The following message was published to the Town of Orange Facebook page on January 15th of this year.

Recently, there has been rampant speculation about potential data center development in Orange County and the Town of Orange. Emotional, speculative, and unsubstantiated claims are being made about possible resource allocation, environmental impacts, and potential employment. To date, I have yet to see any sources cited supporting the claims being made.

What we do know is that numerous key metrics for the town have changed significantly over the past few decades. There were a number of businesses in town that provided employment that was the backbone of the middle class. Companies like Clarostat, American Woodmark, Blue Bell, Silk Mill, Virginia Metal, Specialty Weavers, and Butler’s are all gone and with them 1500 jobs that supported working families in our town.

According to the American Community Survey:
The mean commute time for town residents is 23.6 minutes.
Half of county residents commute outside of Orange.
15.8% of town residents are at or below the poverty line.
The home ownership rate in town is 47.4%.

Additional data points:
Median Household Income in 2000 was $28,576.
Median Household Income in 2024 was $68,833.
Median home price in 2000 was $97,400.
Median home price in 2025 was $333,365.
Housing expense ratio in 2000 was 35.5%.
Housing expense ratio in 2025 was 41.3%.
(Banks want to see this ratio around 30% for home financing.)

I was hired for Economic Development by the previous town manager, Greg Woods, in August 2025. When Greg retired in September, town council made me the interim town manager. Our town has vacant storefronts on Main Street and vacant industrial properties in various locations throughout the town. The town has either been contacted by or has initiated contact with a number of companies to consider business locations in town. One of the stated goals of the town council is to bring more jobs to Orange whether skilled labor, high tech, healthcare or others with above average wages.

Virginia code section 2.2-3711(A)(5) protects the privacy of certain conversations as they pertain to prospective employers.

Other objectives are improvements to our downtown, maintenance and rehabilitation of town infrastructure, overall wage growth for the community, higher rate of home ownership, and one that is especially important to me, competitive wages for town employees.

We are currently conducting a pay study in-house (to save tax dollars) to rate how we compare to neighboring jurisdictions for employee compensation. We have been unable to fill vacancies in the police department, and we are fearful of losing skilled positions across the town departments.

Our neighbors, Culpeper, Louisa, and Spotsylvania, are all growing their tax base and tax revenues, in part due to data center development. They are paying their employees more than we are. We are working to remain competitive so that we can treat our employees fairly and maintain our level of service to our residents. Employee turnover disrupts continuity in the efficient and consistent delivery of services to our residents.

Additionally, infrastructure and equipment are expensive. Estimates to replace an aging stormwater system under the town range in the tens of millions. Our water plant is 59 years old and in need of multiple upgrades or replacement. Our water intake in the Rapidan River is under a review period. It is expected that the town will have to upgrade the intake at an estimated cost of $4 million.

Our water distribution system is also aging. Fortunately, we received ARPA funds which paid for the installation of a new standpipe to replace the one erected in 1910! The additional in-ground water storage has been rehabilitated but at considerable expense. ARPA funds were also used to replace water meters that were aging and sometimes inaccurate. Newer equipment comes with enhanced features that did not exist previously. Our water system can now detect if you have a leak in your home so that we can contact you to make a repair or sometimes just shut off a valve saving you money. Our new system also has the capability to detect underground water leaks.

The town hall and police department are in aging buildings. I would like to see those consolidated in one building that is safe and efficient for the town staff and accessible to our residents. Our police department will soon begin to use additional technology resources that will make them more efficient and effective in keeping our community safe.

All of these projects, whether necessary repairs, statutory requirements or proactive work to move us into the future come at a cost. Who typically pays those costs? The town taxpayers and ratepayers.
Should we grow our tax base to ease the burden on our residents? In my opinion, absolutely!

Should we have an open mind to any potential project that may come to our community and evaluate the facts, good and bad, before rendering judgement? Of course.

Will we as a community support our elected leaders to impartially evaluate any proposal that comes before them for the future of our town? I hope so.

Jen Bailey

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