Tech Park seeing big improvements, big plans! (Charleston, Huntington: ski resort, insurance)

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

I don't follow you there. You're saying money invested in Charleston would create statewide commerce, but money invested in Fairmont would not? How in the world are you coming up with that? The very same benefits would accrue to the state with the same investment in either locale. In fact, a case could be make that it would be better and more efficiently spent in Fairmont since that city is far closer to major metro areas than is Charleston, which is basically isolated.

You're quoting Metro Area figures, and those are misleading at best. You mentioned Fairmont, so lets go from there. Pond Gap (in Kanawha County) is in the Charleston Metro Area. They don't even have a paved road to the place, so how does that impact commerce even in Charleston? Glasgow/Cedar Grove is counted in that area and it is 25 miles away. Fairmont is located just 25 miles from the Pittsburgh Metro Area which has more than 2 million residents. When it comes to matters like this, metro area means squat. And, by the way, the last figures I saw for the Charleston area were less than 200,000. The Morgantown-Fairmont-Clarksburg area has mas many residents and that doesn't even count nearby Uniontown or any of the Pittsburgh periphery.

I don't mind giving Charleston its due as the biggest small town in West Virginia with 50,000 permanent residents, but it does get a little tiresome hearing its residents talk like it is some kind of metropolus or something. It is basically the same as Morgantown, Huntington, Wheeling, Martinsburg, or Parkersburg.
It serves a different role, so it looks a little different, but it really is not any more of a city.

Top Comment:
Something funded in the center of the state has a larger impact on the state then something almost outside the state does. Your point about Fairmont doesn't add up because that would affect Pittsburgh, PA and not WV. Charleston has no outside influence, and the most in-state influence. It isn't located at the border trying to benifit from healthy states around us like most WV towns. It is stuck in the middle, and is everything that makes this state operate and generate revenue. There is more large corperations, HQs, regional HQs, and other types of business here than anywhere. That is why this location is more attractive then most other places.

Bottom Comment:
Pond Gap isn't included in the urban metro stats. I'm talking about the vallley, which is the most urban thing our state has. From Poca to Dupont it is nothing but city on both sides of the river. Of course Pond Gap is included in the over all metro stats, but every city has little holes in the wall they count. I wouldn't put Charleston/Huntington on the same level as Clarksburg/Martinsburg because they aren't. 200,000 people within a close proximity isn't alot, but it sure bests 200,000 (mostly rural) between a 45 mile span.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by Chriscross309

Top Comment:
Something funded in the center of the state has a larger impact on the state then something almost outside the state does. Your point about Fairmont doesn't add up because that would affect Pittsburgh, PA and not WV. Charleston has no outside influence, and the most in-state influence. It isn't located at the border trying to benifit from healthy states around us like most WV towns. It is stuck in the middle, and is everything that makes this state operate and generate revenue. There is more large corperations, HQs, regional HQs, and other types of business here than anywhere. That is why this location is more attractive then most other places.

Bottom Comment:
Pond Gap isn't included in the urban metro stats. I'm talking about the vallley, which is the most urban thing our state has. From Poca to Dupont it is nothing but city on both sides of the river. Of course Pond Gap is included in the over all metro stats, but every city has little holes in the wall they count. I wouldn't put Charleston/Huntington on the same level as Clarksburg/Martinsburg because they aren't. 200,000 people within a close proximity isn't alot, but it sure bests 200,000 (mostly rural) between a 45 mile span.

Please, ... you're saying because there are a series of tiny towns strung together that makes for an urban concentration? Well, you're from Clendennin so maybe it seems so to you, so I won't criticize you for it.

Charleston and Huntington are distinctly different areas. NCWV... Clarksburg to Morgantown are not. In fact, Charleston and Huntington have little in common with each other. I will say that Charleston is distinctly West Virginian. So you are right about that. But that does not make Charleston any more valuable than Huntington, Morgantown, or Wheeling just because it has little "outside influence". Taxpayers in those other towns pay the same taxes as those in Charleston and deserve the same consideration. Their towns do too. There is absolutely no legitimate justification for spending a disproportionate amount on money in Charleston just because it is isloated.

It's actually 35 miles from Morgantown to Clarksburg, not 45 miles. The towns you are counting as being in the Charleston megalopolis cover about the same distance. And, Kanawha County is large geographically, and Pond Gap is definitely included in the 192,000 residents who are counted as being in the Charleston Metro Area. Some idiot there actually had an idea to make it part of the City of Charleston a couple years ago when they thought they were going to go below 50,000 residents.

Monongalia (Morgantown), Marion (Fairmont), and Harrison (Clarksburg) together comprise about the same geographic area and same population as Kanawha. In that sense, the two areas are virtually identical. Putting money in any of those areas would have the same benefit for the state as putting it in Charleston. And, it isn't the fault of those areas or the people living there that they also have the benefit of being near large populated areas in neighboring states. Remember, folks from those neighboring areas also work and spend money in the West Virginia part of their area too. The Fayette County (PA) bus system recently started regular bus runs to Morgantown to bring folks in largely because thousands of people there come here for medical treatment and work.

[drs72]

^I agree with what you are saying, but these are the correct statistics for Charleston's population:

Charleston: 51,400
Charleston urbanized area: 212,991
Charleston metropolitan area: 304,214

Also, I'm not sure if I follow what you're saying about Charleston and Huntington being completely distinct areas. They're only fifty miles apart and the I-64 corridor that connects them is one contiguous suburbanized area. In places like Hurricane, you have people working in Charleston and shopping in Huntington and vice versa. In fact, the Census Bureau is looking into combining them into one MSA or creating a CSA.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by drs72

^I agree with what you are saying, but these are the correct statistics for Charleston's population:

Charleston: 51,400
Charleston urbanized area: 212,991
Charleston metropolitan area: 304,214

Also, I'm not sure if I follow what you're saying about Charleston and Huntington being completely distinct areas. They're only fifty miles apart and the I-64 corridor that connects them is one contiguous suburbanized area. In places like Hurricane, you have people working in Charleston and shopping in Huntington and vice versa. In fact, the Census Bureau is looking into combining them into one MSA or creating a CSA.

Sure, but Pittsburgh is just as close to Wheeling and not much further from Morgantown. The Pittsburgh MSA is just 5 miles from our city limits. Does that mean we should be combined with them? And Pittsburgh is about 10 times larger than any town in West Virginia. MSA designations are the figments of come bureaucrat's imagination and have little substance in reality.
There are thousands of folks in Wheeling who work in Pittsburgh. Get on I70 at 6:45 in the morning there and you will know what I mean.

That said, I am going to push for combining the Clarksburg and Morgantown MSAs because a larger MSA designation might well entitle the area to more Federal funding. It is just as much a real MSA as is the Charleston MSA. My ex was from Glasgow, and that is in the Charleston MSA. There is little connection between Charleston and Glasgow, where most of the folks work either in coal mines or the power plant. There is considerable connection between Morgantown and Fairmont and Clarksburg. I have two neighbors who work in Clarksburg. The population of Hurricane is 6,284. If that is essentially what binds Charleston to Huntington there are towns between here and Pittsburgh, and Wheeling and Pittsburgh that are several times larger than that as binders. Maybe some politician is pushing for that (I don't know) but it is a bogus notion.

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Please, ... you're saying because there are a series of tiny towns strung together that makes for an urban concentration? Well, you're from Clendennin so maybe it seems so to you, so I won't criticize you for it.

Charleston and Huntington are distinctly different areas. NCWV... Clarksburg to Morgantown are not. In fact, Charleston and Huntington have little in common with each other. I will say that Charleston is distinctly West Virginian. So you are right about that. But that does not make Charleston any more valuable than Huntington, Morgantown, or Wheeling just because it has little "outside influence". Taxpayers in those other towns pay the same taxes as those in Charleston and deserve the same consideration. Their towns do too. There is absolutely no legitimate justification for spending a disproportionate amount on money in Charleston just because it is isloated.

It's actually 35 miles from Morgantown to Clarksburg, not 45 miles. The towns you are counting as being in the Charleston megalopolis cover about the same distance. And, Kanawha County is large geographically, and Pond Gap is definitely included in the 192,000 residents who are counted as being in the Charleston Metro Area. Some idiot there actually had an idea to make it part of the City of Charleston a couple years ago when they thought they were going to go below 50,000 residents.

Monongalia (Morgantown), Marion (Fairmont), and Harrison (Clarksburg) together comprise about the same geographic area and same population as Kanawha. In that sense, the two areas are virtually identical. Putting money in any of those areas would have the same benefit for the state as putting it in Charleston. And, it isn't the fault of those areas or the people living there that they also have the benefit of being near large populated areas in neighboring states. Remember, folks from those neighboring areas also work and spend money in the West Virginia part of their area too. The Fayette County (PA) bus system recently started regular bus runs to Morgantown to bring folks in largely because thousands of people there come here for medical treatment and work.

I'm sorry but you are wrong. From Quincy to Poca it is urban. It's not like there is a small town, a big gap, and then another small town. I'm not sure you are familiar with how our city connects together. The characteristics of the area are very urban and there is alot of people in that area. And you say Hurricane has about 6k, but you ignore the 30k in the Teays Valley/Scott Depot area that is part of Hurricane. Most of Putnam County, and all of Kanawha County is considered Greater Charleston. Most of the people live in the urban areas like Saint Albans, Cross Lanes, South Charleston, and of course Charleston itself. It is alot more than Morgantown and Westover. And between Morgantown and Fairmont there is nothing, and the same thing between Fairmont and Clarksburg. And Morgantown might be 5 miles away from Pittsburgh's metro, but its still 70 miles away, and there is nothing in that span. The Kanawha Valley/Huntington area is the only true urban area in our state. And another thing is that while I might be from Clendenin, I've seen every corner of this country, and most of the major cities and urban centers. And I can say that from what I've seen Charleston/Huntington is the only thing in this sate that comes close.

Here is Charleston (make sure to follow the river both up and down)
Google Maps

Here is Morgantown (and if you want to scroll down to Fairmont/Clarksburg have fun)
Google Maps

see the huge difference? Morgantown/Fairmont/Clarksburg is a bunch of small towns that have some distance between them. While Charleston is a long string of development and has not "wasteland"

Now that this thread has taken a step away from the topic, I'll try to bring it back into view. Charleston is a business and population center that directly affects the state and the state's economy. Investing money here allows for business and industry to move in WV with access to the whole state. If it's in Morgantown, Wheeling, or Martinsburg it is not as valuable to the state as a whole, rather to just that city and to the metro area its in (DC, Pittsburgh). I'm not saying that I don't support giving money to other cities because that is way off of my belief system. But other areas don't have empty tech parks that could create thousands of jobs. This isn't a waste, and probably the best project in the state right now.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by Chriscross309

I'm sorry but you are wrong. From Quincy to Poca it is urban. It's not like there is a small town, a big gap, and then another small town. I'm not sure you are familiar with how our city connects together. The characteristics of the area are very urban and there is alot of people in that area. And you say Hurricane has about 6k, but you ignore the 30k in the Teays Valley/Scott Depot area that is part of Hurricane. Most of Putnam County, and all of Kanawha County is considered Greater Charleston. Most of the people live in the urban areas like Saint Albans, Cross Lanes, South Charleston, and of course Charleston itself. It is alot more than Morgantown and Westover. And between Morgantown and Fairmont there is nothing, and the same thing between Fairmont and Clarksburg. And Morgantown might be 5 miles away from Pittsburgh's metro, but its still 70 miles away, and there is nothing in that span. The Kanawha Valley/Huntington area is the only true urban area in our state. And another thing is that while I might be from Clendenin, I've seen every corner of this country, and most of the major cities and urban centers. And I can say that from what I've seen Charleston/Huntington is the only thing in this sate that comes close.

Here is Charleston (make sure to follow the river both up and down)
Google Maps

Here is Morgantown (and if you want to scroll down to Fairmont/Clarksburg have fun)
Google Maps

see the huge difference? Morgantown/Fairmont/Clarksburg is a bunch of small towns that have some distance between them. While Charleston is a long string of development and has not "wasteland"

Now that this thread has taken a step away from the topic, I'll try to bring it back into view. Charleston is a business and population center that directly affects the state and the state's economy. Investing money here allows for business and industry to move in WV with access to the whole state. If it's in Morgantown, Wheeling, or Martinsburg it is not as valuable to the state as a whole, rather to just that city and to the metro area its in (DC, Pittsburgh). I'm not saying that I don't support giving money to other cities because that is way off of my belief system. But other areas don't have empty tech parks that could create thousands of jobs. This isn't a waste, and probably the best project in the state right now.

I'm not trying to pick an argument here, but my point is population wise and geographic area wise the two places are remarkably similar. Is the population more "clustered" in our area? I suppose so, but Clarksburg and Fairmont are basically contiguous and the 9 miles between where I live in southeast Morgantown and Prickets Fort-Fairmont doesn't have a lot of development, but it is just down the road. It is basically the same community.

I can not see the logic in your argument that investing in Charleston somehow is available to the whole state. It isn't available to us here in Morgantown. It isn't available to those in Martinsburg. It isn't available to anybody in Wheeling. Charleston simply is not large enough to have that kind of effect on the rest of the state. I realize you believe that with Poca(population 974) and Quincy (population 4,326) you can support the notion that there is some kind of metropolis there that will benefit everyone in West Virginia. No offense, but that is delusional. Charleston is simply not even close to being large enough to do that.

I simply can't believe you think it is close to a real urban center. Perhaps 15% of our entire little state is situated in that area. We hear this stuff from Charleston folks all the time, and you guys are the only ones who believe it. About the only way that Charleston resembles a real urban area more than other small towns in our state is a higher proportion of the population is comprised of minorities.

Everyone in the northern half of the state looks to Pittsburgh for those types of things. Everyone in the eastern part looks to DC and Baltimore. Even folks in Huntington don't look to Charleston for much of anything. An investment in Charleston benefits primarily people in and around Charleston, just as an investment in Clarksburg would benefit primarily people in this area.
Political boundaries are largely arbitrary and population spills over them. Being close to a real urban area like we are here would make such an investment actually go further because we would have an easier time attracting tenants with our proximity to much larger population bases and far greater educational resources.

The rest of the state is getting sick and tired of Charleston sucking up all the available funds. It does nothing for the rest of us. People there have gotten so used to sucking off the public teat that an entitlement mentality has developed there. I'm not talking about the state government workforce. I'm talking about the town.

[mensaguy]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

I have trouble understanding why Charleston should get special treatment just because it is the state capital. Being the capital means it is already getting a massive infusion of funding from all over the state to perform the governmental function. Other areas, which are not as fortunate as to get that special funding, should get preferential treatment in my view. The Tech Park has absolutely nothing to do with Charleston's role as Capital.

I don't argue that state government should not be properly funded in Charleston. That state government needs to look to the interests of the whole state, not just the back yard. Charleston has been helping itself to far more than its fair share of the state's general revenue fund for more than long enough.

You mean like taking millions off the tax rolls by buying up buildings all over Charleston for use by the State Government, thereby guaranteeing forever that the city will get zero tax dollars for those properties. Examples: The Diamond, One Davis Square, Coyle & Richardson Building, City Center West.

Where is that infusion of money? Is that why Charleston instituted a User Fee?

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

I'm not trying to pick an argument here, but my point is population wise and geographic area wise the two places are remarkably similar. Is the population more "clustered" in our area? I suppose so, but Clarksburg and Fairmont are basically contiguous and the 9 miles between where I live in southeast Morgantown and Prickets Fort-Fairmont doesn't have a lot of development, but it is just down the road. It is basically the same community.

I can not see the logic in your argument that investing in Charleston somehow is available to the whole state. It isn't available to us here in Morgantown. It isn't available to those in Martinsburg. It isn't available to anybody in Wheeling. Charleston simply is not large enough to have that kind of effect on the rest of the state. I realize you believe that with Poca(population 974) and Quincy (population 4,326) you can support the notion that there is some kind of metropolis there that will benefit everyone in West Virginia. No offense, but that is delusional. Charleston is simply not even close to being large enough to do that.

I simply can't believe you think it is close to a real urban center. Perhaps 15% of our entire little state is situated in that area. We hear this stuff from Charleston folks all the time, and you guys are the only ones who believe it. About the only way that Charleston resembles a real urban area more than other small towns in our state is a higher proportion of the population is comprised of minorities.

Everyone in the northern half of the state looks to Pittsburgh for those types of things. Everyone in the eastern part looks to DC and Baltimore. Even folks in Huntington don't look to Charleston for much of anything. An investment in Charleston benefits primarily people in and around Charleston, just as an investment in Clarksburg would benefit primarily people in this area.
Political boundaries are largely arbitrary and population spills over them. Being close to a real urban area like we are here would make such an investment actually go further because we would have an easier time attracting tenants with our proximity to much larger population bases and far greater educational resources.

The rest of the state is getting sick and tired of Charleston sucking up all the available funds. It does nothing for the rest of us. People there have gotten so used to sucking off the public teat that an entitlement mentality has developed there. I'm not talking about the state government workforce. I'm talking about the town.

Top comment:
You are missing the point. Quincy and Poca might not add up to anything, but throw in Rand, Dupont, East Bank, marmet, malden, Kanawha City, South Hills, East End, West Side, Montrose, South Charleston, Spring Hill, Dunbar, Institue, Jefferson, Saint Albans, Nitro Cross Lanes, and then Poca then you have an urban setting. All of it is one unit. And like I said, its the nearest thing we have in WV to a city.

Middle Comment:
Charleston already has influence over the whole state so your arguement that this project won't is ridiculous. Think of the financial firms located here. Its like WV's NYC in terms of financial importance and influence on the state. Let us not forget about energy companies, and healthcare. Example being Highland Hospital's influence on NCWV and other areas in the state, United Bank's influence over WVU, Brickstreet's influence over the whole state. Face the facts, our state is ran from Charleston. And a major need is the investment and modernization of one of our state's largest money making potientials.

Bottom Comment:
Charleston is in no way, shape, or form sucking up all the funds. Name something else that we are getting that should have gone somewhere else? You cannot do it. Simply put, there isn't enough total activity in this state to point out any examples of anything. Except for private development, WVU (which happens to be the state gov.), and Federal Projects. If you can prove it I'll listen, but until then all you have is that Morgantown Roads suck, and Charleston is somehow less urban then NCWV. Which of course the first one is only true.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by Chriscross309

Top comment:
You are missing the point. Quincy and Poca might not add up to anything, but throw in Rand, Dupont, East Bank, marmet, malden, Kanawha City, South Hills, East End, West Side, Montrose, South Charleston, Spring Hill, Dunbar, Institue, Jefferson, Saint Albans, Nitro Cross Lanes, and then Poca then you have an urban setting. All of it is one unit. And like I said, its the nearest thing we have in WV to a city.

Middle Comment:
Charleston already has influence over the whole state so your arguement that this project won't is ridiculous. Think of the financial firms located here. Its like WV's NYC in terms of financial importance and influence on the state. Let us not forget about energy companies, and healthcare. Example being Highland Hospital's influence on NCWV and other areas in the state, United Bank's influence over WVU, Brickstreet's influence over the whole state. Face the facts, our state is ran from Charleston. And a major need is the investment and modernization of one of our state's largest money making potientials.

Bottom Comment:
Charleston is in no way, shape, or form sucking up all the funds. Name something else that we are getting that should have gone somewhere else? You cannot do it. Simply put, there isn't enough total activity in this state to point out any examples of anything. Except for private development, WVU (which happens to be the state gov.), and Federal Projects. If you can prove it I'll listen, but until then all you have is that Morgantown Roads suck, and Charleston is somehow less urban then NCWV. Which of course the first one is only true.

Chris, United Bank has its main office in Charleston, but it is controlled by Wheeling interests (check out who is on the Board). I heard about Highland Hospital's plans to expand here, and I support that move. It will make their presence here larger than the one they have in Charleston. I fail to see how that has anything to do with Charleston, at least any more so than the WVU presence in Charleston has to do with Morgantown. I think we can agree that the presence of both is good for both communities.

All of those little towns you mentioned are fine. I'm familiar with most of them... was married to a Kanawha Valley girl for many years. But NCWV has a bunch of little towns too (Granville, Star City, Westover, Cheat Lake, Cassville, Brookhaven, Arthurdale, Fairview, Monongah, Whitehall, Grant Town, Rivesville, Worthington, Bridgeport, Shinnston, Stonewood, Nutter Fort, Anmoore, and several more) and we directly abutt Fayette County, PA (5 miles from Morgantown ... population 136,606). We are also 25 minutes from Garrett County, MD (population 30,097).

You don't have to take my word for it. Take a drive down Kanawha Blvd. some evening at 8:30pm, then come here and drive down Van Voorhis and tell us where there is the most activity. Our town goes day and night while Charleston largely rolls up the sidewalks in the early evening. I have seen that many times. Which is indicative of a real "urban" character?

That said, there are certain urban characteristics that seem to be in Charleston that I am glad we do not share. We do have a college town feel that is different than what you have in the fringe areas there, and our town is safer. That's important for an old duffer like me.

The only influence Charleston has on the rest of the state is the fact that it is the seat of state government. That government is there to serve the whole state, not just the locale in which it is located. And, the state does not exist solely to serve Charleston.

Actualy, not to argue, but I do disagree with some of your presumptions. State government is state government, and the state's flagship University is the state's University, so they are off the table. They aren't expenditures for the towns in which they happen to be located. If that were the case, I'd have to point out that for the 19% of general budget receipts WVU gets from the state it returns 40 times that to the state in terms of financial benefit while that giant sucking sound you hear is the government entity located in Charleston that specializes in taking money and returning little.

But, the Tech Park is not the only preferential thing that goes on in Charleston. Built entirely with state funds, and having no function with state government is the Clay Center. Since the state ponied up the funding for that, they should put something similar in each of the other significant towns in West Virginia. And, you think there is no disparity in highway funding? Apparently you haven't spent much time around our beautiful town. While you can basically zip around Charleston in 10 minutes (I know I have always been able to do that) we essentially have gridlock on our state numbered highways. That is a huge issue here, and it is solely the state's responsibility to fix it. Instead, they p*ss money down the drain on expressways to nowhere in the southern part of the state. It causes more than a bit of resentment.

While it is true that our University is nominally owned by the state, a very modest portion of its support comes from state sources. The vast majority comes from student tuition and much of it comes from federal funding. Major aditional funding comes from donations and Foundation expenditures. In spite of that, all of the income of our faculty and staff as well as the employees of our affiliated medical units is subject to state income tax, and all of those folks spend money here contributing to the sales tax base. Overall, The University represents a cash influx for the State of West Virginia, not a budget negative.

Absolutely nothing you pointed out is indicative of any reason Charleston should be getting one cent more pre capita than any other part of the state... Huntington, Wheeling, Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Parkersburg, Martinsburg, etc. and it is high time for the inequity to be corrected. I hope the Tech Center is successful, but the state needs to make a concerted effort at spreading around the funding from here on out.

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Chris, United Bank has its main office in Charleston, but it is controlled by Wheeling interests (check out who is on the Board). I heard about Highland Hospital's plans to expand here, and I support that move. It will make their presence here larger than the one they have in Charleston. I fail to see how that has anything to do with Charleston, at least any more so than the WVU presence in Charleston has to do with Morgantown. I think we can agree that the presence of both is good for both communities.

All of those little towns you mentioned are fine. I'm familiar with most of them... was married to a Kanawha Valley girl for many years. But NCWV has a bunch of little towns too (Granville, Star City, Westover, Cheat Lake, Cassville, Brookhaven, Arthurdale, Fairview, Monongah, Whitehall, Grant Town, Rivesville, Worthington, Bridgeport, Shinnston, Stonewood, Nutter Fort, Anmoore, and several more) and we directly abutt Fayette County, PA (5 miles from Morgantown ... population 136,606). We are also 25 minutes from Garrett County, MD (population 30,097).

You don't have to take my word for it. Take a drive down Kanawha Blvd. some evening at 8:30pm, then come here and drive down Van Voorhis and tell us where there is the most activity. Our town goes day and night while Charleston largely rolls up the sidewalks in the early evening. I have seen that many times. Which is indicative of a real "urban" character?

That said, there are certain urban characteristics that seem to be in Charleston that I am glad we do not share. We do have a college town feel that is different than what you have in the fringe areas there, and our town is safer. That's important for an old duffer like me.

The only influence Charleston has on the rest of the state is the fact that it is the seat of state government. That government is there to serve the whole state, not just the locale in which it is located. And, the state does not exist solely to serve Charleston.

Actualy, not to argue, but I do disagree with some of your presumptions. State government is state government, and the state's flagship University is the state's University, so they are off the table. They aren't expenditures for the towns in which they happen to be located. If that were the case, I'd have to point out that for the 19% of general budget receipts WVU gets from the state it returns 40 times that to the state in terms of financial benefit while that giant sucking sound you hear is the government entity located in Charleston that specializes in taking money and returning little.

But, the Tech Park is not the only preferential thing that goes on in Charleston. Built entirely with state funds, and having no function with state government is the Clay Center. Since the state ponied up the funding for that, they should put something similar in each of the other significant towns in West Virginia. And, you think there is no disparity in highway funding? Apparently you haven't spent much time around our beautiful town. While you can basically zip around Charleston in 10 minutes (I know I have always been able to do that) we essentially have gridlock on our state numbered highways. That is a huge issue here, and it is solely the state's responsibility to fix it. Instead, they p*ss money down the drain on expressways to nowhere in the southern part of the state. It causes more than a bit of resentment.

While it is true that our University is nominally owned by the state, a very modest portion of its support comes from state sources. The vast majority comes from student tuition and much of it comes from federal funding. Major aditional funding comes from donations and Foundation expenditures. In spite of that, all of the income of our faculty and staff as well as the employees of our affiliated medical units is subject to state income tax, and all of those folks spend money here contributing to the sales tax base. Overall, The University represents a cash influx for the State of West Virginia, not a budget negative.

Absolutely nothing you pointed out is indicative of any reason Charleston should be getting one cent more pre capita than any other part of the state... Huntington, Wheeling, Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Parkersburg, Martinsburg, etc. and it is high time for the inequity to be corrected. I hope the Tech Center is successful, but the state needs to make a concerted effort at spreading around the funding from here on out.

Why do you twist my points into meaning things they don't. Simply put Charleston isn't getting some huge chunck of funding that is unfair to the rest of the state. It gets what it deserves, and sometimes there isn't enough to support that. If there was shove ready projects that could take advantage of recourses we have here in WV, i'm sure we'd atleast see an effort by someone to push for it. But just because Charleston has projects like this, doesn't mean that it is somehow unfair or unrightfully spent. If Fairmont had some old property that could be reused, don't you think we'd here about it. Yes we would, and there would be a strong push for it. Sorry that there happens to be a perfectly good facility here in Charleston that could attract new business and thousands of jobs. Should have found somewhere else to use that money.

And about city size, why don't you understand that I'm not talking about a bunch of little towns, but one unit. I'm not even talking about there individual character, but that they are all stacked together and when added together make quite an urban center. One clustered unit of housing, industry, and other forms of development that is not seen anywhere else in WV. The NCWV area that by your estimates has almost 200k is mostly rural and takes up more than 4 counties. You can get that many people on a short stretch of I-64 that is all together and dence. No farms, wastelands, or forests, just development. Morgantown might be 5 miles from the Pitt Metro, but its not like Pittsburgh is 5 miles away. a business would be more attracted to a development in a city that has a decent airport, highway system, rail system, business district, and a good amount of recourses to be able to tap. Not many towns in WV have what the Charleston/Huntington Metro has and that's depth and economic diversity. There is everything here, and all other WV cities have a few things. Morgantown has alot for a town its size, but it doesn't have everything a city needs. Charleston has all the convience a city has, and yet is still smaller than most. That is why a project like this one is important. Because it will help grow the depth and diversity of Charleston's economy which will in return strengthen our state's total economy.