Shenango Township manager urges Lawrence County to boost liquid-fuel allocation after merger

Al Burick, Shenango Township manager, asked the Lawrence County Commissioners on May 5 to consider allocating a doubled share of county liquid-fuel funds to the township after its recent merger with South Newcastle borough. He said the merger closed but brought no recurring state incentives and left the township with a backlog of roads in poor condition.

"The merger was successful but what we realized is there's not a lot of carrots from the state or anywhere for doing the merger," Burick said, adding that a one-time grant covered about $65,000 in legal and zoning costs but did not address road maintenance. He detailed a paving plan that will resurface most roads in the former borough except streets that were paved within the last two years.

Commissioners and Amy McKenna of the planning office discussed that South Newcastle, now part of the township, is no longer separately eligible to apply for county CDBG funds and likely saw only a nominal change in its allocation. McKenna said the planning office received roughly 15–17 liquid-fuel applications this year and is compiling them into a spreadsheet for review.

McKenna told the board she would schedule a meeting with county staff to review the liquid-fuel applications in the next one to two weeks. Commissioners noted scheduling constraints around the primary election and said allocations would be computed by dividing available funds among applications, consistent with recent practices where municipalities have received similar shares.

The commissioners did not make a formal commitment at the meeting but indicated they would review the township's situation during their allocation process. The county clerk (Ryan) and planning staff will follow up to set a review meeting.

The matter will return for formal consideration when the county completes its application review and allocation spreadsheet.