Mercer County Housing Authority has received two proposals from firms that want to run the learning center and day-care program at Sharpsville Gardens community center.

Keystone SMILES of Knox, Pa., the current center operator, and Susan Solomon of Sharon submitted proposals said authority Executive Director L. DeWitt Boosel.

Keystone SMILES oversaw renovation of the center, which serves the public housing community, in late 1999 and early 2000, and has run it since then.

The learning center offers school readiness and after-school programs, a computer lab, and a food program serving breakfast and lunch.

"The learning center is a big asset for the community," Boosel told the board earlier this month. "The child-care side has been struggling."

Keystone SMILES' contract to operate the center has expired and has been extended on a month-to-month basis until a new contract is awarded.

The authority has been using a federal drug-elimination grant to run the center. The federal government is scrapping the drug-elimination program, and the authority's money runs out in June. The contractor would run the center until then.