Members-only bar and social club receives LSA grant

A members-only bar/social club in Avoca received two awards totaling $126,211 in the latest round of casino gambling funding, raising questions about whether officials are putting this annual windfall to the best use.

The West Side Social Club on McAlpine Street was awarded $79,970 for a parking lot improvement project and $46,241 for a roof replacement.

One member of the club, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the award from public funds as “appalling” and said it “opens up a can of worms” for other clubs not affiliated with veterans or a fraternal organization to receive such funding.

State Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Avoca, said both projects were submitted by borough officials and deemed eligible.

According to state guidelines, these Local Share Account, or LSA, funds must be used for “projects in the public interest,” which is defined as projects that “improve the quality of life of citizens in the community.”

Although he didn’t initiate the West Side Social Club application, Carroll said it meets the community enhancement requirement.

The building has two community rooms that can be used for gatherings, including one that houses an election polling place, he said. The social club also has been involved in numerous community service projects, he said. Carroll also said he believes other social clubs have received awards in the past.

Borough Councilman John D. Boone, who chaired council when the application request was approved last November, said the West Side Social Club makes its community room available to many organizations at no charge, including events raising money for someone ill. The room is accessible to those with disabilities, he added.

“They do so much for the town,” he said of the social club.

Other rentals for baby showers or private events would require a fee and link to a club member, a worker said. A club representative did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment left at the bar. The county pays non-governmental entities $100 for Election Day rentals.

Borough council unanimously approved the grant application on Nov. 12, with one of the nine members absent, minutes show.

In the borough’s applications for both grants, it said the West Side Social Club “continues to serve its community in several ways,” citing the community room available for youth activities, veterans groups, senior citizens and civic organizations. Also noted was the club’s continued fundraising for scout troops, youth athletic organizations and other nonprofits.

The borough’s submission said the club’s asphalt shingle roof is “in much need of replacement” and that the work may include some roof decking, rain gutters and downspouts. Parking lot improvements would include milling, new asphalt and line painting for parking stalls.

Gambling money

This type of project is not what was envisioned when the Local Share Account was created as part of the state’s legalization of casinos, said former local state representative Kevin Blaum.

Blaum, who was heavily involved in the development of Luzerne County’s allocation and approval plan, said the funding was initially conceptualized as a pot that could be banked and grow to cover major regional public safety and economic projects.

In a legislative report about the impending funding around the time he retired as a legislator in 2006, Blaum urged residents and the media to be “ever vigilant in watching over how and where this money is spent.”

“There will be future attempts by others in and out of government to manipulate and squander these funds on frivolous and undeserving things,” Blaum predicted at that time.

Speaking last week from his new residence in Virginia, Blaum said he and others “wanted to do big things” with the funding, inspired by the success of the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.

However, subsequent legislative changes in the Local Share Account eligibility and approval protocols have largely allowed legislators to sprinkle funding to a bunch of entities annually, today’s version of discretionary funding critics once called “Walking Around Money,” or WAMs, he said.

Blaum stressed he is not disparaging award recipients or the value of their projects but said he and others had hoped there would be more major needs addressed by the gambling revenue stream.

“It’s been frustrating,” he said.

Carroll said the Local Share Account started with larger, multi-year projects, but the problem was that it “shut out” smaller municipalities with pressing needs.

“The law evolved. The grant program evolved,” he said.

Compromise

State Sen. John Yudichak, I-Swoyersville, said a mix of both approaches has now been implemented.

He successfully worked with the entire county legislative delegation and state to enact his proposal earmarking $3 million from the Local Share Account annually to create a fund for large infrastructure projects.

An average $11 million to $12 million is allocated for the Local Share Account in the county annually, he said. That means $8 million to $9 million will still be left for municipal projects after $3 million for the new Luzerne County Public Infrastructure Program is carved out, Yudichak said.

The county Redevelopment Authority will administer the infrastructure program, he said. The authority will receive $3 million annually for 25 years that can be used to cover debt repayments to fund major capital projects in the $50 million to $60 million range, he said.

Applications for public infrastructure projects would be submitted to the authority, which will forward approved applications to the Commonwealth Finance Authority for final grant award approval, he said. This state authority already approves other county Local Share Account awards.

A new Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge over the Susquehanna River is one possibility to address public safety and help attract development to a 5,000-acre tract in Nanticoke and Newport Township, Yudichak said. The 2,072-foot, county-owned bridge linking Nanticoke and Plymouth Township was downgraded to a 15-ton weight limit. A replacement would cost an estimated $40 million.

He expects the new fund will attract additional federal and state awards to accelerate “critically needed infrastructure projects” throughout the county and create thousands of new jobs.

“The recent investment of $90 million to build the South Valley Parkway illustrates perfectly how infrastructure investments improved traffic flow in the South Valley and leveraged over $1 billion in economic development investment that has created more than 5,000 jobs in South Valley communities,” Yudichak said.