A merger of the Butler and Beaver counties’ mental health associations will not take place.

The board of the Beaver County Mental Health Association told the Butler County Mental Health Association that it no longer wants to merge.

Gwilym Price, a member of the Butler association’s board, said that the board was told June 27 of the decision. He said the board was disappointed by the announcement.

“We were really enthusiastic about the merger,” Price said.

The Beaver board told Butler that it decided against the merger because the process was not allowing their management team to focus on the needs in Beaver.

Price said although the board is disappointed about Beaver’s decision, the board understands the difficulty of a volunteer board keeping services going while undergoing a process such as a merger.

Both associations in March hired Joe Cook, who has been the executive director of the Beaver association for five years. At Butler, he replaced Pam Grabe, who retired after 32 years as the executive director. Cook’s contract said he would run Butler for six months.

Price said that Beaver will continue to supply management support. The contract with Cook runs through September, but Price said it is possible that he will stay longer if needed.

Price said there are several possibilities in the future that may be discussed. One is hiring a new executive director. Another is the possibility of joint management with another small, nonprofit group.