SHENANGO ENTERPRISE ZONE Board searching for new coordinator

Thomas Stanton said he plans to run for president of the agency's board.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The coordinator of the Shenango Valley Enterprise Zone Corp. has resigned, saying the agency's executive committee didn't like the job he was doing.
Thomas Stanton, who is also the mayor of Wheatland, has served as coordinator for the quasi-government organization since August 1993, and at one time also served as its chairman.
The zone's board of directors agreed at a meeting Wednesday to accept the resignation and advertise for a new coordinator to handle liaison work between the agencies and companies who are seeking or have secured Enterprise Zone loans.
Reasons for leaving: Stanton told The Vindicator the board's executive committee gave him an evaluation two months ago in which it questioned his work and whether he was earning the $1,000 monthly salary the job pays.
Stanton said he feels the job has been stripped of all authority and believed it best to resign effective June 30. Mayor Robert T. Price of Sharon, board president, declined to comment on Stanton's resignation or the reason for it.
Mayor William Morocco of Farrell tried to raise questions about it, suggesting a committee be appointed to look at the evaluation process, but Stanton asked him to drop the subject.
Stanton said he's not giving up his position as a Wheatland representative to the zone's board of directors, and heplans to run for board president when it becomes vacant June 30.
Price, who is leaving his mayoral post at the end of the year, said he won't be seeking another term as president of the Enterprise Zone board.
Zone activities: The Enterprise Zone, originally formed by a group of municipalities and funded by state grants to provide low-interest loans to new or expanding industries, incorporated as a private entity a year ago and no longer gets state grant funds.
Its loan program is self-sustaining with loan repayments used to create loans. The member municipalities still exercise some control over the agency in terms of board membership and zone boundaries, but the agency's executive committee now runs the program.