While several development projects were pitched to Gov. Ed Rendell on his visit to Mercer County Thursday, one was given top nod by a local Democratic leader.

"I told him our priority was buying greenfield sites for industrial parks along Interstates I-79 and I-80,'' said Dick Miller, a Greenville businessman who coordinated Rendell's local trip. "We know this needs to be done. We're going to do this with or without him.''

In a private 45-minute meeting at the Mercer County Career Center in Coolspring Township, more than a dozen business and political leaders got a chance to talk with Rendell. Miller pushed Rendell for $5 million so the Mercer County Industrial Development Authority can begin buying and developing land along the interstate corridor.

Speaking after the meeting, Miller said Rendell seemed to cotton to the idea.

"With Interstate 80 being the most heavily traveled highway in the state, I told Rendell we're the gateway to the West,'' Miller said.

Overall, Miller said he liked what he heard and saw from the governor and local participants at the meeting.

"I'm very proud of my fellow countians,'' Miller said.

Rendell has been hopscotching throughout western Pennsylvania in recent days and has been handed a mountain load of development wish lists ranging from bus stations to industrial parks. Erie County's wish list alone totaled $136 million.

Mercer County's requests were in the modest neighborhood of $13 million. That was on purpose, Miller said, to show Rendell that Mercer County's projects are realistic, rather than trying for outlandish developments which have no chance of ever getting started.

With I-80 stretching the entire width of the state, Mercer County has stiff competition when it comes to developing land along that highway, said Charles "Chuck'' Bestwick, chairman of MCIDA.

"That's why we're selling both I-79 and I-80, which makes our sale a little easier,'' Bestwick said.

During the meeting, Rendell promised to approve a $1 million grant for Premier Hydraulics Inc.'s expansion in Farrell, which will create 30 jobs. The project was previously approved by the state, but the funds have been frozen because of the state's ongoing budget crisis.

Other projects talked about were a $2 million grant for Duferco Farrell Corp. for its pickle line and reheat metal project and a $1 million grant for Detroit-based West Bank to establish a metal-brazing plant in Farrell. A $500,000 grant for Farrell's revitalization was also discussed.

Rachel Martin, executive director of the Career Center, made a pitch for a northwestern Pennsylvania regional technical center. Rendell indicated he would provide funding for a study of such a school.

But, creating new industrial parks was on the minds of many. Penn-Northwest Development Corp., the county's lead economic development agency, has a goal of 1,000 acres for industrial parks over the next decade.

Larry Reichard, executive director of Penn-Northwest, said he liked what he heard at Thursday's meeting.

"All in all, I thought it was a positive,'' Reichard said.

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