LSA committee recommends 45 projects for $8 million in grants
More than 40 local projects in Washington County are scheduled to receive a portion of $8 million in state gambling revenue this year.
Washington County’s Local Share Account committee recommended 45 projects to receive a piece of the gaming money from the Hollywood Casino at The Meadows in North Strabane earmarked by the state Department of Community & Economic Development for distribution.
“A majority of the funding is recommended for infrastructure development projects such as water and sewage as well as community improvements such as fighting blight and enhancing our downtowns,” said Jeff Kotula, who chairs the LSA committee and also leads the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Agency. “The LSA program is a resource few counties in our state have and we want to ensure these monies are increasing the quality of life and job opportunities for our residents and businesses.”
The LSA committee voted Tuesday to recommend for approval more than half of the 87 applications asking for grant money. Those recommendations will now be sent to the Washington County commissioners, who will likely vote next month to forward that list of grant projects to the DCED for final approval. The final grant figure the county will receive won’t officially be known until March 31, although the LSA committee anticipates it will be about $8 million, which would be much higher than recent years.
The largest grant recommendation from the LSA committee is for the Washington Downtown Rising Revitalization Project, which is slated to receive $700,000. Washington Mayor Scott Putnam said the money will be used for various downtown projects with outside-the-box thinking for new initiatives.
One of those is three “test kitchens” that will be built within a new structure on a vacant property at East Chestnut and North Main streets that will serve an incubator for aspiring restaurateurs. There will also be other revitalization projects that will improve lighting in the downtown business district and a newly dubbed “Presidents Pathway” that will beautify Pine Alley connecting North College Street to North Main Street.
“Just trying to beautify our downtown and make it the great city that it was,” Putnam said. “It’s going to make a big difference in our downtown.”
In addition to serving as Washington’s mayor, Putnam also sat on the LSA committee as it listened to proposals during hearings earlier this month before voting on the project Tuesday. However, he said anyone on the committee whose community or organization stood to benefit from a grant would leave the room when that project was pitched or discussed, and abstained during the vote.
“It’s very similar to what we’ve seen in the past,” Putnam said. “I think Jeff Kotula and the Redevelopment Authority do a great job implementing the whole process.”
The LSA process gives smaller projects an opportunity to get a piece of the revenue pie that might otherwise not be available to them. Little Lake Theatre Company is scheduled to receive a $75,000 grant to help with its 75-year anniversary celebration, while the Donora Volunteer Fire Department will receive $47,606 to help it purchase a fireboat. Both Washington and Canonsburg are also receiving façade improvement grants, while various local governments will see funding for municipal complexes or parks.
Local nonprofit organizations are also benefiting, including the LeMoyne Community Center in East Washington, which is in the midst of an expansion project. Gary Rosensteel, the board president for the community center, said the $300,000 grant they expect to receive will be instrumental in helping them begin architectural and engineering design work that will kick off the facility’s expansion.
“We were kind of in a bind because that particular cost is not what most grantors or government agencies would fund,” Rosensteel said. “Unfortunately, we would have to get that done to then go to government agencies and say, ‘We’ve got that all done. Here’s what we need to raise.’ Fortunately (the LSA committee) saw our dilemma and the good works we’re doing in the county.”
The expansion project will add three new classrooms, double the size of the kitchen, improve the cafeteria setup, update the bathrooms and expand the parking lot. Rosensteel said the building was constructed in 1956, so much of it is outdated. The community center’s gymnasium was recently renovated, but this new grant will help them move forward with the $4 million project.
“We are absolutely super cramped for space for everything,” Rosensteel said. “This is something we’ve been championing for several years, and we’re starting to pull it together.”
Community Improvement – $3,085,705
Washington 7th Ward Park – $50,000
Beallsville Borough Building Rehabilitation – $160,000
West Brownsville Municipal Building Space – $229,000
Burgettstown Senior Center Roof – $55,000
Canonsburg Façade Improvement – $193,750
Center in the Woods Inc. Sidewalk Upgrades – $120,000
Charleroi Demolition and Blight Initiative – $180,000
Daisytown Community Center Restoration – $40,000
Washington Business District Façade Grant – $125,000
Finleyville VFD Training Facility – $170,000
Independence Township Community Park – $120,000
LeMoyne Community Center Renovation and Expansion – $300,000
McKean Avenue Demolition – $225,000
Centerville Borough Police Vehicle Safety/Security – $65,450
Little Lake Theatre Company – 75-Year Anniversary – $75,000
Speers Bridge Arentzen Boulevard – $128,505
Washington Co. Fairgrounds Improvements – $629,000
North Franklin Waterside Park Greenway – $220,000
Economic Development – $1,450,000
Washington Downtown Rising Revitalization Project – $700,000
W&J College Ignite Business Incubator – $300,000
Chapman Properties Ridge Road Industrial Park – $250,000
Washington Co. Marketing & Workforce – Chamber of Commerce – $200,000
Public Interest (Water/Sewage) – $3,294,295
New Eagle Municipal Authority – $100,000
Carroll Township Authority – $200,000
Beallsville Vacuum Sewer System Rehab & Upgrade – $150,000
Municipal Authority of the City of Monongahela – $50,000
Centerville Borough Sanitary Authority – $58,300
Center West Joint Sewer Authority – $25,455
East Bethlehem Township Municipal Authority – $200,000
Authority of the Borough of Charleroi – $130,000
Mon Valley Sewage Authority – $219,050
West Pike Run Township – $200,000
Authority of the Borough of Charleroi – $300,000
Bentleyville Municipal Authority – $250,000
Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority – $500,000
Marianna Borough – $150,000
Public Interest (General)
Washington County Transportation Authority/Freedom Transit Garage – $297,110
Daisytown Community Center Tutoring Program – $10,000
Donora VFD Fire Boat – $47,606
Literacy Council GED/HiSET Test Voucher/Scholarship Program – $10,000
Blueprints Home Ownership Center – $100,000
Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital Neurosurgical Services – $150,000
WCHA Nathan Goff Jr. Apartments Public Transportation Safe Bus Route – $146,774
Job Training – $170,000
WHS Enhanced Simulation for Education and Workforce Development – $80,000
Trinity High School Rehab Aide/Athletic Training Facility/Veterinarian Tech – $90,000