HERMITAGE Petition against study grows

City officials said they have no intention of quitting the study now.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- The list of city residents wanting Hermitage to drop out of a five-municipality intergovernmental merger/consolidation study is growing.
Opponents of the study presented city commissioners with petitions bearing an additional 325 signatures Wednesday.
They had given the city 700 signatures in July.
James Bralski of Fairfield Drive handed over the petitions on both occasions.
He had asked city commissioners to vote to drop out of the study in July and repeated that request at Wednesday's meeting, said city Manager Gary Hinkson.
Although commissioners expressed some frustration with delays in getting the study done, they gave no indication they are willing to back out now.
Hinkson said they plan to stay involved in the process until the study is completed.
Until then, they won't know what, if any, benefits a merger might offer, he said.
The study, launched nearly three years ago, was supposed to only take only 18 months.
It is now supposed to be finished in time for the issue to be put on the ballot as a referendum question in November 2003, provided that the study committee recommends that course of action.
The communities of Hermitage, Farrell, Sharon, Sharpsville and Wheatland are participating.
Other issues
In other matters, the commissioners:
Heard a complaint from residents of Greenwood Avenue who are opposed to plans to put a two-section modular home on a lot on their street, fearing it will lower property values. Hinkson said the project met municipal zoning requirements and the city had no choice but to issue a building permit. Opponents of that decision can appeal the case to the city's Zoning Hearing Board, he said.
Awarded a $26,600 contract to Pashek Associates of Pittsburgh to update the city's Comprehensive Recreation, Park and Open Space Plan. In addition to a review of programs and space, the contract calls for Pashek to determine how the National Guard Armory next to the city building might fit into recreational plans, examine a possible partnership between the city and the YMCA, determine if the closed River Road Landfill can be used to meet recreational needs and look at facilities for girls softball as well as a skate park.