Two pro-VRE supervisors--Benjamin Pitts and Gary Skinner--recently ignited the debate again. Supervisors are expected to vote on whether to join VRE in January or February.
A majority of Spotsylvania voters supported a 2005 bond referendum that included $12 million for a VRE station, but there are no plans to build one. VRE executives have said they would be willing to help pay for a new station.
The sticking points for some supervisors are the 2 percent gasoline tax the county would be required to enact to pay for VRE operations, the overall quality of service VRE provides and language in the contract that makes it difficult for a locality to cancel membership.
Pro-VRE supervisors say there will be several million dollars left over annually from the 2 percent gasoline tax that can be used for other transportation projects in the county. Skinner has said that money could be used to pave rural roads, but that hasn't swayed the two rural supervisors, T.C. Waddy and Emmitt Marshall.
Supervisors Jerry Logan and Gary Jackson are the swing votes. Four votes in favor of joining VRE are needed for a majority.
Hagan, who supports VRE and is a former Spotsylvania supervisor, said he hopes the survey results can persuade at least one more supervisor that joining VRE would be good for the county.
Pitts said the information will be useful for the Board of Supervisors before they vote.
"I support it if their goal is to try to relate to the supervisors how much support the business community has in Spotsylvania joining VRE," he said.
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
Email: dtelvock@freelancestar.com
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Do you favor Spotsylvania County joining the Virginia Railway Express?
Yes No Don't know The survey also asks |