Town Crier Articles

At our August Noon time talk, residents met Scott Stevens who is the County Administrator for James City County. Many in the audience were already familiar with Scott not only because of his official position but because he and his wife, Monique, love sitting on their Center Street front porch chatting with neighbors and friends and warmly greeting dog walkers and others strolling past their home.  

Scott, who has been in his position for almost seven years, oversees the county's daily operations and departments while implementing, with the assistance of his staff, the policies and laws passed by the members of the Board of Supervisors, who are elected by county citizens.  

Friendly, modest but clearly well versed in all the intricacies of local government, Scott hails from North Carolina, where he studied civil engineering.   He then moved into public service and gained expertise in areas that might seem mundane but are critical to the success of every municipality including developing budgets, dealing with waste, stormwater, and public utilities and improving citizens’ lives through robust parks and recreation programs and effective transportation systems and much more.

 

Scott plays an important role in new development projects and described to attendees the status of the proposed JCC Government Center complex, which will consolidate all county offices, as well as the new Greater Williamsburg Sports and Event Center project, which is scheduled to open in July 2026. It will provide a massive indoor setting with a rolling turf system that will host sports tournaments and trade shows and is already booking events. Scott noted that the sports center is being funded through hotel taxes.  Residents were pleased to hear that it will include a large indoor playground and will be open to JCC residents.

 

 

New Towners were also keenly interested in Scott discussion of the two proposed new housing developments to be located on the Eastern Hospital grounds, which still need the Board of Supervisors approval. Westwood Park, the smaller one with 172 units, would be accessed through Discovery Park Boulevard. Scott observed that the county cannot absolutely stop future development but can try to mold it so that it is most beneficial to the community. He also noted that the Board of Supervisors will likely be discussing the Eastern State Hospital project at a public hearing on October 14 and encouraged New Towners to attend. For more information on the status of the developments see the August Town Crier article.

 

Scott fielded questions from the audience about these projects and other issues such as those associated with traffic in New Town. Multiple times he expressed his willingness to talk with residents about their concerns and shared his phone number, 757-253-6600. After the talk ended, several residents were already taking him up on his offer.

 

Our next  New Town Talk is Tuesday, September 16 at 12:00 at the NTRA Meeting Room when Paul Griswold will take us on a Walk Through Greensprings Nature Trail.