NEW CASTLE —
Cooperation pays.
That may be the theme of a new, ambitious effort to promote regionalism across four states. The area involved includes Lawrence County.
The concept offers opportunity to those willing to reach out and work together with others who share similar concerns and interests. But will it work?
An organization called the Power of 32 — an initiative designed to bring people together from 32 counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland — is banking on the notion that not only can it work, but it must work. The region’s future depends on it.
Why? Because there is strength in numbers. The bigger you are, the more clout you have in circles of political and economic power. The 32 counties covered by this initiative have a total population of 4.2 million.
By comparison, Lawrence County has around 94,000 residents. And dropping.
A driving force behind the Power of 32 is the simple fact that funding for all sorts of projects — ranging from education to research to water quality improvement — is more likely to go to larger, more influential areas that have their acts together.
Working alone, Lawrence County, or one of its municipalities, is likely to get lost in the funding shuffle.
Even the regional efforts that have been implemented to date — such as the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (which covers Lawrence and nine other counties in the commonwealth) — are not necessarily large enough to compete effectively for funding. Other regions that represent larger populations and enjoy better cooperation and organization are likely to fare better when it comes to competitive grants.
That’s the basic pitch for developing a broad-based regional approach. When you factor in assorted economic and social challenges, combined with a declining population, it’s intellectually easy to grasp that Lawrence County should latch on to this effort.
But making it happen is a far more complex process. Those of us who have spent years urging a more regional and cooperative approach to assorted issues know the impediments. Rolling out an even larger regional initiative won’t automatically produce better results.
The folks who are driving the Power of 32 are well aware of the challenges they face. They insist that a fundamental step toward their goal of regional cooperation is to have the public buy into it. Otherwise, it will fail.
To assist with this effort, the Power of 32 is conducting what it calls “community conversations” in the impacted counties. Locally, one of these sessions is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the New Castle Public Library.
We urge concerned citizens to attend this program and offer their input and ideas. We admit we don’t know how the efforts regarding the Power of 32 will pan out. But there is no doubt that the stakes involved are extremely high.
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