MERCER COUNTY Committee to put funds toward study

WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. -- The Mercer County Industrial Development Authority has agreed to give the Shenango Valley Intergovernmental Study Committee $5,000.
The committee plans to use the money to help pay the Pennsylvania Economy League for coordinating a consolidation study for five area municipalities, said Robert Jazwinski.
Jazwinski made the request on behalf of the committee at an MCIDA meeting Friday at The Radisson Hotel.
He said the study will cost $100,000 and that other groups, including the Shenango Valley Foundation, have contributed funds; the committee also anticipates receiving about $60,000 from the state.
He said he expects the bulk of the study to be completed by the end of the year.
The study is looking at consolidation or enhanced sharing of services among Sharon, Hermitage, Farrell, Wheatland and Sharpsville.
The committee rose out of Farrell's designation as a state distressed community, a designation that required it to develop a recovery plan that included asking neighboring municipalities to consider merging or consolidating.