He was given a quick update before returning to Washington, D.C., where he was scheduled to meet with the Democratic Caucus.

Joining the Congressman were Dick Dell, executive director of the AVRC, Northampton County Economic Development Director Gary Brown and county commissioners Fannie Green, Robert Carter, James Hester and Virginia Spruill. County officials had planned to give Butterfield a site tour, but that plan was scrapped due to the muddy conditions.

Instead, the select group of officials stayed together under the water tower just off Lowe's Boulevard in Garysburg, adjacent to the Lowe's Distribution Center, to meet with and express their gratitude for Congressman G.K. Butterfield's assistance.

The congressman announced in November he had procured $1.5 million in funding for the automotive testing center as part of the Energy and Water Development Appropriation for this fiscal year.

“We're here to thank Congressman Butterfield, who was instrumental in securing the funding for the project, and wanted him to take a look at the progress,” Brown said. But he later joked that it was important to everyone that the congressman not “lose his voice” out in the cold.

Butterfield said wrangling federal funds is always a difficult process and praised his staff for the work they put into getting the appropriation. Asked if he would be able to get more funding, Butterfield said it depends on the political landscape. The Democratic congressman, who has been stressing his fiscally conservative nature, noted that going into the next budgeting period the country is looking at a $400 billion deficit, which will be added to the $8 trillion national debt.

“We need to get our priorities straight in Washington,” he said, adding that included ethics as well as budgeting reform.

But Butterfield said AVRC, if even the most conservative estimates are correct, was sure to have significant impact on Northampton County, which has a population of just 22,000.

Brown has predicted the facility could bring in at least 2,000 new jobs to the area. However, he noted that similar facilities, specifically the Transportation Research Center based in East Liberty, Ohio, have brought in substantially more economic opportunities.

The AVRC is also poised to bring the region more educational opportunity. Dell said the AVRC has already teamed up with North Carolina State University, and is making plans to establish a distance learning lab at the new facility. The university is planning an automotive symposium featuring the AVRC that is tentatively scheduled for the first week of March.

Dell also announced that by the end of the third quarter of the 2006 Fiscal Year, there will be a hydrogen refueling station placed along Interstate 95 which could link up with the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Highway in Virginia.

He said the Northampton County station will be the second in a string of facilities planned throughout the 1-95 corridor.

There are currently about 200 hydrogen-fueled vehicles on the roads, and that number is expected to increase, Dell said. Initially, experts had predicted hydrogen would be popular within 20 years. Then it was changed to 10 years, and now they are saying within five years, Dell said.

At the end of December, Northampton County spent $1.6 million, borrowed from Southern Bank, to purchase the 630-acre parcel in Garysburg that will be used for the Advanced Vehicle Research Center.

The AVRC has also received $7.5 million from the state of North Carolina, $1.8 million from the federal government and another $1 million from the Golden Leaf Foundation. In addition, Dell said in a summary report Lotus Engineering has pledged $3 million in engineering services over a three-year period to assist in the design of the center's “rise and handling” and other test tracks.

According to its Web site, the AVRC will be a non-profit, independent testing facility, designed to provide a number of resources at a reasonable cost to users in the general automotive, motorsports and alternative fuel development sectors. Plans also include a hydrogen refueling testing center.

Dell has said that while the center itself is nonprofit, for-profit businesses will also be utilizing the facility, which makes it a so-called public/private venture. He said a number of automotive-related companies, both in and out of state, have expressed interest in using the center. However, he is unable to announce the companies, due to the secrecy of the automotive testing industry.