And just look at all the business opportunities available in Town!

Commerce — there is a large, vacant commercial property with ample parking at the entrance to Town for sale, and another large store with parking on the south side of Mason Avenue. Additionally, there are many vacant storefronts on Mason Avenue — each with readily available water, sewer, lit by public street lights, and protected by a robustly staffed police force and well equipped fire department.

Industry — within the Town limits and with readily available for sale public water and sewer is the Sustainable Technology Industrial Park with a high quality access road already built and a state certified police force equipped with new, high speed cruisers ready to protect tenants and clients — which costs millions of dollars to develop — all paid for by federal, state, county and town taxpayers!

Medical — in addition to potential sites on Mason Avenue, the Town has a 3,000+ square foot medical office and lab space with its own parking lot, strategically located a block from the entrance to Town — available for sale with by an owner ready to make a deal.

And how many hundreds of hours has the Planning Commission and Town Council spent planning and discussing the zoning regulations for the vacant and available commercial waterfront properties that surround the Town Harbor that grows bigger every year from new taxpayer-funded improvements? What more could be done to encourage a new hotel in Town?

So what observer could help but conclude that the Town of Cape Charles is open for business? What ingredient is lacking, what else needs to be done? Very little — the bottom line is the Town has already done everything appropriate to encourage growth and development.

Town officials need to recognize that private sector development should be funded by private investments — and private decision makers respond to free market forces. Market forces are limiting new development in Cape Charles, not spending paid for by Town taxpayers. What justification is there for the Town to spend one penny of Town funds to extend water, sewer, or services beyond the Town limits? Not one I can think of. If a property owner on Route 13 wants Town water, sewer, or other existing services, that owner should pay the full cost of extension of the services, plus a fair share contribution to pay down the debt already on the books that is the responsibility of Town taxpayers.