By Stephen Smoot
Last month, the Pendleton County Economic and Community Development Authority conducted its monthly meeting. Much of the discussion focused on the prospect of Pendleton County joining the Hardwood Alliance Zone.
According to its website, the Hardwood Alliance Zone “consists of 12 counties in the heart of West Virginia’s premier hardwood region. We provide a competitive advantage to the hardwood industry business in relation to relocation, expansion, and development.” Barbour, Fayette, Grant, Greenbrier, Hardy, Lewis, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Tucker, Upshur, and Webster form the core counties of the alliance.
Pendleton County, along with 26 other counties in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, form the “labor shed” of surrounding counties, from which workers come.
The Hardwood Alliance Zone works closely with county commissions, economic development authorities, and convention and visitors bureaus to develop the best possible economic environment for hardwood related economic development. According to their website, they accomplish this by “providing aggressive development assistance in the form of tax credits and financing programs.” It also promotes use of banks in the region for capital because of their strong familiarity with the hardwood industry.
Programs include direct loan packages, industrial revenue bonds, assistance in developing needed infrastructure to accommodate increased use, tax credits, and other incentives. The Hardwood Alliance Zone also has access to the West Virginia Wood Technology Center in Elkins that provides “training and support services to the state’s hardwood industry.” The Hardwood Alliance Zone works as an industry economic development vehicle to sustain businesses in place while also building and/or attracting more businesses and jobs.
West Virginia is the third most forested state in the nation and grows timber at twice the rate of harvest. According to a 2018 West Virginia Division of Forestry report, “the forest products industries provided the second highest direct labor income, value-added, and output when compared to mining and oil and gas production, and agricultural production industries.”
Pendleton County has played a key role in the state’s hardwood industries as well. In 1973, John Crites started Allegheny Wood Products from a single sawmill in Riverton. As West Virginia Executive reported, “today it is one of the largest producers of eastern U.S. hardwoods, with six sawmills and four dry kiln facilities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.”
The EDA board discussed the requirements for joining the Hardwood Alliance Zone. Counties must pay membership dues of $3,000 per year for the first two years with dues dropping to $500 afterwards. Board members decided to table discussion of joining until they could more closely research the costs and benefits of participating.
In other business, the board selected bids for hay services at the Pendleton Business Center and Pendleton County Industrial Park. Gary Swecker won the award for the former and Heavner Farms the latter. Board members approved the selection with a unanimous vote. Another vote approved giving both a week-long trial period.
Finally, after exiting executive session, the board approved the personnel committee’s recommendation for EDA office assistant.
