Gaming funds help Fayette communities
Mike Tony | Herald-Standard
Local Share Account funding helped result in parking area reconstruction at Eberly Park in North Union Township. The Fayette County Redevelopment Authority is accepting application proposals from municipalities and other entities for LSA funding.
Mike Tony | Herald-Standard
Local Share Account funding helped result in parking area reconstruction at Eberly Park in North Union Township. The Fayette County Redevelopment Authority is accepting application proposals from municipalities and other entities for LSA funding.
Mike Tony | Herald-Standard
Local Share Account funding helped result in parking area reconstruction at Eberly Park in North Union Township. The Fayette County Redevelopment Authority is accepting application proposals from municipalities and other entities for LSA funding.
Andrew French knows that local municipalities and nonprofits have long wish lists, and he’s seen the good that can come from some of their desired projects becoming a reality.
So the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority’s executive director wants interested agencies to know that they’ve got an opportunity coming up to get the money they need to get specific projects done.
The authority is now accepting application proposals from county municipalities and other entities for Fayette County Local Share Account (LSA) funding. All applications must be submitted by Friday, Aug. 17, at 4 p.m.
The LSA Program is funded through gaming revenues generated per the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004, which allows for the distribution of 2 percent of gross terminal revenues from the Lady Luck Casino in Wharton Township.
The authority is both the applicant and administrator for the LSA funding, and this is the fourth year that the authority has accepted LSA application proposals. The authority then presents applications to the state Department of Community and Economic Development following approval by the Fayette County Board of Commissioners.
“It’s a tough decision to make,” French said, noting that the authority gives input to the commissioners about which applications to prioritize.
Funding recommendations are presented to the commissioners for formal approval after review by a LSA steering committee, which has traditionally included the commissioners as well as representatives from the county Office of Planning, Zoning, and Community Development, redevelopment authorities the county, Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, Fayette County Industrial Development Authority, the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, the Fayette County Association of Township Supervisors and the Tri-County Boroughs Association.
It’s expected that around $575,000 in LSA funding will be available for 2018.
That pot simply isn’t large enough to satisfy anywhere close to the amount requested by entities, French said, recalling that more than $2.8 million in project funding was requested last year.
“The demand for funding is pretty high,” French said.
Entities requesting funding must be Fayette County, municipalities in the county, a redevelopment authority in the county, Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, the Fayette County Industrial Development Authority, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, or be sponsored by one of those agencies.
LSA-funded activities are assigned one of three categories: economic development projects, community improvement projects or projects “in the public interest.”
Fourteen out of 45 project requests totaling $557,974 in 2017 were recommended to and then approved by the county commissioners.
Those projects included expansion of a soccer field in Bullskin Township, roof repair to the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown and funding for the second phase of the Fayette County Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
In January, Fayette County commissioners recommended $100,000 in LSA funding to leverage Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds for the construction of two miles of the Sheepskin Trail from Point Marion and the Route 119 Bridge toward along Nilan Road. Other LSA-involved projects approved by the commissioners included $20,000 to prepare development of the Sheepskin Trail through the city of Uniontown and $125,000 to create an economic development facilitator position within the county.
French also noted that a wide variety of projects have been supported by LSA funding, including parking area reconstruction at Eberly Park in North Union Township and sewer infrastructure in Georges Township.
“The Commonwealth gives us pretty broad discretion in terms of what projects to fund,” French said.
LSA funds will not be available for projects to begin before Feb. 1, 2019, and project funds must be fully expended within three years.
Applicants with questions may contact French at 724-437-1547, extension 210, or at afrench@racfpa.org. They may also contact Brenda Girod, redevelopment authority community development specialist, at 724-437-1547, extension 208, or at bgirod@racfpa.org.