County economic director recommends ecotourism, asks board to pick three options for Poorhouse Tract phase 2

Robert Bullard, the county’s executive director for economic development, presented a Phase 1 analysis on June 4 of 10 development concepts for the county-owned Poorhouse Tract, a roughly 140‑acre site.

Bullard said the modeling evaluated multiple scenarios (baseline, growth, risk‑averse, preservation) using criteria that included economic impact, infrastructure readiness and community governance. He said infrastructure availability and implementation time were dominant factors and that many concepts carry potential economic benefits but also varying infrastructure costs.

"Ecotourism and recreation emerged as the strongest cross‑scenario performer," Bullard told the board, arguing those concepts appeared to be the tract’s most resilient long‑term development pathway. He stressed the analysis is not a single predetermined solution: the intent is for the board to recommend three of the 10 options for Phase 2, which will include more detailed market demand analysis, a rough order of magnitude (ROM) for costs and a grant‑funding strategy.

Board members asked how Bullard incorporated board input into scoring; he described a simple five‑member scoring method (options received scores from 0–5 across members) and said many options received unanimous support in the initial screening. Supervisors also discussed limited tools for incentives — Bullard and the board cited potential infrastructure funding or permit‑fee reductions as primary levers — and agreed to put more property inventory and prioritization on an upcoming agenda so the board can provide direction for Phase 2.

Bullard said Phase 2 work would start in July with outreach to the Northern Neck Planning District Commission and aim to produce materials to support a January 2027 budget request for any required county match or grant‑writing costs.

Next procedural steps included selecting three options to advance to Phase 2 and scheduling a July work session to review property inventories and priorities.