"Joe Hines from Timmons Group, gave the presentation about general information that goes into site selection and specifically looked at one property in Fluvanna. The bottom line, Fluvanna has no property that is close to being ready for a large outside business to develop. In Hines’ presentation he gave examples of large projects that have either looked at Virginia or committed to move to Virginia. They included projects like Amazon and Caterpillar."

“Economic development is a long-term commitment,” Hines says. “Not an election-cycle buzzword.”

Hines speaks from experience. He is principal-in-charge of economic development with Timmons Group, a Richmond-based engineering firm. He has been involved in some of the biggest economic development deals in Virginia in recent years, including The Vitamin Shoppe’s distribution center in Hanover County, Rolls-Royce jet components plant in Prince George County, and two Amazon.com fulfillment centers in Chesterfield and Dinwiddie counties."

"Culpeper is doing a lot of things right, keep going," he [Hines]  said. "Complete as much due diligence as possible." Hines also discussed giving serious consideration to a "regional park concept, even if it's a small subset of localities." Catalpa supervisor Sue Hansohn questioned if Culpeper was doing enough with the tax incentives that are offered. "We can't offer free (taxes), and we've lost some businesses that have gone in the valley due to free offers," she said. "Free isn't necessarily free," Hines answered. "Every deal is different."