Commissioners put off decision about signing beach lease

Only one commissioner spoke in favor of renewing the lease on the property.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- A decision on whether the Chestnut Run Swim Beach will remain open has been delayed until late May.
During the Mercer County commissioners meeting Thursday, they received a phone call from an Army Corps of Engineers official notifying them the corps will wait until the commissioners' May 27 meeting for a decision. The lease on the popular 75-acre beach at Shenango River Lake expired in 2002 and has been renewed on a monthly basis since then. The corps has been pressing commissioners to sign another 25-year agreement. Commissioners also have let lapse an operational agreement with the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments, which runs the beach for the county.
But at their meeting Thursday, Commissioner Brian Beader found no support when he offered a motion to sign the lease with the corps as long as the county is no longer responsible to COG to pay 75 percent of any operating deficit for the facility.
Neither Commissioner Michele Brooks nor Olivia Lazor would second the motion. Brooks said the county has been trying to talk the corps into a lease for a shorter term but has been unsuccessful. Lazor said she would like to look into other funding sources to make up the county's share.
Handling beach's budget
For many years, COG has combined funding from several sources for the beach's $59,000 operating budget. Because one important source is admission fees, bad weather can result in deficits. Last year was particularly bad with flooding problems, forcing the beach to close for part of the season.
Commissioners, who have a tight budget to begin with, are unwilling to guarantee they will continue to pay for deficits, which have been as high as $20,000. In 2003, the county refused to pay the $18,000 COG wanted. This year, the county budgeted nothing for the facility.
In addition, the lease agreement with the corps makes the county responsible for capital expenditures at the facility, which includes a parking lot, bathhouse, sewer system and other facilities.
But county involvement is required because the corps will not lease the facility directly to COG, only to the county.
The beach draws between 25 and 600 swimmers daily during the summer.
Other actions
Also Thursday, commissioners agreed to designate an additional 8.6 acres of the Reynolds East Business Park in Hempfield Township as a Keystone Opportunity Zone for an expansion by VEC Technology. The expansion will add about 50,000 square feet, cost $4 million to $6 million and create 30 to 50 full-time jobs. The tax abatement, which will be granted for the expansion area, will run through 2013. Hempfield Township and the Greenville School District have already agreed to abate their share of taxes.
In other business, commissioners:
UHired Black, Bashor & amp; Porsch, Sharon accountants, to audit the county for calendar year 2003 and Children & amp; Youth Services for fiscal year 2004. Contract amount for the two audits will not exceed $50,900.
UApproved a contract with Bayada Nurses, Pittsburgh, for services for a client with mental retardation of Mercer County Mental Health/Mental Retardation. Cost is limited to $43,000.
UAppointed Carmella Ansinger of Hermitage to a three-year term on the Mercer County Commission for Women.
UHired Adam Bryan and Brian Roch, both of Hermitage, as part-time summer help for the bridge department at $8.57 per hour and Janet Nichols of Mercer as a caseworker intern at $25,464 annually.