Nov 15, 2009 By Amy Revak 6 min read

Twenty-eight tourism grants ranging from $250 to $20,000 and totaling nearly a quarter of a million dollars were handed out Friday at the Fayette Chamber of Commerce office. The grants were awarded to 20 tourism-related nonprofit organizations in Fayette County, and amounted to $248,170. They were the inaugural grants awarded as part of the Fayette County Tourism Grant Program and include various sites throughout the county.

The money will be used for marketing tools such as advertising and signage; improvements such as new windows at Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville and a tractor attachment purchase to cut along the Great Allegheny Passage trail and to purchase feed for trout to enhance fishing in the region.

The Fayette County Fair, Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp., Friends of Ohiopyle and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy/Fallingwater are among the recipients.

The awards were funded by proceeds obtained from a 3 percent tax on rooms at hotels, bed and breakfasts and campgrounds enacted last year by the Fayette County commissioners. When the tax was enacted, the commissioners opted to make a portion of it available for tourism grants.

Collection of the tax began last year. Originally, the commissioners planned to provide 50 percent of the proceeds to the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau (LHVB) to market the county; 25 percent for the grant program and 25 percent for Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus, to institute a four-year hospitality degree program. However, Penn State could not get the program up and running by the June 30 deadline, so 50 percent is being allocated for the grant program.

Donna Gambol, executive director of the visitors bureau, explained that the state Legislature enacted legislation years ago that allowed counties to implement such a tax. Somerset and Westmoreland counties, who are also served by the LHVB, enacted the tax years ago, and also provide grants.

Gambol said a total of 48 applications were received, and a grant review committee made the selections for the recipients.

Commission Chairman Vincent Zapotosky, who spearheaded the action to enact the tax, said he looks at the money as an investment in infrastructure.

“This is just the beginning of great things to come in building the infrastructure of tourism in Fayette County. The recipients of this first year of funding can now redirect other revenue sources to further enhance their goals. We will strive to expand goals and projects in future years,” Zapotosky said.

“This program is about bringing money back to the county,” Zapotosky said.

Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites, who approved implementation of the tax along with Zapotosky, said the grants could be used to enhance local tourism. He called the tax proceeds a win-win situation.

“We can let the story be told how much we have to see and do around here,” Vicites said.

Vicites said the support wasn’t there to enact the tax in the previous administration.

The grants were awarded in the categories of marketing, capital improvements and operations. The grant review committee included Trey Matheu, general manager of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa in Farmington; Tammy Stenson, former director of Fayette County Planning, Zoning and Community Development; Sean Sypolt of Career Link and Nancy Henry of Susan McCarthy Public Relations.

Gambol, Zapotosky and Vicites handed out the grant allocations.

The following is a list of the recipients, the amount and the projects:

n Allegheny Trail Alliance, $1,000 marketing grant for the annually updated map/brochure for the Great Allegheny Passage, 45 miles of which pass through Fayette County.

n Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp. (BARC), $1,000 operations grant to purchase a printer to make posters, advertisements, in-house booklets and catalogues for the Frank L. Melega Museum.

n BARC, $5,000 marketing grant to print new brochures, participation in the LHVB’s brochure rack distribution program and a large Pittsburgh newspaper ad.

n Brownsville Historical Society, $15,000, capital improvement grant to upgrade and repair the windows at Nemacolin Castle.

n Brownsville Historical Society, $10,000 marketing grant for signage, billboards, production of brochures and brochure distribution to promote Nemacolin Castle.

n Chestnut Ridge Trout Unlimited, $2,500 operations grant to purchase the trout feed for golden, rainbow, brown and brook trout for waters in the Laurel Highlands.

n Connellsville Area Historical Society, $2,500 marketing grant to promote Braddock’s Crossing of the Youghiogheny River, an annual event that honors the city’s French and Indian War history.

n Connellsville Cultural Trust, $5,250 marketing grant to help fund the publication of Connellsville Crossroads.

n Connellsville Cultural Trust, $15,000 operations grant for a concession stand at the Edwin S. Porter Theater and Performing Arts Center that is being restored.

n Dunbar Historical Society, $7,986 capital improvement grant for a wooden outdoor shed to store a four-wheel bike that can be used by the physically disabled to use on the Sheepskin Trail and for an air-conditioning unit in the education center and museum.

n Dunbar Historical Society, $1,904 marketing grant for membership with the LHVB, production of brochures and purchase of a Web site domain name and Internet access at the center.

n Fayette County Fair, $10,000 marketing grant for a multimedia advertising campaign for neighboring counties to promote the fair, which saw record attendance of 94,000 this year.

n Fayette County Historical Society, $250 operations grant for dues and membership association fees.

n Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, $20,000 marketing grant for a multimedia advertising campaign to promote four farmers markets in the county.

n Friends of Ohiopyle, $3,000 operations grant to purchase three radios for volunteers who maintain the trails and landscape the park.

n Friends of Ohiopyle, $15,000 capital improvement grant for electronic kiosks designed to enhance the visitors experience within the state park with extensive and current information.

n Lions Square Inc., $1,000 operations grant to expand the summer concert services to attract more visitors in downtown Connellsville.

n National Road Heritage Corridor (NRHC), $15,000 operations grant for technical and administrative support.

n NRHC, $15,000 marketing grant for the first of a two-year project that includes a marketing plan to identify places for directional signs through the statewide signage program to increase tourism.

n Perryopolis Parks and Recreation Authority, $6,000 capital improvement grant for restoration of the Old State Bank Building/Museum.

n Redstone Foundation, $1,000 capital improvement grant to purchase signage identifying the office as a visitors center.

n Redstone Foundation, $10,000 marketing grant for cable television advertising and the design and print of a brochure to promote arts and heritage activities in downtown Uniontown and the celebration of Gen. George C. Marshall’s 130th birthday.

n Regional Trail Corp., (parent organization to Fayette County’s Yough River Trail Council and Whitsett/Fayette Yough Trail Chapter), $13,200 capital improvement grant to purchase a tractor attachment to cut along embankments, brush and overhead limbs to provide a better trail experience for Great Allegheny Passage trail users.

n Society of St. Vincent de Paul, $3,000 marketing grant for brochure and Web site development for Vincent’s Gallery.

n State Theatre Center for the Arts, $20,000 marketing grant for a direct mail, advertising and online marketing campaign.

n Touchstone Center for Crafts, $8,580 marketing grant for Web site development and a content management system.

n Western Pennsylvania Conservancy/Fallingwater, $20,000 capital improvement grant to increase parking capacity, improve ingress and egress and rework road for improved maneuverability by tour buses.

n Western Pennsylvania Conservancy/Fallingwater, $20,000 marketing grant for a multimedia advertising campaign targeting Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, Md.; northern Virginia; and eastern Ohio.