MERCER COUNTY Acreage added to tax break zone

The acreage added is in five locations.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- Mercer County commissions designated an additional 141 acres as Keystone Opportunity Zones.
The designation makes the land available for development with state and local tax abatements for several years.
The additions Thursday included land at five sites:
U50 more acres at the Reynolds Industrial Park in Pymatuning and Hempfield Townships.
U50 more acres at the Moroco Partnership in the Broadway Industrial Corridor in Hermitage.
U32 acres at Cooper Industrial Commons, a Grove City brownfield industrial site being redeveloped as a multitenant facility.
UFour more acres at Cattron in Sharpsville, where the industry and adjacent vacant land are targeted for growth.
UFive acres adjacent to Bucks Fabricating in Sandy Creek Township; the acreage is for company expansion.
The new sites will be added to the 1,250 acres previously designated as tax abatement zones under the program.
Being removed
Dennis Puko, director of Mercer County Regional Planning Commission, noted that 12.7 acres are being removed from the opportunity zone designation so the acres can be designated elsewhere in the county. They include a 9.4-acre site in Hermitage that is under a power line, and the 3.3 acre Farrell City Building site, which has not drawn any interest from developers.
Of the newly designated sites, those in Grove City, Hermitage, Sharpsville, and Sandy Creek Township will have the tax abatement through the year 2010, and the ones in Hempfield and Pymatuning Townships are designated through 2013. The number of years was decided by the local taxing authorities, who must agree to waiving the taxes.
Computer network
Also Thursday, commissioners approved joining a computer network that will link local police with state and federal officials for information sharing. One result will be that fingerprint check results will be made available to county police departments within minutes. It takes weeks now to get the results of a fingerprint check, which could allow release on bail of prisoners wanted for serious crimes elsewhere.
Commissioners named Tracy Schliep of Sharon to a three-year term on the Mercer County Commission for Women.