By Roslyn Ryan
Editor

From the time it became apparent that Walmart wanted to set up shop in Powhatan, those residents standing both for and against the plan have been engaged in an often heated debate over what it would mean for the county.

Each side was working with its own set of facts, carefully arranged to draw attention from perhaps the only true statement anyone could really make about whether Walmart is a good or bad thing for Powhatan: nobody knows for sure.

While uncertainly and philosophical back-and-forth have a place, it was troubling last week to find that even our county leaders, after months and months of discussion, last week found themselves without an answer about Walmart.

From a resident’s perspective, it would seem that there has been plenty of time for the proposal to be considered, plenty of time to haggle over everything from traffic impact to proffers to signage.
All that was left to do, it seemed, was to make the final decision.
Whether you are for or against a Walmart, both sides are left wanting by four out of the five supervisors’ choice to table the matter indefinitely.

As it will surely open the floodgates for future development, the prospect of a Walmart is certainly not something to be taken lightly. But, as the prospect of building it had been a source of concern and stress for so many residents, the county deserved better than “We’ll get back to you on that.”