KINGWOOD — The Preston County Chamber of Commerce brought five items of concern it would like to see addressed by the county’s legislators during the upcoming legislative session at a legislative kickoff event Thursday evening.
The most important item to the area, chamber president Bo Burnside said, was dealing with infrastructure, specifically roads. He requested Preston County be redistricted from its current Division of Highways District 4 to District 8.
District 4 is largely urban and contains Harrison, Marion and Monongalia counties, Burnside explained. On the other hand, District 8 is a snow belt and would be a natural fit for Preston County.
“We think we belong in District 8, which is the snow belt of Tucker county and Elkins, if you pull up the map, we fit right there. Like it is more our geographical area,” Burnside said. “So that’s where we want to be. … We feel like those people would know the snow belt, know the snow removal. We don’t want to hear the requests that we can’t get good roads, because all our budget is used for snow removal.”
Sen. Dave Sypolt, (R – Preston, 14), said it would be great if they could get that done.
Del. Terri Sypolt (R – Preston, 52), and Del. Buck Jennings (R – Preston, 53) also attended. Sen. Randy Smith, (R – Tucker, 14) was unable to be there.
Burnside requested the creation of a fund to provide the matching funds, usually 20%, for state and federal grants. The match can often be prohibitive for many businesses and organizations.
Sen. Sypolt said there has been discussion of a fund for that purpose which could then be applied for.
West Virginia is one of the most heavily legislated states when it comes to education, Burnside said. He asked not for more legislation, but for a discussion on reform.
“What we need is dialogue that will lead to a reform of an outdated system,” Burnside said. “We’d like to work with legislators to address hiring laws, educational content, and state aid funding formula.”
Sen. Sypolt said Burnside was absolutely correct and explained the legislature does not have the power to overturn state Board of Education policies, which are written then implemented. He said there may be a joint resolution to place a provision on the ballot that would amend the state constitution and give the legislature oversight of the BOE.
“Personally, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Sen. Sypolt said.
One major issue facing the workforce is a lack of adequate child care facilities in the area, Burnside said. He requested some of the red tape in opening child care businesses and tax credits for businesses that provide in-house child care.
The final thing on the chamber’s list, Burnside said, was the drug epidemic.
“Our hearts go out to those who are struggling with addiction and the families who love them,” Burnside said. “Also to the families who have lost loved ones due to addiction. So we’re requesting long term funding for programs that aid in the fight against the drug epidemic, like sober living residential facilities in the county and treatment programs.”
Del. Sypolt said the drug epidemic is always one of the top issues.
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