More than 100 people gathered on a warm, sunny day Thursday for the ribbon cutting and open house at the new, environmentally-friendly Middle Peninsula Regional Transit Facility, located on Fiddlers Green Road near Gloucester Court House.

The building, which uses natural lighting, geothermal and other energy-saving measures, was dedicated in memory of the late Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis of Gloucester, who spearheaded federal funding for rural transportation improvements on the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck. And the energy savings go beyond the building itself, as Bay Transit officials said six buses based out of Gloucester use the cleaner energy of propane to fuel them.

Chuck Davis, Jo Ann’s spouse, said that his wife wanted federal money spent in local communities, not up in Washington, D.C. “It’s the people’s money,” he said the congresswoman always said.

To that end, Rep. Davis worked to get a federal appropriation of several million dollars...