Slippery Rock Borough increases park contribution
SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock Parks and Recreation is on track to receive a one-time contribution of $36,000 from its three contributing bodies to help with rising park costs.
Borough officials voted 5-0 during a council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 20, to increase its 2026 contribution to Slippery Rock Parks and Recreation from $24,000 to $36,000. The increase is contingent upon Slippery Rock Township and Slippery Rock Area School District providing an equivalent contribution.
Slippery Rock Parks and Recreation is a nonprofit organization responsible for the Slippery Rock Community Park at 320 N. Main St. The board of directors that guides it comprises representatives from Slippery Rock borough, township and school district.
The three entities are each currently responsible for an annual contribution to the organization that increases by $500 each year. As of 2026, that contribution has reached $24,000 each for a total of $72,000.
Parks director and Councilman Denton Zeronas said the increase to $36,000 would be for 2026 alone, meaning the 2027 contribution would be set for $24,500.
Increasing these contributions above the requirement was first discussed at a December 2025 borough council meeting, where Zeronas and Mayor Jondavid Longo said they cover less than 20% of the park’s budget.
“I’ve said a few times that I believe we’re trying to offer Cranberry Township-level service and programming but we’re trying to do it on a Slippery Rock budget and they’re not commensurate of each other,” Longo said.
The borough refrained from voting on the increase during that meeting until further discussions could be had at a park board meeting.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Zeronas said both the township and district had delays in passing their own contribution increase, but both seemingly intended to do so at their next meeting.
“(The district) got pushed back. Similar thing with the township with that being pushed back. I know we’re going to be getting our original contributions from the township and school district here in the next week or so,” he said.
He added the current agreement between the borough, township and district is set to expire at the end of 2027, giving them a chance to negotiate a new annual contribution rate in the near future.
