MERCER COUNTY COG seeks U.S. grant for beach

Commissioners don't want to re-sign a lease for the beach complex if they have to keep funding it.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The Mercer County Regional Council of Governments will apply for a $27,000 federal grant to begin allowing certain low- and moderate-income county residents to use the Chestnut Run Swim Beach for free.
The beach, off state Route 846 on Shenango River Lake, was opened 25 years ago, with Mercer County holding a lease for the land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
James DeCapua, COG executive director, said the lease expired in November and the county commissioners, who are experiencing severe budget problems for next year, have indicated they don't want to re-sign the lease if the county must continue to support the operation financially.
COG runs the beach for the county, but the county puts in $10,000 a year for operational costs plus is responsible for 75 percent of any operating deficit should the beach fail to break even, DeCapua said.
Grant: Faced with losing the lease, DeCapua said the COG executive board voted Wednesday to apply for a $27,000 federal Community Development Block Grant that would enable COG to open the beach three days a week free of charge to low- and moderate-income county residents who live in the county's public housing.
It would also provide that target group with free transportation to and from the beach via the Shenango Valley Shuttle Service.
"It's an eligible expense," DeCapua said this morning, explaining that the CDBG program must be used to benefit low-income people.
Mercer County gets a CDBG allocation each year and accepts applications from local municipalities and other groups seeking to tap some of those funds.
DeCapua said COG's application will seek funding from that same source.
The grant would more than cover the county's annual expense related to the beach and thereby allow the commissioners to re-sign the lease without incurring further costs next year, he said.
Budget: In other business, the COG executive board approved an operating budget of $288,000 for 2002.
That's up about $30,000 over this year, but most of that increase is from COG programs to hire a contractor to maintain and repair all COG facilities and to provide vehicle maintenance and repair services to Southwest Mercer County Regional Police Department.