Editorial: A spirit of cooperation pays off

"Cooperation" was the buzzword at Thursday’s groundbreaking for the Commonwealth Crossing Business Center.

Sen. Tim Kaine praised the cooperation between Henry County and Martinsville in developing the new industrial park and advocating for it when obstacles arose. That occurred when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers balked at issuing a grading permit until a company committed to the site and could show plans for it, yet a company would not relocate to the site without the approved permit.

Cooperation between local officials and their congressional representatives meant Kaine, Sen. Mark Warner and Reps. Morgan Griffith and Robert Hurt could work in Washington, D.C. to help end that stalemate, Kaine said. The congressional delegation recognized that the importance of this industrial park to this area and the jobs it can create far outweigh any party or political interests.

Griffith agreed with Kaine. "There’s not a thing we could have done in Washington if the folks in this area hadn’t first put the project together and done all that hard labor," he said.

Del. Danny Marshall also noted the cooperation with the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, of which he is a member. He said the commission is the biggest source of funding for Commonwealth Crossing. Over two years, he said, it has provided a total of $15.6 million for the site.

Cooperation also is evident in the funding partners for the project. In addition to the tobacco commission, funding partners include Henry County, the city of Martinsville, the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp., the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Small Business Administration and the Mid-Atlantic Broadband.

All these people and entities deserve thanks for recognizing the area’s best interests and its economic needs. Their willingness to work for this project over about two years shows they understand that jobs are the area’s first, second and third priorities, as Hurt put it.

Eventually, county officials identified two potential clients for Commonwealth Crossing, which they have said was a "key step in negotiations" with the corps and led to the signed permit.

Now, we look forward to seeing the grading begin and, ultimately, industries committing to the business park and people working there. That will be when all the cooperation truly will pay off.

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