WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT) – NC Rep. Keith Kidwell, who serves the 79th District, is hosting two town halls in Eastern North Carolina to present the state budget and answer questions from the public.
He started Monday night by listing some of the projects that are included in Beaufort County.
“$20 million going to Beaufort County airport, $2.5 million for a satellite college in Aurora, $120,000 grant going to Washington High School, and $360,000 to Chocowinity for new emergency vehicles,” Kidwell said at the meeting.
He made an announcement on Monday night about the expansion of Nutrien, a phosphate mining plant in Aurora.
“Nutrien has stepped up to the plate,” Kidwell said. “We’ve been working with them for about a year on several projects down in Aurora. One of those is the expansion and building of the Aurora industrial park.
“They’re donating 26 acres of land to that. They’re also going to donate some land to the town for affordable housing, so that we can build housing in Aurora for people who work at Nutrien.”
Cynthia Crane is the executive director of the Aurora Fossil Museum. She attended the town hall event and was thrilled to hear of this new expansion.
“The growth or what I call the renaissance of Aurora, which is awesome, which is a great thing to know people are looking to make Aurora what it used to be,” Crane said.
Crane said she came to hear about what her representative had been doing in Raleigh and encourages others to do the same.
“It’s very important because we elect our officials to support us in other places especially in Raleigh, so it’s good he comes to give us feedback, answer questions and concerns,” Crane said.
“I can’t represent people I don’t know,” Kidwell said. “I feel I have to get out here and get face to face with people and let them have access to their government, that’s what America is about.”
The next town hall will be Tuesday at the Vanceboro Town Hall from 6:30-8 p.m.