The House-Passed Funding Would Allow the Culpeper Police Department to Acquire a Critical Incident Vehicle, Help Culpeper County Make Improvements to the Carver Center & Lenn Park

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives today voted to pass U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger’s legislation that would provide $1,012,777 for multiple community-focused projects in Culpeper County and the Town of Culpeper — including to acquire a new critical incident vehicle for the Culpeper Police Department, update the auditorium at the Carver Center, and make Lenn Park more accessible.

This investment — which Spanberger secured as part of a House-passed fiscal year (FY)2024 appropriations package — includes $380,000 for a new critical incident vehicle for the Culpeper Police Department. This investment would allow the Town of Culpeper to secure the vehicle to provide a platform for law enforcement to safely conduct operations during critical or emergency situations within the community, while providing real-time intelligence to keep community members and visitors safe. The critical incident vehicle would serve as a base of operations during response to violent crime and search-and-rescue missions of children and adults and be used to support large-scale, community-oriented activities throughout Culpeper.

“The citizens of the Town of Culpeper will greatly benefit from awarding this funding to our Culpeper Police Department,” said Mayor Frank Reaves, Jr., Town of Culpeper. “This vehicle, along with the technology that will come with it, will provide our officers with the tools to ensure public safety in our great town. On behalf of the Town of Culpeper, I want to thank Representative Spanberger and her staff on working with our police department.”

“This Community Project Funding will provide the men and women of the Culpeper Police Department with a level of technology that will provide for greater efficiencies on major events within the Town of Culpeper,” said Chief Chris B. Settle, Culpeper Police Department. “Also, this funding will continue us to assist and provide support to our law enforcement partners in our region and beyond.”

Spanberger also secured $500,000 for Culpeper County to make improvements to the auditorium at the Carver Center, previously George Washington Carver Regional High School. The Carver Center is a hub for educational, non-profit, and agricultural organizations in Culpeper and surrounding counties, including the Carver Agricultural Research Center, Virginia Cooperative Extension offices, 4-H Club programming areas, and metalworking CTE courses. The necessary improvements — such as additional fixed seating, lighting, stage repairs, and audio-visual improvements — would allow for the existing main school building to be fully utilized to hold educational and community events both for current users of the Carver Center and expand use of the space to all of Culpeper County.

“On behalf of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors I would like to thank Congresswoman Spanberger for her work to obtain funding for needed community projects across her district. The Carver Center is important not only to Culpeper County, but the region. The renovation of the auditorium will create an exciting amenity that our residents can utilize and enjoy,” said Paul Bates, Chairman, Culpeper County Board of Supervisors.

“We are so appreciative of Representative Spanberger and her team. She has been a huge advocate for the Carver Center and Culpeper County. With these funds we can continue revitalizing and improving this historic community resource for all our residents to enjoy,” said David Durr, Culpeper County Board of Supervisors.

Additionally, Spanberger secured $132,777 for Culpeper County to bring Lenn Park and its surrounding areas up to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. Lenn Park currently has gravel and crushed stone parking lots and trails throughout the 85-acre park, making the park amenities inaccessible to many residents of the county. Culpeper County would use this investment to grade and pave the parking lots and the trail loops around the softball fields, dog park, fitness equipment, amphitheater, pollinator garden, and shelter to upgrade the spaces to current ADA standards. The paved trail network would offer connecting access to all the amenities in Lenn Park for use by community members.

“As Chairman of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunity to access community funding through our congressional district. We are working hard to make Culpeper County a vibrant community where all our residents can live, work, and play. The awarded funds will improve trail accessibility and will ensure that Lenn Park can be used by residents and visitors of all abilities,” said Paul Bates, Chairman, Culpeper County Board of Supervisors.

“Lenn Park is a community resource we are all proud of. Making this park as well as others accessible for all our residents is a priority for both our Parks and Recreation Department and the Board. We are thankful that these funds can be used to further those goals,” said Susan Gugino, Culpeper County Board of Supervisors.

“Keeping our communities and neighbors safe — and supporting the local law enforcement officers who go to work each day to do so — should be a top priority of all elected officials. Thank you to the Culpeper Police Department for working with me to secure this funding for a critical incident vehicle to keep local officers and community members safe,” said Spanberger. “I’m also proud to have secured federal investments to improve community gathering spaces to allow for more educational and community events, and enable more Culpeper residents and Virginians to spend time outdoors and enjoy our Commonwealth’s natural beauty. Public officials should always be responsive to the unique needs of the communities they serve, and I’m grateful to the Culpeper administrators and leaders who brought these projects to our attention and worked directly with my office to move these investments forward.”

Spanberger worked directly with Culpeper County and the Town of Culpeper to make sure the projects were included in this federal funding legislation. The FY2024 appropriations package now goes to the U.S. Senate for further consideration.

BACKGROUND

For FY2024, the U.S. House of Representatives allowed for specific Community Project Funding requests — as it did in FY2023. Spanberger worked directly with community leaders in localities across Virginia’s Seventh District to gather community-focused requests for her submissions. Click here for the 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 needed to demonstrate significant local support for the projects.

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