Farrell and Sharon municipal and school officials have agreed to form a committee to fill out an application for a Pennsylvania Weed and Seed grant.

"I think the probability of us is pretty good," Farrell Mayor William Morocco said of his city’s involvement. He said council has been supportive in past discussions.

Sharon Mayor Robert T. Price stopped short of saying the city had made a commitment to apply, noting that council has not been consulted.

Price said he likes the program and believes it would rid the cities of some of their drug problems.

"I think if we can do that and can do that together, we’ll be ahead of the game," he said.

Weed and Seed grants fund a two-part program to improve the quality of life in a community that suffers from blight, high poverty and unemployment.

The program opens with a law enforcement crackdown aimed at ridding an area of violent felons, illegal firearms and drugs, the so-called "weeds." State and local police work together, and the grant pays for a policeman and an assistant district attorney to oversee law enforcement efforts.

The seed part of the program kicks in after the initial police crackdown to address problems -- such as housing, after-school activities for children and infant mortality -- identified by program organizers. New programs could be started or existing agencies could focus their efforts on the area.

Weed and Seed programs are run in an area of 6,000 to 10,000 people and 45 to 80 square blocks.

With the Shenango Valley’s close borders between communities, organizers have identified contiguous areas of Sharon and Farrell that would benefit the most from the program.

The anti-drug coalition Endorse Resistance of All Substance Abuse Everywhere has pushed for a Weed and Seed program in its efforts to improve a section of Farrell.

"We are very pleased," ERASE Co-Chairwoman Olive Brown said of discussions so far. "It is going to come together and Sharon and Farrell are going to work together."

ERASE invited Weed and Seed Director Carl J. Anderson to speak at a meeting, and hosted a follow-up meeting Tuesday.

State police and various county officials have attended the meetings and offered support.

"No one has anything negative to say about it," said Yolanda Cooper, ERASE’s coalition coordinator. "No one said, ‘What’s in it for me?’ They all wanted to cooperate."

Price said until applications are sent in March, there’s little for organizers to do. He said council would be consulted at that time.

Organizers still have to work out local funding to match the state grant, which provides 75 percent of the budget the first year, 50 percent the second and 25 percent the third.

Price said an obvious source, the cities’ Community Development Block Grants, are allocated for this year.

"We have to find some innovative ways to find funding," he said. "It’s a challenge that can be overcome."

Morocco said he’s amazed at the state’s willingness to allow a wide array of funding to be used as a match, including other state grants.

"It seems to me to have so many locks off it and be a door-opener to other things that it’s too good to be true," he said.