The Farmville Town Council has agreed to begin participating in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Roadside Beautification Project.

The action was taken at the council’s Dec. 9 meeting. According to Farmville Town Manager Gerald Spates, “this is a project we started back in 2008 and we had most of the work done on the project back then and we put it off because, if you remember, that was the time the economy went kind of sour.”

Spates said VDOT has already approved participation in the program and now would be a good time to reinstitute it.

“I think it would be a great idea and a great time, particularly with the vice presidential debate coming, to reinstitute the program,” said Farmville Mayor David Whitus.

Spates said the project would be very similar to locations such as Appomattox and Lynchburg.

The program would include a total of 34 locations across town, providing plenty of opportunities for different businesses to participate, he said.

“Back in 2008 when we explored this program and worked with Proctor Harvey [Harvey Design and Landscape] out of Lynchburg, we were sort of modeling it after the Lynchburg program,” Whitus said.

“At the intersections in Lynchburg, many of them have been redone, and there’s a very simple sign there with the name of the business that sponsors it. There was a lot of excitement back in 2008 and then … the economy kind of went south,” he said.

Council Member Jamie Davis questioned VDOT’s involvement in the program. Spates said VDOT does not actually participate in the program, but it is a formality that the agency must approve the overall design concept of the project.

“Ours is a little different because we maintain our own streets,” Spates said.

With the new project, the town is considering a projected timeframe of spring 2016 before any signs will be placed, according to Spates.