Dear Editor,

Thank you to The Farmville Herald for last week’s article “Heartland still mostly empty” (reprinted in part on today’s Gazette front page). Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a conversation with more citizens asking questions of their government leaders on this failed project.

Why the concern? Hasn’t it been said none of the $12-$14 million that has gone into this project came from local tax dollars? Sadly, it has been spent on a park sitting basically empty.

Also, how could the Heartland board, made up of administrators from the member counties and another county representative, allow it to operate without required minutes of those meetings? The excuse of lack of paid staff is bogus.

This makes me furious: The Heartland board authorized writing a grant to obtain VDOT money for $789,197 to build an entrance to the west side of the Heartland Business Park. No one is using the east side entrance.

Contact your board of supervisors and county administrator and tell them what you think. Contact the governor and secretary of transportation; ask them to take another hard look at the grant.

Citizens, if you are worried about government waste, here is it in your own back yard.

Please take action. You can make a difference.

Kay Morgan Pierantoni

Wylliesburg