Va., W.Va. governors discuss economic development partnership

DATELINE: BLUEFIELD Va.

Shared tax revenue from economic development and training of health-care and other workers were among areas of cooperation the governors of Virginia and West Virginia discussed Thursday.

"Tim and I want to show our two states can work well in the global marketplace," West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said following a meeting in Bluefield with Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and local officials.

The governors were asked to seek legislation in their respective states that would enable communities in the Bluefield area to share tax revenue from a high-tech business, retail and residential development planned on 680 acres on the Virginia side.

"It would probably be shared investment in the infrastructure and shared return," Kaine said in an interview afterward.

Joint development of regional broadband access also is a possibility, Kaine said.

The two states may pursue a federal grant for training workers in technology and health care, and Kaine suggested the two states consider offering in-state tuition to students in the region who cross the state line for training.

Manchin encouraged the local officials to pick a pilot project that will demonstrate that partnerships across state lines can work.

"You need to pick a project that's most doable," he told Bluefield area officials. "I don't care what side of the line it's on."

Broad smiles on the faces of local officials and their state legislative representatives greeted the governors.

"We're excited about the possibility of regional cooperation crossing state boundaries here," said state Sen. Phillip Puckett, a Democrat who represents Russell and Tazewell counties.

Following the late-afternoon meeting at the town hall on the Virginia side, both governors spoke to a Chamber of Commerce dinner in Bluefield, W.Va. The cities share the Bluefield name, but they have separate governments, infrastructures and identities.

The last time the governors of the two Virginias met in Bluefield for a ceremonial event was on July 12, 1924. Virginia's governor then was Elbert Lee Trinkle of Roanoke. His meeting was with Ephraim Franklin Morgan of Marion County, a coal-mining area that is Manchin's home as well.

Virginia's governor has participated for several years in meetings with counterparts in Maryland and Washington, D.C., to seek solutions to problems that affect all of the jurisdictions such as Chesapeake Bay pollution and traffic gridlock.

Kaine and Manchin both said they want to pursue similar meetings with governors in other border states.

Manchin and Kaine know each other through governors' association meetings, according to Kevin Hall, Kaine's press secretary.

"They like each other, and there's an obvious affinity ... because of the region we share," he said.

Actions necessary to forge a regional partnership will be left to local officials in the two states.