REVITALIZATION FUNDS Association seeks role in development

The group would help direct how a $325,000 revitalization grant is spent.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The Sharon/Farrell Neighborhood Association wants to be the residential group of record, should the city succeed in securing a $325,000 state residential revitalization grant.
Farrell will apply for the funding through the Elm Street section of the state's New Communities Program next week, and the Sharon/Farrell Weed & amp; Seed program is the organizing agency for the project.
Randy Williams, city community development director, told the Sharon/Farrell Neighborhood Association meeting here Friday that the state requires an active and participating residential group helping to direct how and where the money will be spent.
"We really want the Sharon/Farrell Neighborhood Association to be a big part of Elm Street," said LaVerne Peterson, president of the group. The association wants to be the residential group of record on the project, she said.
Weed & amp; Seed
Marcia Brown, one of the coordinators of the local Weed & amp; Seed program, said Weed & amp; Seed wants the same thing. The association will be the residential group helping to direct the project, she said.
Farrell Councilwoman Olive Brown, one of the founders of the local Weed & amp; Seed effort, supported that position. There's no need to form a new community group when an active one exists, she said.
The association, formed several years ago, has been an active part of the Weed & amp; Seed effort and has been working to clean up neighborhoods along the Farrell/Sharon city line.
Peterson said her organization would like to see the Elm Street grant spread across the 60-block area encompassed in the Weed & amp; Seed program along that same border.
Williams said the grant would include $25,000 for planning, $50,000 to hire a program manager and $250,000 for actual revitalization work.
That could include landscaping, sidewalks, facade improvements and general beautification of a targeted area, he said.
HOME grant
Williams said the city is also applying for a state HOME Program grant, which would hopefully provide between $250,000 and $350,000 for housing rehabilitation work.
Farrell is submitting that grant application at the same time as the Elm Street application, he said, noting that the joint approach to community revitalization should be viewed favorably by the state, he said.
Unlike the Elm Street money, Farrell City Council will have the sole discretion on how and where the HOME money will be spent, he said.
Peterson said her organization has put together a pilot beautification project for the 900 and 1000 blocks of Hamilton Avenue in Farrell. It includes landscaping, new sidewalks and facade improvements, she aid, adding that she hopes Elm Street money will be used to fund the project.
gwin@vindy.com