Hampshire County reallocates $10,000 and earmarks LATCF funds for Capon Bridge community complex repairs

Hampshire County commissioners voted Feb. 11 to reassign $10,000 previously approved in 2023 and to earmark $75,000 from the county's LATCF/ARP allocation to pay for immediate repairs and to strengthen a USDA grant application for work at the Capon Bridge Community Complex.

The action comes after the Hampshire County Development Authority and the county Parks and Recreation Department told commissioners the largely vacant school building now in use as a community complex has new tenants, immediate plumbing and electrical needs and a pending USDA grant request. Rebecca Hott, vice president of marketing for the Hampshire County Development Authority, told the commission the development authority did not end up needing the $10,000 match originally set aside in 2023 for a rail-spur feasibility effort and asked that the funds be redirected to a pending federal grant for the complex.

"We are asking instead if we could reapply the monies that you approved in 2023, the $10,000 for the rail spur to be redirected to the project we have ongoing and towards the grant to strengthen that grant," Hott said.

Why it matters: county and nonprofit leaders say the building hosts new tenants and community programs and that repairs would prevent further damage and help the county leverage federal funds. Commissioners approved (a) moving the $10,000 from the 2023 allocation into the general fund to support the USDA grant match and (b) drawing $75,000 from the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF, an ARP-era Treasury allocation) split evenly between Parks & Recreation and the Development Authority, contingent on competitive bidding for the work.

Background and details

Hott told commissioners the March/February USDA application the authority is strengthening would fund windows, doors, signage, lighting, painting and ceiling tiles as part of a rehabilitation plan. She said the development authority originally sought funds in January 2023 for two USDA applications — one for a childcare feasibility study and one for a rail-spur study — but the childcare application was not completed and the rail-spur design work was taken over by the West Virginia Department of Transportation and RK&K, saving the county design costs. Hott said the DOT design work reduced the county’s need for funds on the rail project by roughly $85,000.

Parks and Recreation director Nick Carroll (presenting for Parks & Rec) and JT (facility/operations staff for the development authority) told commissioners the facility side the development authority manages is now 100% occupied on the tenant side and that Parks & Rec still has high usage on its portion. JT said a Phase 1 scope for his side — primarily plumbing and electrical, including an upstairs bathroom — is estimated at about $40,000, and that Phase 2 (the USDA grant effort) is roughly $60,000. Parks & Rec presented a five-year plan for the entire facility that budgets about $210,000 in improvements; commissioner discussion emphasized starting with the most urgent needs.

Clerk's budget note and LATCF balance

County staff clarified budgeting mechanics: the $10,000 previously approved in 2023 reverted to the county general fund when unused and could be reallocated without recharacterizing ARP funds. County staff also said the LATCF money in the account has accrued interest and that committing the $75,000 would reduce that LATCF balance to about $424.02. The clerk confirmed the planned LATCF expenditures meet reporting requirements for those funds.

Commission action and next steps

Commissioners voted to reassign the $10,000 to the Capon Bridge project and then to earmark $37,500 to Parks & Rec and $37,500 to the Hampshire County Development Authority from the LATCF fund, with the latter allocation contingent on competitive bidding for each construction project. Both motions were moved and seconded and approved by the commission.

Officials said contractors will be asked to provide competitive bids for the work and that the USDA grant application deadline is imminent; the development authority and Parks & Rec plan to proceed with bidding and to use donated volunteer labor where feasible for painting and some repair work.

Quotes

"It was decided that our department, the development authority, would take on the rail spur ... The USDA grants are due in at the February, so it was decided that we ... would take on the rail spur. Unfortunately, the one for the childcare was never completed. However, the rail spur got on a fast track ... The reason I'm here today is because we did not need the matching funds for the USDA grant. We are asking instead if we could reapply the monies that you approved in 2023 ... to the project we have ongoing," Rebecca Hott, vice president of marketing, Hampshire County Development Authority, said.

"Anything to help that Capon Bridge Community Complex, I'd like to go along with within reason," Commissioner Cannon said when moving the $10,000 reallocation.

"It's a reverse to the general fund if it's not spent," the county clerk said when asked how unspent 2023 allocations were handled.

What remains unclear or contingent

Project cost estimates varied in discussion: Hott described a $50,000 federal grant the authority is preparing, and later referenced a $60,000 total project figure; Parks & Rec and development-authority staff gave separate estimates of about $40,000 for an immediate Phase 1 and about $60,000 for Phase 2. Commissioners and staff agreed to require competitive bidding for construction, to rely on volunteer labor where appropriate, and to monitor spending against grant awards and county reporting requirements.

Next steps: development authority and Parks & Rec will seek competitive bids, finalize the USDA application before the deadline, and draw on the authorized $315,000 request approved separately in the meeting for EMS payroll (separate agenda item). The LATCF allocations were approved contingent on competitive bidding. Commissioners asked staff to return with formal bids and schedules before large additional expenditures.

Ending

Commissioners framed the steps as short-term repairs and grant leveraging to preserve an aging county-owned building now home to tenants and community programs. The reallocation and LATCF earmarks are intended to stabilize the complex and strengthen a pending USDA application while requiring standard public-bid procedures for the contracted work.