When I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the governor’s office for all Local Economic Development Assistance grants approved in the first six months of the year, I figured I’d probably receive a couple of dozen grants amounting to less than $100,000.
What I actually got was 119 grants totaling more than $1.76 million, in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $250,000 per grant.
As I noted on these pages last month, LEDA was one of several economic development initiatives enacted in the late 1990s, in this case, to provide grants to localities to make improvements to make themselves more attractive to new businesses. The program was administered by the state Economic Development Authority.
Beginning in 2021, legislators surreptitiously began moving LEDA funding away from EDA and into the governor’s office. By 2022, the entire line item (which amounts to $4.9 million in the 2025-26 budget) had been placed under the control of the governor’s office, and the subversion of LEDA into a legislative slush fund was complete.
The transformation of LEDA from a legitimate economic development tool into a slush fund came to light this summer when at least two legislators complained that Gov. Patrick Morrisey was not releasing funds for their LEDA grants, allegedly breaking the quid pro quo of the scheme.
Arguably, only one of the 119 grants I reviewed would fall within the original intent of LEDA, that being a $23,436 grant to the city of Mannington for streetlights, requested by Sen. Charles Clements, R-Wetzel.
Nnn
While there were many grants over $20,000, the $250,000 grant was by far the largest in the first six months of the year.
It amounts to half of the total cost of constructing a workshop for Brian’s Safehouse, a faith-based residential addiction recovery program in Mount Hope. Sens. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, and Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh, each allocated $125,000 for the project.
It is not unusual for legislators to pair up their funds for larger grants. Indeed, in a rare display of bipartisanship, Sens. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, and Joey Garcia, D-Marion, teamed up on three grants, the largest being $20,000 to renovate restrooms in the Brookhaven Community Center.
Nnn
Improvements to, or construction of athletic fields and facilities was by far the largest single category of grants, with 23 grants totaling $334,797.
That includes $30,000 to the city of St. Albans to construct two pickleball courts and a tennis court, $15,000 to upgrade the Mountain State Little League baseball field in Kanawha County (Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha), $30,000 to Spring Valley High School for locker room renovations (Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell), and $30,000 to the Huntington YMCA for soccer field upgrades (Woelfel).
Youth and public school sports teams accounted for another eight grants totaling $86,332.
That includes $7,000 to Hurricane Middle School for football protective gear (Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, and Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam); $7,500 to the East Fairmont High Girls’ Athletics Boosters to update a locker room and purchase equipment (Delegate Phil Mallow, R-Marion); and $6,000 to Van Junior-Senior High for weightlifting equipment (Sen. Stuart).
By contrast, there were only eight grants to public schools for non-athletic expenditures for a total of $69,826, the largest being $19,000 to George Washington High School for an LED sign. Others included $10,000 for Winchester Avenue Elementary in Berkeley County for an outdoor classroom and engagement center (Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley); and $15,000 to Williamstown High School to purchase and repair band instruments (Delegate Bill Anderson, R-Wood). Overall, band instruments accounted for $24,500 of the category total.
Likewise, public libraries accounted for just one grant, $4,000 to the Sissonville Public Library, obtained by Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha.
Nnn
There were a number of grants that struck me as questionable, led by $5,000 to Parkersburg Catholic Elementary School for laptop computers (Delegate Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood).
Grants to private membership organizations included $50,000 to replace the HVAC system at VFW Post 2716 in Hancock County (Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke); $3,000 for kitchen renovations for Daniel Boone VFW Post 5578 (Stuart); $2,000 for improvements to the Augusta Ruritan horse arena (Sen. Darren Thorne, R-Hampshire); $2,000 to the Slanesville Ruritan Club for an LED sign (Thorne); $2,000 for an ice machine for the Women’s Club of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä (Sen. Glenn Jeffries, R-Putnam); $5,000 for an air conditioning unit for the Tuscarora Ruritan Club (Delegate Mike Hornby, R-Berkeley), and $2,500 to the Kiwanis Club of Logan for the purchase of car seats and bicycles (Delegate Margitta Mazzocchi, R-Logan).
Nnn
Poring through page after page of LEDA grants gave me flashbacks to the infamous Budget Digest.
That includes having a formal grant application process, via a document called the LEDA Signature Page.
Each page includes contact information for the organization receiving the grant, along with funding information including total project cost, requested grant amount (a few grants covered total project costs, but most provided half or a portion of the total amount), and the name(s) of the legislator or legislators requesting the grant.
A few of the grant documents I received failed to include the signature page, thus accounting for the occasional omission of the requestor’s name in this column.
Grant approval requires the signature of either Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, or House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood.
That House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, is not a participant in the process suggests that either his time is too valuable to spend reviewing hundreds of grant requests or he has chosen to distance himself from the legislative slush fund so it doesn’t become an issue in the event of future aspirations to other offices.
Nnn
Other major grant categories include:
| Museums and monuments (18 grants, $192,000). Includes $12,500 to the town of Barrackville, Monongalia County, to construct a mine disaster memorial (Sen. Chris Rose, R-Monongalia, and Sen. Charles Clements, R-Wetzel); $50,000 to remodel and expand the Wetzel County Museum (Rose and Clements); $10,000 to the St. Albans Historical Society to repair a cabin at the Morgan’s Kitchen Museum (Delegate Walter Hall, R-Kanawha); and $25,000 to produce a short film for the Shepherd Field Aviation Museum (Barrett).
| Parks and playgrounds (20 grants, $178,285). Includes $65,000 to Chief Logan Recreational Center for a splash pad (Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan); $25,000 to the town of Pineville also for a splash pad (Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, and Sen. Rollan A. Roberts, R-Raleigh); and $7,000 for park signage for the Newell Improvement Coalition (Delegate Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock).
| First responders (20 grants, $174,204). Includes $30,000 to the New Cumberland Ambulance Service toward the purchase of new ambulances (Weld); $10,804 to the Madison VFD for thermal imaging cameras (Stuart); total of $20,000 in two grants to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department for two drones (Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greebrier, Sen. Jack Woodrum, R-Summers, Delegate Roy Cooper, R-Summers); and $6,500 to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department for laptop computers for cruisers.
| Improvements to county or municipal facilities (Five grants, $85,500). Includes $40,000 to the city of South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä for a fence for the farmer’s market, $15,000 to the city of Pineville for a new HVAC system for Town Hall (Roberts), and $15,000 to replace windows in the Summers County Courthouse (Woodrum and Deeds).
| Community Center improvements (Four grants, $52,000). Includes $16,000 to the city of Follansbee to replace community center doors, windows, floors and counters (Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, and Sen. Weld), and $10,000 for Big Ugly Community Center roof repair (Mazzocchi).
Nnn
One name that kept reappearing in the grant documents was that of Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha. Stuart had 18 grants – three times as many as the next highest legislator – totaling $176,404.
It’s as if he were spending money like there’s no tomorrow, which, given his pending confirmation as counsel to Health and Human Services Secretary F. Kennedy Jr., essentially is the case for his Senate tenure.
Stuart’s grants (in addition to those already cited) includes $8,000 to the Lincoln County Little League for netting, concession appliances and field equipment; $18,200 to the Boone Animal Rescue Coalition for beds, kennels, crates and outdoor equipment; $15,000 to the Mountaineer Little League for a new press box; $12,000 for a van for the Lincoln County Animal Shelter; and $5,000 for a greenhouse for Harts PK-8 School.
It’s always heartwarming when a fiscal conservative opens his purse – or, in this case, the taxpayers’ purse – for the benefit of others. However, in spending down his LEDA allotment, Stuart has presumably left his successor with no LEDA funds to distribute until next July.
Nnn
Overall, senators far outpaced delegates in obtaining LEDA grants.
In the Senate, 28 of the 34 senators accounted for 92 of the 119 grants, for a total of $1,583,184. By contrast, only 19 of 100 delegates obtained grants, and their 27 total grants amounted to $176,985.
As I surmised last month, it behooves delegates to carryover their $25,000 annual LEDA allotments in off years in order to be able to hand out more grants in election years.
All in all, LEDA very much reminds me of the Budget Digest, particularly in terms of types of items and projects funded and the dollar amounts. Without getting into ethical issues surrounding legislative slush funds, it appears the biggest difference is transparency: The Budget Digest was a published document available to the public, while LEDA operates in secrecy.
nnn
Finally, a couple of thoughts on the passing of Walt Helmick, former state senator, county commissioner and Commissioner of Agriculture.
Helmick was one of those folks whose country boy persona belied a razor-sharp mind. As Senate Finance chairman, his command of the state budget was superior to anyone not named Earl Ray Tomblin or Mark Muchow. And he did it without a computer, famously eschewing high technology, which in retrospect, seems like a prudent decision.
Helmick could also be hilarious. I recall the tale he told about toiling late into the night mowing his lawn. In his search for perfection, he told how he spent hours making sure each corner of the lawn was perfectly squared, and how in pitch darkness, he used a flashlight to guide his way as his riding mower lacked headlights.
With each detail, the story became more and more absurd, and our laughter grew louder and louder. He will be missed.
CLICK HERE to follow the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail and receive
