This Funding Will Allow for the Renovation of a Former Bank Building into the New Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden today signed into law U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger’s legislation to provide $375,000 for a new office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Amelia County.

The funding for Amelia County — which Spanberger successfully secured as part of a House and Senate-passed fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations package — will be used to renovate a former bank building into the new Clerk’s Office, which is currently located in the Amelia County Courthouse. This renovation will allow the county to make necessary security improvements to both the County Courthouse and the Sheriff’s Office.

“After several conversations with Amelia County officials, it was clear that we needed to work together to move and upgrade the Clerk of the Court’s Office. Now that the President has signed this funding into law, this project will provide Amelia with the resources to do just that,” said Spanberger. “Since coming to Congress, one of my top priorities has been to bring federal resources home to Central Virginia, as well as to improve public safety and to protect the Virginians who keep our communities safe. I am proud to have worked directly with Amelia leaders to secure this funding.”

“The Amelia County Board of Supervisors is thrilled to learn that the Federal budget has been signed into law and includes funding for the Amelia County Circuit Clerk’s Office upgrades. These significant upgrades have been needed for quite some time and the current facility has not been meeting the needs of Amelia’s citizens or employees. The Board of Supervisors had purchased a recently vacated commercial bank building in hopes of renovating it into first class office facilities for the Courts. No source of funding is in line, as of yet, for funding of this conversion. The funds as provided by the new Federal budget will make this new facility operational, with improved security and safety, several years before it would otherwise have been,” said David M. Felts, Chairman, Amelia County Board of Supervisors. “We thank Rep. Spanberger, as well as her office and staff, for making this project become a reality.”

Multiple incidents have taken place in the Courthouse which could have been mitigated with enhanced security, and the space currently being occupied by the Clerk’s Office is needed to make those security improvements. Additionally, this transition will take staff in the Clerk’s Office out of harm’s way and make routine operations in the office safer.

BACKGROUND

This year, the U.S. House of Representatives implemented a new effort as part of its annual appropriations process, which allowed for specific Community Project Funding requests — like the new office of the Clerk of Court. Spanberger worked directly with community leaders in all 10 counties of the Seventh District to gather community-focused requests for her submissions. Click here for a full list of her submissions.

The Community Project Funding process was created to ensure that Members of Congress, in concert with the communities they represent, may submit direct applications for federal funding to support locally planned projects as part of the yearly appropriations process.

To be eligible, projects must be sponsored by local or state government entities or non-profit organizations and must be projects that would otherwise meet the qualifications to apply for federal grant funding. The purpose of Community Project Funding is to ensure direct, local engagement as part of the federal appropriations process. In line with this goal, funding applications must demonstrate significant local support for the projects. 

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