CONSOLIDATION 3 municipalities voted down plan

People had diverse reasons for voting for or against the issue.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Only two of the five Shenango Valley municipalities voting on a municipal consolidation plan in Tuesday's election supported the measure.
All five had to pass it or it died. Sharon and Farrell supported it but not by particularly strong margins. Unofficial returns gathered by the Mercer County Board of Elections showed it passed by fewer than 300 votes in each city.
Hermitage, Sharpsville and Wheatland all voted it down.
Martha Sanders of Emerson Avenue, Farrell, a former Farrell councilwoman, said she opposed the consolidation "because of the length of time it took for African-Americans to hold public office in Farrell."
Blacks didn't get elected to city or school board positions for many years, she said, but now there are three on city council and five on the school board.
Consolidating with five other municipalities with predominantly white residents would eliminate the chance for public service for black residents, she said. They wouldn't be able to get elected, she said.
Sanders said she feels Farrell can attract business and economic development on its own and can survive without consolidating with its neighbors.
More opposition
Dale Dresch of Sharpsville voted against the referendum, too, but not because he's opposed to consolidation.
"It's too late now. They should have started it 10 years ago. Then, maybe they would have had consolidation," Dresch said.
The move should also have involved local schools, not just municipal governments, before the schools embarked on major building programs that have resulted in millions of dollars in bond debt for their residents, he said.
Sharon, Hermitage and Sharpsville have all had building projects, and Farrell is looking at borrowing money now to upgrade its facilities.
Dresch said it was also a mistake to set the consolidation up as an "all or nothing" vote where rejection by one municipality would kill the deal.
Hermitage officials said up front they wouldn't go along, so the referendum was a waste of time and effort, he said.
CIndy Clarke of Sharpsville thought consolidation was a good idea and she voted for it.
"It was going to help Sharpsville," she said, anticipating a reduction in property taxes by joining the governments.
Identity
Her mother, Mary Bentley of Sharon, voted against the issue. She wants to keep the community's identity.
"I want it to be Sharon. I want it to stay like it is," Bentley said, adding that a lot of older people she knows also opposed the idea of consolidation.
Gloria Williams of Sharon, who lived in Farrell at one time, wasn't looking for a tax break when she voted for consolidation.
"It's time for some cities to get together," Williams said, explaining she saw consolidation as an opportunity for local communities to pull together.
Vernon Struckman of Sharon didn't vote on the issue.
He felt it wouldn't matter much, suggesting, "They're going to do what they want to do anyway."
gwin@vindy.com