“We’re going to need more tables.”
About 80 people registered for last Thursday’s Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce “Eggs & Issues: State of the County” breakfast, but over 90 people showed up.
An additional table appeared with a white tablecloth and crisp white napkins folded upright into pyramids. In the end, there were enough seats, plus plenty of eggs — and issues.
The “State of the County” program took the form of a three-person panel: Christiansburg mayor (and lifelong Christiansburg resident) Michael Barber, Blacksburg mayor (in his eighth day on the job) Michael Sutphin and Montgomery County Board of Supervisors chair April DeMotts, who, in her days as a student at Virginia Tech, volunteered calling BINGO for seniors at Warm Hearth Village where the Chamber hosted the “Eggs and Issues” program. DeMotts sat at a long table between the two mayors/Michaels.
The moderator for the event was New River Valley Regional Commission Executive Director Kevin Bryd, who directed the panelists through 50 minutes of talking points, followed by 10 minutes of answering questions.
Spoiler alert: In those final ten minutes, the panelists answered only two questions — one from an audience member, and one from Byrd. Throughout the program, the audience listened quietly, intently — no clanking of silverware, no mocking, no boos, no rahhs, just easy-going laughter at the panelists’ — particularly the two mayors’ — zingy one-liners.
2025 highlights
Each panelist ticked off what their region accomplished in 2025. Christiansburg, according to Barber, maintained “sound, financial responsibility, remaining comfortable in the budget,” purchased plots of land for a new public works facility and downtown parking, installed solar energy at the aquatic center and recreation center which should add up to “$100,000 energy savings in the year” and celebrated the 450,000th visitor to Huckleberry Park, which opened in 2023. The park is “a good bang for our buck and good bang for your buck because [access is] all free,” said Barber.
Blacksburg, in Sutphin’s words, improved trail construction, including widening the Huckleberry Trail; made progress in affordable housing, such as the Habitat for Humanity homes on Airport Road; and opened a new transportation hub for Blacksburg transit, which had “a record number of riders” in 2025. The new transit hub is on the Virginia Tech campus.
Montgomery County, as highlighted by DeMotts, opened Teel Park in Riner and — in “a major change” — converted the stand-alone Public Service Authority to the Utility Department. This change is a “streamlined approach to any new construction” and “gives citizens access to the full depth of county employees,” explained DeMotts.
2026 will focus on studies and plans
Between the three panelists, two themes for 2026 emerged: (1) extensive planning for essential infrastructure and (2) leadership changes.
“It’s a year of studies,” said DeMotts — studies crucial to the “continuous battle to keep up infrastructure,” as described by Barber. Montgomery County will focus on four studies and plans: (1) the Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan 2045 to set the tone for the next 20 years, (2) the Parks & Recreation Master Plan, (3) a county-wide study on fire and rescue, including the transition from a volunteer model to a hybrid model of career rescuers, and (4) a water and waste study to evaluate the current system’s capacity and condition. The water and waste study will be used to develop a plan for future capital projects.
Blacksburg will also focus on studies and plans, particularly related to investments in downtown. The town council will begin updating the zoning ordinance. The last update was in 1996-1997, before we had “more people, more students, more demand for housing of all types,” said Sutphin. Sutphin listed additional planning tasks related to improving infrastructure, such as another round of grants for the Blacksburg Spark Downtown Façade Improvement Program. In 2025, the façade program gave 17 awards of $1,000-$20,000 in matching funds to downtown businesses to improve their exteriors.
In Christiansburg, the focus will be on the New River Valley rail project to return passenger rail to the region for the first time in nearly 50 years. Barber reported that 40,000 riders are expected per year. The rail project, he said, is a “continuous joint effort between Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Virginia Tech, Montgomery County and others.”
The infrastructure planning comes amid the second theme of 2026 — leadership changes. Sutphin is not the only regional leader in their first two weeks of a new position. Dr. Kim Eagle is the new town manager for Christiansburg. She brings three decades of local government management to the job. So far, “Reviews are good,” said Barber before good-naturedly calling over to Eagle, “If you don’t think I check behind your back, Kim … well, I do!”
Besides a new mayor, Blacksburg has one new town councilor — Darryl Campbell — and two empty council seats. The council will vote on interim appointments for the seats on Jan. 27 at its regular meeting, which is open to the public. If the council fails to fill the seats within 45 days, the Montgomery County Court will make the appointments. But, alluding to the election fraud conviction of former council member Liam Watson and the Blacksburg mayoral election recount, “the courts have already seen us enough, so let’s not have them do it again,” said Sutphin.
Christiansburg Town Council has two newly elected council members — Christine Waltz and Beth Umberger — while the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has one new member — Gunin Kiran.
The Board of Supervisors, Blacksburg Town Council, and Christiansburg Town Council each have seven members. Unlike Blacksburg’s and Christiansburg’s non-partisan town councils, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is partisan. DeMotts said, “95% of the time we’re in agreement, but it’s not all puppies and sunshine. On the way home [from meetings] I’m on the phone with the person I disagreed with — ‘Are we cool?’”
Sutphin also emphasized the importance of “creating respectful relationships on council and making space for minority viewpoints,” especially on land use issues, the topic on which council is most divided. “If everyone is mildly dissatisfied, that’s an accomplishment,” he said, characteristically deadpan.
In Christiansburg, the mayor votes on an issue if there is a tie between council members. Barber, suggesting that Christiansburg’s two new council members may have opposing views, said, “The jury is still out, but I’ll be voting a lot more this year and will lean toward what’s best for the entire team — for everyone.” Barber has been an elected official for 25 years — 12 as mayor, plus 13 as a town council member.
As for tracking the impact of state legislation on local life, the three panelists agreed that preserving local authority over local land use — for data centers, for example — is a critical issue when it comes to state policy. They also agree on ending unfunded state mandates. “I’m always looking for the funding for changes that affect how municipalities operate. We get mandates that you have to do this, AND you have to pay for it,” Barber said.
Takeaway #1: Invisible work matters.
Barber is retired and estimates that he spends 50% of his time on mayoral duties. Sutphin and DeMotts both have full-time jobs and estimated that they spend 10-15 hours on their governance duties per week — on a normal week, that is. “If you see us in the news, it’s 20-30 hours,” said DeMotts. Adding up work time on only the normal weeks, these elected officials spend over 33 days per year on town issues, such as planning for a public works facility that’s not in a flood zone, like the current one is.
The planning process might not be front and center in citizens’ minds, but the results of the planning could be front and center of their lives.
Takeaway #2: Rose and Green
It’ll be a “rosy year for the town and citizens,” said Barber. At least some of the rosiness may come from citizens’ enjoyment of green spaces.
A few hours after the “State of the County” breakfast, a school bus pulled into the immaculate parking lot at the new Teel Park in Riner. The school bus was empty. Its driver — Kim Simpkins — was speed walking the smoothly paved paths that weave around various ballfields, playgrounds and covered picnic areas.
Simpkins has been a Christiansburg school bus driver for 32 years. These days, she has a midday route shuttling high school students between the Christiansburg and Auburn high schools for vocational training — vocational training that is key to much-needed regional workforce development, according to Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Baffuto.
Between routes of vocational students, Simpkins walks for about 45 minutes, covering about three miles, five days a week. “I didn’t walk before or would just try to walk around the schools. This [park] makes it much more convenient, and it’s pretty, and you meet the people out here.”
Takeaway #3: MoCo is for lovers.
One of the attendees was Zach Gesa, a 2024 graduate of Virginia Tech, who is an environmental scientist with Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. Gesa graded the general “state of the county” as an A-/B+. To earn an A or A+, the region would need another type of nightlife. He’s “too old to line up with people using fake IDs to get into bars.” Despite having to rely on his gym, The Weight Club, as a social scene, Gesa loves Blacksburg — particularly Jefferson National Forest — and is staying in the area because “I got the job, and … there’s a girl involved.”
Another attendee also found romance in Blacksburg. Sara McCarter, project manager at Warm Hearth for the last 18 years, recently got married to a guy she met on a blind date at Rising Silo Brewery. Last Sunday, McCarter hiked the Triple Crown, the iconic 32-mile loop including Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee Knob and (her favorite) Tinker Creek. At the Eggs & Issues breakfast, McCarter didn’t have a specific grade for the “state of the county” but described the “outdoor stuff” as “exceptional” and loves her job — “the funnest job here.” One aspect of McCarter’s job is coordinating Warm Hearth’s volunteers and academic projects — with, for example, Virginia Tech students majoring in human development and family science. Last year, volunteers racked up about 6,600 hours at Warm Hearth.
Volunteering is related to the one question panelists answered from an audience member: How does being an elected official affect full-time employment? Specifically, “How can the younger generation get involved without negatively impacting their full-time jobs?”
Barber slid the microphone in front of DeMotts, who said, “My employer has been very supportive, but there’s not one path to have it [public service] absolutely not affect employment.”
DeMotts — with Sutphin elaborating — went on to describe the many opportunities to volunteer in non-elected roles on committees, boards and nonprofits. Citizens — including young people — can learn about ways to serve through the county website, the Blacksburg Citizens Institute, the Christiansburg Citizens Academy and Warm Hearth, where they may have the chance to interact with vibrant, trail-enthusiast McCarter.
Despite the many opportunities to volunteer, Barber remarked that “volunteerism is dying.” He encouraged attendees to encourage their employees to volunteer.
As for being an elected official, Barber ended the breakfast in the same words he said at the start: “It’s a labor of love.”
The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s next “Eggs & Issues” breakfastis on Feb. 5 and will focus on economic development.