MERCER COUNTY Scope of snow plan stirs surprise

The project would have Sharon and Farrell plowing some of each other's streets.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Mayor David O. Ryan was surprised when he learned of the scope of a proposed joint Sharon/Farrell snow and ice removal project approved by the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments.
Ryan said he knew COG was planning to file a state grant application for money to build a salt dome to be shared by the two cities, but he said he knew nothing about the application including money for four plow trucks and a plan for Sharon crews to do snow removal on some Farrell streets and Farrell crews to do the same on some Sharon streets.
"I'm not saying it's a bad idea," Ryan said this morning, but he said he doesn't know how COG could have filed the grant as finalized without the approval of the city's chief executive officer, who must sign all contracts and is the only one with authority to direct city workers.
COG approval
James DeCapua, COG executive director, said his board approved a $295,0000 grant application to the state Department of Community and Economic Development Wednesday.
It was a retroactive approval, because the grant had to be filed in Harrisburg on Friday, DeCapua said.
He said that Mayor William Morocco of Farrell and Fred Hoffman, Sharon City Council president and Sharon's COG representative, approved the plan.
DeCapua said the grant had to be put together quickly because he learned of the availability of the grant funds only Thursday.
Plan details
The project calls for the construction of a centrally located salt dome and four trucks, two for each city, DeCapua said.
He said that, during winter storms, Sharon crews would be expected to clean certain Farrell streets that are convenient to their plow routes, while Farrell would pick up some Sharon streets, particularly in the vicinity of Sherman and Baldwin avenues, commonly referred to as "the neck area" because the Sharon boundary juts south into Farrell along those streets.
Grant approval could come as early as June, DeCapua said. No local match is required for this funding, he said.
Ryan said he had already applied for a $59,000 state grant to build a salt storage facility in Sharon when DeCapua told him COG would seek a larger grant to build a dome for the two cities.
He said he told DeCapua to proceed with the COG grant but had no idea of the scope of involvement it proposed.