JAMES CITY-James City County Administrator Scott Stevens recently shared updates of ongoing projects within the county during his monthly podcast at the end of May.
James City County is looking to build a new government complex, as it has outgrown current facilities located off Mounts Bay Road. It appears the county is narrowing in on a ten-acre site on the campus of the James City County Recreation Center along Longhill Road. The location is more centralized, and would provide easier access to citizens.
“It is the preferred site,” Stevens said.
Following previous talks about the need for a new government center back in September 2022, county officials received an unsolicited proposal for the project. A second proposal was pitched to the county at the end of May. Stevens said during his podcast that his staff will review the proposals and make recommendations in late summer or early fall, stressing that “we are not committed to anything at this time.”
Another project that James City County is working on is an agreement with York County to consolidate 911 services (see related story). York County is expected to vote on the matter on Tuesday, June 6 while James City County will make a decision later this month. Stevens anticipates the merger will be approved, sharing in his podcast that it “will be a good thing for our community.”
James City County also appears to be moving forward with collaboration on the construction of a new library in downtown Williamsburg. James City County’s share of the $35 million cost to build the new library is slated to be $10 million. As part of the project, a third branch of the Williamsburg Regional Library, which currently has two facilities on Scotland Street in the City of Williamsburg and on Croaker Road in Norge in James City County, will be built, also in the county. The third branch will likely be considered in fiscal year 2027. A formal agreement on the new downtown library is expected to be reached later this summer, Stevens said, with construction to begin roughly in spring 2024.
Stevens also shared in his podcast that James City County will receive its first LOVE sign in August. The 6-foot-tall letters will be placed at Freedom Park off Centerville Road, with additional signs planned down the line, including one at the Warhill Sports Complex.
“We are really excited to be a part of the LOVE sign craze,” Stevens said. “Hopefully people will have fun taking photographs with it and sharing their memories of James City County.”
