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Vicites defends decision to help developer

By Amy Karpinsky 3 min read

Fayette County Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites is defending a decision he and Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III made that gave special treatment to a developer, noting that there are times when “adjustments” must be made to promote economic expansion.

“I always try to accommodate and make adjustments for economic development projects,” Vicites said.

Vicites and

Hardy grant ed

an indemnification request to a developer for a Dollar General project to move forward in Masontown. With the approval, the commissioners agreed to allow the developer to move forward and not hold the county responsible if something were to go wrong. That action sidestepped the normal procedure of having to go through a hearing before the county’s Zoning Hearing Board.

Vicites said the request was made because the developer rebuilding the burned-

out store said waiting six weeks for a hearing could jeopardize the project. According to Tammy Shell, director of the Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development, a ZHB

hearing was required because a parking variance was needed.

At Thursday’s Fayette County Housing Authority meeting, Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink, who also serves as FCHA chairwoman,

said she did not approve the Dollar General request and will never approve a request that allows developers to not follow set procedures. Zimmerlink said after the indemnification request was granted, FCHA officials sought a similar request for a project that involved renovations at South Hill Terrace and Snowden Terrace in Brownsville.

“You will never get (an)

indemnification signed off by Commissioner Zimmerlink,” she said. Zimmerlink said by granting the Dollar General Store

request, the other two

commissioners were setting themselves up to receive requests from others expecting to get the same action.

On Friday, Zimmerlink clarified her position. “The county’s planning and zoning office and Zoning Hearing Board have policies and procedures in place,

and both should conduct county business without selective enforcement and without out interference from the county commissioners,” Zimmerlink said.

Vicites stood by his decision, saying he believed that if the commissioners did not act immediately, they would have lost the development forever. Vicites said because there is another Dollar General Store on Route 21 in close proximity to Masontown, the store was not absolutely needed in Masontown.

“In areas where you don’t get a lot of economic opportunities, we have to maximize our efforts,” Vicites said. “In situations like that, you have to try to work with the developer.”

While the developer was granted the indemnification request, it wasn’t utilized, Shell said.

Shell said the developer opted to go through the procedure to get approval granted.

Vicites said that in the end, the hearing got expedited,

but he doesn’t believe that the project would be moving forward if he and Hardy hadn’t

approve d

the indemnification request. “We ended up getting the job done and saved a development in Masontown. It was going to be dropped,” Vicites said.

Hardy is out of the country and could not be reached for comment. Hardy’s administrative assistant Charmaine Sampson said Hardy agreed with Vicites that it was important to grant the indemnification request to keep the project moving forward.

“We’re trying to keep jobs in the county, not chase them away,” Sampson said.

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