By Jean Braithwaite
tribune correspondent
KEYSER — Dr. Mike Dougherty, extension specialist and associate professor at West Virginia University, recently gave statistics taken from the U.S. Census information prior to 2000 to those of the Mineral County Planning Commission who will be factoring the statistics into the now-developing county comprehensive plan.
Dougherty revealed items of numeric data, all pertaining to Mineral County, and called several portions of the report “alarming,” citing the sharp rise in the percentage of residents between the age of 25 and 34, who have earned college degrees, that are moving out of the county.
“This group perceives better opportunities other then what is in Mineral County,” he said.
Joining in with a comment on this matter was Commission President Wayne Spiggle who stated, “Jobs, of course, is the No. 1 issue for those to leave this county.”
Spiggle additionally pointed out that he believes “more people are moving out of the county for jobs than those coming in for employment.”
Offering a remedy to help with this problem, Spiggle told those present at the Planning Commission meeting that Mineral County “must have a level playing
field,” naming the difficulty of competing with bordering states.
Mentioning the possibility of tax incentives for businesses, Spiggle also said, “Perhaps through public and private partnership, businesses could be created for green jobs.”
On this same subject, Dougherty voiced that some states give away far too much in business attraction for no return.
He also gave a quote from Gov. Joe Manchin who has been reported to have said, “This state does not give away jobs.”
Supplying those present with a number of items to consider concerning recruiting businesses, Dougherty urged them to “encourage local people to start their own business because they want to be here in this county and they do not want to work for others.”
Another economic help given by Dougherty was the provision of an incubator building where new businesses could be housed, receiving rent breaks and usage of a pool of secretaries and clerical workers.
Commission member Kolin Jan stated that such a building in Frostburg has been designated as an incubator site.
Other discussion during the Wednesday evening meeting dealt with regulations of windmills, of which Dougherty researched in the State Code.
“I could find nothing in the State Code dealing with windmill placement,” Dougherty said, “But there were three entries about assessed property taxation of windmills.”
Spiggle stated, “The assessed tax is five percent of the salvage value for the windmills.”
Rules concerning exotic entertainment was also discussed, and Dougherty explained, “There are rules about where exotic entertainment establishments may be located only in counties without county commissions.”
The Planning Commission will continue to study sections one and six of the draft phase of the comprehensive plan and offer suggestions or revisions in the near future.
Dougherty has formed two teams of WVU graduate students that will assist in getting documents ready to produce the final phase of the comprehensive plan.
One team of three students will work in Grant and Hampshire counties, while the other three- member team — one of which is former resident Mark Middleton — will work in Mineral County.
Keyser, W.Va. —
