Published Saturday, September 21, 2002
of grant
news a 'setback'
for WE project
Herald Business Editor
It didn't take James E. Winner Jr. long to place blame for his company losing a $7 million state grant. It took even less time to figure out who that would be.
In a tersely worded statement he read over the phone on Friday, Winner singled out Charles "Chuck'' Bestwick, chairman of Mercer County Industrial Development Authority, as the reason the state pulled the grant. The funds had been earmarked for Winner's Sharon company, Winner Development LLC, to develop the former Westinghouse Electric Corp. plant on Sharpsville Avenue in Sharon.
"Chuck Bestwick, it appears you won. I read in the paper Winner Development will not get the $7 million. Hopefully, the project will continue despite the setback.''
Winner declined further comment.
For more than a year, Winner has claimed Bestwick and MCIDA dragged their feet on the application for the funds. Bestwick and MCIDA have continually said Winner didn't supply them with information mandated by the state.
Getting hammered by Winner again was no surprise, Bestwick said.
"I knew it wouldn't be very long before he made some kind of comment,'' Bestwick said. "I still don't have any clue as to why he decided to blame me. That's his choice.''
Late last year MCIDA told Winner the state had imposed a March 6 deadline for getting the grant information, Bestwick said. The deadline was one of several extensions the state gave but officials said the March 6 deadline was firm, Bestwick added.
On Thursday Gov. Mark S. Schweiker's office said it had withdrawn the funds, which had been earmarked for developing the mostly abandoned plant in Sharon. Initially the project was supposed to cost $77 million but has since been slashed to $18 million, said Mike Lukens, deputy press secretary for Schweiker's office. Also, he said, specific information the state requested was never provided.
"The project that the money was committed to in our view doesn't exist anymore,'' Lukens said. "We have nothing to indicate the project exists.'' As a result, the state pulled the plug on the grant, he added.
In a letter received by local development agencies on Monday, state Budget Secretary Robert Bittenbender said conditions for Winner Development securing the grant expired March 6. Lukens said the six-month delay in making the announcement was an oversight.