$7M LSA pot attracts $18.4M in requests
Promoters of 68 Washington County projects totaling $18.4 million are vying for about $7 million worth of the local share of revenue from gambling at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.
Those figures are in line with the number of requests, the amount sought and the funding total available on an annual basis, said Larry Maggi, chair of the Washington County commissioners. He attributes that consistency to a keen public understanding of the LSA process.
“I think we’ve refined the process and people have a better understanding of what to do,” he said. “A lot of people come up with a lot of good projects that are making Washington County better.”
The projects fall into four categories: economic development, community improvement, public interest and job training.
Thirteen entities are requesting a half-million dollars or more:
Charleroi Borough Authority, solids handling upgrades; Donora Public Library Board, library expansion; Mid-Mon Valley Water Pollution Control Authority; Transitional Paths to Independent Living, renovation of gymnasium and stage at its new headquarters in Washington; visitor parking lot for welcome and education center, Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Chartiers Township, $500,000 each;
Redevelopment Authority of Washington County, $502,200 for home rehabilitation, access and home buyer assistance programs; Washington County Planning Commission, for fairgrounds building improvements, Chartiers Township, $626,700; Monongahela Valley Hospital and Washington Health System, $700,000 for centers for patient safety and infection prevention; Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, Woodside Place, South Strabane Township, $750,000;
Mon River Industrial Group LLC, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Allenport rail rehabilitation and expansion, $814,482; Running Brooke II Associates, Brockway Glass plant site redevelopment, Canton Township, $800,000;
Meadowcroft Rockshelter visitor center expansion, Jefferson Township, $1 million; and Industrial Park pump station expansion, California Borough, $1,408,550.
Of the 18 projects seeking less than six-figure amounts, among the more modest requests are $10,000 for General Education Development test voucher and scholarship program of Literacy Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania; $12,000 for the Lions Club music project in Washington, $30,500 for Mon Valley Academy for the Arts; and $18,390 for the Swinging Bridge Park project in East Bethlehem Township, which actually has nothing to do directly with the bridge.
The structure is a metal footbridge that is “in great disrepair” and closed to pedestrian traffic, municipal secretary Maryann Kubacki explained. The span crosses Ten Mile Creek into the Greene County community of Pitt Gas, part of Jefferson Township. Years ago, coal miners walked across it to enter the Greene portal of the Pitt Gas mine.
“The bridge moves when you walk on it,” Kubacki said. “You can’t walk across it now. If you did, you might get hurt. There’s nowhere to go, anyway, since the portal was sealed.”
The current LSA request actually relates to the recreation area 15 feet below, which features a canoe and kayak launch. Kubacki said the township is seeking funds to enhance this area with by grading a parking area, erecting a split-rail fence along the creek and installing picnic tables and benches. She added East Bethlehem is partnering with the Jefferson-Morgan Council of Governments and the Izaak Walton League, a national conservation organization, to develop an area to launch small fishing boats.
Kubacki said she hopes the bridge eventually will be included on a list of historical sites and will have a marker attesting to that.
“Coal mines were part of our daily lives, and are now becoming part of our history,” she said.
The LSA board plans to convene public hearings on the proposed projects Dec. 3 and 4 in the public meeting room of the Courthouse Square office building and it is in the process of setting up a schedule of individual presentations.
Rick Shrum contributed to this report.