close

Casino revenues continue to fund Fayette programs

3 min read
article image -

As one local lawmaker asks the state auditor general to provide oversight of Washington County’s Local Share Account (LSA) program, Fayette’s officials shared success stories of programs funded by casino revenue.

Following the opening of Lady Luck Casino in Farmington, the county has received more than $3 million in LSA funds to benefit local communities.

The Masontown Matters Incubator Project, now known as the Business Development Center (BDC), was twice a beneficiary of LSA money. The BDC on Main Street in Masontown is a space for new entrepreneurs to start their business, and move out as they grow.

Without LSA funds, said Masontown Matters’ president, Warren Hughes, it would’ve taken a decade instead of a couple of years to give fledgling businesses a helping hand.

The first award was $74,000 in 2015, which came with a private matching investment of $28,709 to rehabilitate the building and helped with operating costs. The second was $14,500 in 2018, with a matching amount of $4,000 to make additional improvements to better accommodate the BDC’s users.

“The program has had four companies use the facility,” said Hughes. “One company has moved on, and we are adding a new business in July.”

In Fayette, the county’s redevelopment authority is the county-approved agency that applies for and administers the funds. Authority Executive Director Andrew French said he typically gets about 50 applicants requesting up to $2.5 million in project funding yearly, when less than one-third of that is available.

“We’re a little less formal here, but we do have a process,” French said.

He tries to go through the LSA project requests around the same time he tackles those requested under Community Development Block Grant funding and Hotel Tax funding to match up projects with the right funding source.

After the applications are received, French reaches out to an advisory committee of stakeholders in the county that provides input, comments and recommendations for the listed projects.

“Based on the feedback, I’ll come up with a recommended list of what should be funded,” French said. “Ultimately, it’s the decision of the commissioners to approve the list of projects.”

Commissioner Vincent Vicites said LSA guidelines pretty much lay out the criteria for what projects can get money. He said they have to consider criteria like a project’s economic impact, its location, readiness and the level of the project’s private-sector investment.

For the 2018-19 funding, French said, the commissioners approved 26 projects. It was the highest number of approvals for one year due to more matching funding for each project.

“It allows us to approve more projects,” Vicites said.

Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink agrees LSA money is beneficial when it’s used for community and economic development projects, but she said the county can improve its processes. She supports the legislature revisiting both the eligibility and program requirements.

In April, state Rep. Bud Cook, R-West Pike Run Township, asked state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to review how LSA money is handed out, specifically in Washington County. Cook cited concerns, including nonrequirements of voting records or meeting minutes regarding funding committee votes, no ethic statement requirements for committee members and lack of term limits for committee members.

Zimmerlink said Cook’s request is a step in the right direction, but said a review should not be limited to Washington County.

“The application procedure, as defined by the state, is clear … but the internal county procedure should be improved for not only public transparency but also to avoid the funds being used as WAM (walking around money) on the county level,” Zimmerlink said.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today