New Keny County, Virginia

The Game Farm Marsh management area is a flooded cypress forest that’s only accessible by boat. A new 70-acre Pine Fork Park is opening soon and will provide a dog park, soccer/football fields, playgrounds, walking trails softball/ baseball diamonds and a concession stand. “It’s nice because we’ll be able to host softball and baseball tournaments,” says Smolnik. “There’s even a long-term plan for an indoor recreation facility. We have plenty of space to stretch our legs.” To assist in recruiting major projects, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) is a big economic development ally for New Kent. Making connections like these are essential for Smolnik. He explains, “I don’t need to have all the answers or assets. I just need to know someone who does. We also work with the Richmond Region Tourism Organization and Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). It’s myself, my administrative assistant, and two part-timers in my office. I need to utilize my assets to cast as big a net as possible.” When the timing is right, sometimes the partnership opportunities come to the community. For instance, the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System, the state’s biggest healthcare provider, offered to build the VCU Emergency Center in New Kent. It’s a free-standing 12-bed facility, where patients can seek emergency medical care. This partnership has been a community game- changer. So has the one with the new ownership group of the Colonial Downs racetrack and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium. Smolnik acknowledges, “I definitely see them as a long-term partner. Their dirt horse track is the second longest in the U.S. and their Secretariat turf track is the widest one in North America. When the track shut down six years ago under the previous owner, we felt like we lost part of our identity. A new group approached us in 2017 and following an amendment to state code, the