Council seeks grant for trail

SHARPSVILLE, Pa. -- Borough council is seeking a state grant to build a gravel hiking trail that will link its park off High Street along the Shenango River with the breastwork of the Shenango Dam.
The park is about a quarter mile downstream from the dam and features the only local surviving stone lock of the Erie Extension Canal, which ran through the Shenango Valley in the early 1800s.
Council approved filing an application with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for between $20,000 and $25,000 to build the hiking trail along the west side of the river.
Sidewalk approved: Council also agreed to file an application seeking between $45,000 and $60,000 in Pennsylvania Department of Transportation grant money to build a sidewalk from the borough park at the Sharpsville Plaza north along Walnut Street to the Shenango River bridge.
Borough Manager Michael Wilson said that project will also involve building a soil retaining wall along Mercer County Housing Authority property near the intersection of Walnut and East Shenango streets.
The authority apartment complex is on a hill overlooking Walnut Street, and the hill will have to be cut back to make room for the sidewalk, Wilson said. That grant will also be used to pay for a retaining wall in the municipal building parking lot at Walnut and Main streets.
The municipal building is built into a hillside and earth from the hill continues to slide down toward the parking lot, Wilson said.