Town leaders in Dillwyn want to add another position to the town council — a non-voting business representative. Currently, the council is made up of the mayor and six council members. Out of the six council seats up for election in November, only two people are running, leaving four open seats.

According to Mayor Linda Venable Paige, the new proposed position could be filled by someone who owns a business in the town and resides outside of its corporate limits. She said the town’s charter must be amended before the appointment could be made. The action requires approval from the Virginia General Assembly.

“Sometime ago when we were just starting with the revitalization project, it was mentioned that a lot of the business owners did not live in the town,” Paige said. “And we felt that with them having … businesses in town that they should have some input on the growth of the town.”

“We’re looking at it and seeing if any business owner in the town is interested in filling that role,” she said.

Paige said the new position could give the town council the perspective of what it needs to do to help attract new businesses and keep the existing ones.

“We tossed it out that maybe [they could serve] on a volunteer basis,” Paige said of the selection process. If no one volunteers, she said the council could write a letter to business owners gauging their interest.

According to Peggy Johnson, the town’s clerk and treasurer, the new position would be an additional member of council. “It depends on when we can get the charter changed,” Johnson said of when the appointment could be made.

Vice Mayor Sandra F. Moss, who owns a business outside the town limits, said the idea of a business representative has been discussed for “a good many years, off and on.”

“I have not done any research to find out what the chance of it happening is. I really do not know. I could see it as being very helpful,” said Moss, who is not seeking reelection. “The town limits are small, and anybody who is in business would have a real interest on being on town council and I understand that probably would give us an opportunity to have some good members.”

About 447 people live in Dillwyn, according to the U.S. Census. The town is just about 0.7 square-miles large.