I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2843

To establish the Wheeling National Heritage Area in the State of West

Virginia, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1993

Mr. MOLLOHAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Wheeling National Heritage Area in the

State of West Virginia, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wheeling National

5 Heritage Area Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that:

8 (1) The community of Wheeling, West Virginia,

9 and vicinity, possess important historical, cultural,

10 and natural resources, representing major heritage
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1 themes of transportation and commerce and indus2 try and Victorian culture in the United States.

3 (2) The City of Wheeling played an important

4 part in the settlement of this country by serving as

5 the western terminus of the National Road in the

6 early 1800’s, by serving as the Crossroads of Amer7 ica throughout the nineteenth century, by serving as

8 one of the few major inland ports in the nineteenth

9 century, by hosting the establishment of the Re10 stored State of Virginia, and later the State of West

11 Virginia during the Civil War years and serving as

12 the first capital of the new State of West Virginia,

13 through the development and maintenance of many

14 industries crucial to the Nation’s expansion, includ15 ing iron and steel, and textile manufacturing facili16 ties, boat building facilities, glass manufacturing fa17 cilities, stogie and chewing tobacco manufacturing

18 facilities, many of which are industries that continue

19 to play an important role in the Nation’s economy.

20 (3) The City of Wheeling has retained its na21 tional heritage themes with the designations of the

22 old custom house, now Independence Hall, as a Na23 tional Historic Landmark; with the designation of

24 the historic suspension bridge as a National Historic

25 Landmark; with five historic districts, and many in-
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1 dividual properties in the Wheeling area listed or eli2 gible for nomination to the National Register of His3 toric Places.

4 (4) The heritage themes and number and diver5 sity of Wheeling’s remaining resources should be ap6 propriately retained, enhanced, and interpreted for

7 the education, benefit, and inspiration of the people

8 of the United States.

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to:

10 (1) Recognize the special importance of the his11 tory and development of the Wheeling area in the

12 cultural heritage of the Nation.

13 (2) Provide a framework to assist the City of

14 Wheeling and other public and private entities and

15 individuals in the appropriate preservation, enhance16 ment, and interpretation of resources in the Wheel17 ing area emblematic of Wheeling’s contributions to

18 that cultural heritage.

19 (3) Create a new concept and model for des20 ignation of a National Heritage Area by allowing for

21 limited Federal, State and local capital contributions

22 for planning and infrastructure investments to cre23 ate the Wheeling National Heritage Area, in part24 nership with the State of West Virginia and the City

25 of Wheeling, West Virginia and its designees; and to
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1 provide for an economically self-sustaining National

2 Heritage Area not dependent on Federal assistance

3 beyond the initial years necessary to establish the

4 National Heritage Area.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 As used in this Act:

7 (1) The term ‘‘Corporation’’ refers to the

8 Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation

9 (WNHAC) as described in section 5 of this Act.

10 (2) The term ‘‘Plan’’ refers to the Plan for the

11 Wheeling National Heritage Area, prepared for the

12 Wheeling National Heritage Area Task Force, the

13 City of Wheeling, and the National Park Service,

14 published in August 1992, which Plan includes—

15 (A) an inventory of the natural and cul16 tural resources in the City of Wheeling;

17 (B) criteria for preserving and interpreting

18 significant natural and historic resources;

19 (C) a strategy for the conservation, preser20 vation, and reuse of the historical and cultural

21 resources in the City of Wheeling and the re22 gion; and

23 (D) an implementation agenda by which

24 the State of West Virginia and local govern25 ments can program their resources as well as a
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1 complete description of the management entity

2 responsible for implementing the Plan.

3 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

4 In furtherance of the purposes of this Act, there is

5 hereby established the Wheeling National Heritage Area

6 in the State of West Virginia (hereinafter referred to as

7 the ‘‘Area’’). The Area shall include those lands and wa8 ters within the boundary generally depicted on the map

9 entitled, ‘‘Boundary Map, Wheeling National Heritage

10 Area, West Virginia’’, which shall be on file and available

11 for public inspection in the offices of the National Park

12 Service, Department of the Interior.

13 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF WHEELING NATIONAL HERIT14 AGE AREA CORPORATION.

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To achieve the purposes of

16 this Act, and to carry out the implementation of the Plan,

17 there is hereby established the Wheeling National Herit18 age Area Corporation (WNHAC) which—

19 (1) will be structured as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt

20 entity;

21 (2) shall consist of a Board of Directors of not

22 less than 9 nor more than 11 members, including

23 the executive committee;

24 (3) shall include an executive committee of 5

25 members; and
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1 (4) shall include the Secretary of the Interior,

2 or his designate, the Governor of West Virginia, or

3 his designate, and the Mayor of the City of Wheel4 ing, or his designate.

5 The details of the Corporation’s administrative operations,

6 staff needs, Board composition (except as specified in sec7 tion 5(a)(4)), affiliate organizations, financial forecast,

8 and membership shall be specified in the business plan for

9 the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation.

10 (b) MISSION.—(1) The Corporation’s primary mis11 sion will be to implement and coordinate the recommenda12 tions contained in the Plan, accomplish the goals of the

13 Heritage Area planning initiative, ensure integrated oper14 ation of the project, and become a financially self-sustain15 ing entity. The Corporation shall be structured as a pri16 vate nonprofit organization, an umbrella organization to

17 accomplish the primary mission by itself, in partnership

18 with other local organizations, or on the behalf of other

19 entities, particularly the National Park Service and the

20 State of West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

21 It will provide coordination, standards, and streamlined fi22 nancial and technical assistance for the implementation of

23 the Plan.

24 (2) The primary charitable and educational mission

25 of the Corporation shall be to conserve, interpret, and pro-
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1 mote the Wheeling National Heritage Area, and by doing

2 so, to achieve economic development in the historic down3 town and riverfront area, and the education and general

4 welfare of the people. The more specific mission of the

5 Corporation shall be to implement the Plan for the Wheel6 ing National Heritage Area, to preserve the area’s historic

7 and cultural resources, and to establish a structure within

8 which the activities of investment, development, and oper9 ation of the Heritage Area can be fulfilled. In support of

10 this primary mission, the Corporation shall also direct and

11 coordinate the diverse conservation, development, pro12 gramming, educational, and interpretive activities in the

13 area.

14 (c) CREATION OF THE CORPORATION.—An interim

15 board shall be formed by the Wheeling National Heritage

16 Area Task Force Core Group in existence on the date of

17 the enactment of this Act. This board shall draft interim

18 bylaws, nominate an executive committee and solicit mem19 bership. The members of the executive committee shall act

20 as incorporators of the Corporation, nominate the perma21 nent board and have the primary roles in the development,

22 implementation, and operation of the Corporation and the

23 Heritage Area. A permanent executive committee shall

24 adopt a charter for the Corporation, and sign its articles

25 of incorporation, and shall determine the appropriate com-
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1 position for the permanent board of directors. The execu2 tive committee shall appoint the remaining board members

3 with the exception of the City, State, and Federal rep4 resentatives designated under subsection (a)(4). The exec5 utive committee shall act as the primary vehicle for oper6 ation and policy of the Corporation while the board of di7 rectors shall serve to ensure that the mission of the Cor8 poration is carried out, and serve as a check and balance

9 to the executive committee while measuring progress and

10 ensuring equity in the activities of the Corporation.

11 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE WHEELING NATIONAL HERITAGE

12 AREA CORPORATION.

13 (a) POWERS OF THE CORPORATION.—The Wheeling

14 National Heritage Area Corporation shall be chartered

15 with broad private powers in order to pursue its mission

16 and implement the Plan. The Corporation shall be empow17 ered to—

18 (1) acquire, encumber, and dispose of such real

19 and personal property as is necessary to preserve,

20 promote and enhance the heritage and resources of

21 the Area;

22 (2) improve properties to which the Corporation

23 holds title, sell, lease, sublease or otherwise dispose

24 of real property;
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1 (3) enter into contracts, leases, cooperative

2 agreements, and other transactions with public agen3 cies and private individuals and entities;

4 (4) receive funds from public agencies and pri5 vate individuals and entities; receive gifts of property

6 of all kinds, whether made by will, deed, or other7 wise, and administering the same in carrying out the

8 Corporation’s mission; collect fees; develop any other

9 sources of income commensurate with the laws gov10 erning nonprofit entities;

11 (5) disburse funds to qualified public or private

12 individuals and entities for the purposes of achieving

13 the goals of the Heritage Area as specified in the

14 Plan;

15 (6) hire staff and accept personnel from public

16 agencies as required to fulfill its mandates and pur17 poses;

18 (7) manage property and develop and operate

19 educational, informational, interpretive, and market20 ing programs, facilities, and linkages; and

21 (8) coordinate the review and approval of

22 projects or programs either funded or implemented

23 by the Corporation or its associates; and provide

24 educational, interpretation and promotional services

25 and materials.
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1 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE WHEELING NATIONAL HERITAGE

2 AREA CORPORATION.

3 (a) FORMAL ADOPTION OF THE PLAN.—The Cor4 poration shall work with the State of West Virginia and

5 local governments to ensure that the Plan is formally

6 adopted by the City of Wheeling and recognized by the

7 State of West Virginia.

8 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN.—In pursuing

9 the implementation of the Plan, the Corporation shall—

10 (1) implement the ideas and concepts put forth

11 in the Plan in a timely fashion pursuant to the phas12 ing schedule identified in the Plan;

13 (2) ensure the coordination of its services with

14 those of the City of Wheeling, West Virginia, the

15 State of West Virginia, and the Federal Govern16 ment;

17 (3) seek the support and involvement of the

18 Wheeling community and City of Wheeling as it pur19 sues its mission;

20 (4) maintain the integrity of those natural and

21 cultural resources recognized by this Act and ref22 erenced in the Plan through standards and criteria

23 for the treatment of all properties located within the

24 Area; and

25 (5) pursue the completion and adoption of all

26 planning projects recommended by the Plan, includ-
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1 ing, but not limited to, the business plan for the

2 Wheeling National Heritage Area, an interpretive

3 master plan which outlines plans for the interpreta4 tion and conservation of Wheeling’s cultural and

5 physical resources, a heritage lighting plan, an inter6 modal transportation plan, and others of a like kind.

7 (c) OPERATIONS OF THE WHEELING NATIONAL

8 HERITAGE AREA CORPORATION.—In implementing the

9 Plan, the Corporation may make loans and grants to ap10 propriate public, governmental, or private entities and

11 enter into contracts with private or public entities using

12 funds appropriated for that purpose, or from funds do13 nated, or revenue generated from the operation of Area

14 resources, with these funds being used to—

15 (1) promote the City of Wheeling’s significant

16 heritage and resources;

17 (2) promote future growth for the City of

18 Wheeling in a manner consistent with its heritage,

19 resources, and the planning goals established for the

20 Heritage Area;

21 (3) ensure successful development of the Herit22 age Area and its principal features as specified in

23 the Plan and to undertake further planning and de24 sign as necessary to achieve this objective;
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1 (4) ensure the conservation of the region’s his2 torical, cultural, and natural resources;

3 (5) cooperate with and assist entities whose

4 goals and purposes are consistent with the goals and

5 purposes of the Corporation;

6 (6) manage and operate heritage facilities,

7 where appropriate;

8 (7) coordinate and support the activities of the

9 Corporation or its associates and the operation of

10 heritage and cultural tourism attractions in the re11 gion so as to create a unified project;

12 (8) encourage intergovernmental and inter13 agency cooperation in the achievement of these ob14 jectives;

15 (9) market the Heritage Area, the City of

16 Wheeling and its resources as a destination for

17 international, national, and regional visitors;

18 (10) provide technical assistance to cultural

19 heritage efforts and develop design standards for

20 physical sites and educational/interpretive programs;

21 (11) lead in efforts to educate the public about

22 the significance of these resources and the heritage

23 of the City of Wheeling (targeting visitors as well as

24 local residents);
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1 (12) promote local and regional development of

2 recreational opportunities, linkages, and facilities;

3 (13) accomplish the above in a way which will

4 promote economic development of the City of Wheel5 ing and the surrounding area;

6 (14) create public/private partnerships to fi7 nance projects and initiatives of the Heritage Area;

8 and

9 (15) seek funding from public (local, State and

10 Federal) agencies and private individuals, founda11 tions and corporations.

12 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE WHEELING NA13 TIONAL HERITAGE AREA CORPORATION.—Priority ele14 ments and actions to be carried out by the Corporation

15 include—

16 (1) assisting the State of West Virginia and the

17 City of Wheeling in appropriate preservation treat18 ment of the sites, buildings, and objects listed or eli19 gible for listing on the National Register of Historic

20 Places;

21 (2) increasing awareness and appreciation of

22 the City of Wheeling’s cultural heritage and ongoing

23 traditions;

24 (3) assisting the State of West Virginia or City

25 of Wheeling in designing, establishing, and main-
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1 taining one or more visitor centers and other inter2 pretive exhibits in the Area;

3 (4) assisting in the enhancement of public

4 awareness of an appreciation for the historical and

5 architectural and geological resources and sites in

6 the Area;

7 (5) assisting the State of West Virginia or any

8 local government or any nonprofit organization in

9 the restoration of any historic building in the Area;

10 (6) encouraging, by appropriate means, en11 hanced economic and industrial development in the

12 Area in furtherance of the goals of the Plan;

13 (7) encouraging the City of Wheeling and other

14 local governments to adopt land use policies consist15 ent with the goals of the Plan and to take actions

16 to implement those policies; and

17 (8) ensuring that clear, consistent signs identi18 fying access points and sites of interest are put in

19 place.

20 SEC. 8. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

21 (a) PURPOSE.—To carry out the purposes of this Act,

22 the Secretary of the Interior shall—

23 (1) assist the Corporation in the development of

24 interpretive and educational materials as specified in
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1 the Plan or subsequent planning efforts (for exam2 ple, the interpretive master plan); and

3 (2) provide funds for capital improvements to

4 projects and initial operating assistance consistent

5 with the Plan.

6 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall,

7 upon the request of the Corporation and as outlined in

8 the Plan, provide technical assistance to the Corporation

9 in the preparation of any plans or studies and for the im10 plementation of any plans as set out in section 7(b).

11 SEC. 9. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.

12 Any Federal department, agency or other entity con13 ducting or supporting activities directly affecting the Area

14 shall—

15 (1) consult with the Secretary of the Interior

16 and the Corporation with respect to such activities;

17 (2) cooperate with the Secretary of the Interior

18 and the Corporation in carrying out its duties under

19 this Act and, to the maximum extent practicable, co20 ordinate such activities with the carrying out of such

21 duties; and

22 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct

23 or support such activities in a manner which the

24 Corporation determines will not have an adverse af25 fect on the Area.
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1 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

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