Shenango Valley Initiative believes two experts on regional issues can help residents here look at the proposed merger of communities from a different angle.

With Farrell, Sharon, Hermitage, Sharpsville and Wheatland studying whether to merge or consolidate into one community, the initiative, a faith-based community development group, has formed a shadow task force to address the question from what it calls a social justice perspective.

As part of SVI's endeavor, it has invited John Powell, chairman of the University of Minnesota Law School's Institute on Race and Poverty and David Rusk, a former New Mexico legislator and former Albuquerque mayor, to take part in a two-day regional summit.

Powell and Rusk will be in town June 17 and 18.

SVI Director Bob Clarke said the schedule for the summit has not been worked out, but he expects they will meet with elected officials, business people, clergy and members of the intergovernmental study committee and participate in a public forum.

SVI hopes Powell and Rusk, who is a son of former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, can help residents weigh the pros and cons of a proposed merger or consolidation from the standpoint of poverty, housing, land use, government waste, disparities of tax millage and other factors, said the Rev. Myles Bradley, pastor of First United Methodist Church, Sharon, and chairman of the SVI task force.

The intergovernmental study committee has not recommended that a change of boundaries be made or that the current municipalities remain. Its subcommittees are completing their reports on creating a model government for a possible consolidation.

Powell and Rusk have spoken of their roles as holding a mirror up to the residents of the Shenango Valley, SVI officials said.

Powell founded the Institute on Race and Poverty, which looks at how American institutions have created pockets of racial segregation mixed with poverty, and is former national legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Rusk is a former employee of the Washington Urban League and the U.S. Department of Labor, and wrote the book "In Cities Without Suburbs."

Clarke said it will cost $12,000 to hold the summit, and is hoping the communities in the intergovernmental study committee will help financially.

SVI approached Farrell council Monday and Clarke said the other communities will be addressed at upcoming meetings. Businesses and foundations also are being asked to contribute.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at jpinchot@sharon-herald.com