CRANBERRY TWP — Township officials are pursuing state funding in anticipation of possibly moving forward with plans for a potential recreation, arts and cultural engagement center.

During an agenda preparation meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25, supervisors authorized the submission of a $1,483,600 grant request to the Electronic Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget.

If approved, the grant would help fund portions of site development work for the proposed facility.

In late June, officials agreed to a $42,500 contract with Sports Facilities Companies to conduct a feasibility study to gauge market demand and weigh economic cost against the benefits of a new center.

That company is working alongside the township’s newly formed ad hoc recreation, arts and cultural committee.

“We’re working with the advisory committee and working through the process,” township manager Dan Santoro said. “We’re getting community public input on what it might look like and what the program might be.”

Santoro said the study’s results will determine what steps, if any, are taken next.

“I expect there to be a formal recommendation from that advisory committee to the board by the end of this year in advance of adoption of the budget,” he said.

Part of the process also involves determining where the new facility should be located and which programs would serve the greatest number of residents.

Santoro described the grant request as an “anticipatory move,” with the outcome likely to align with the timing of the study’s recommendation.

“By the time they (state officials) make these decisions, the recommendation will be moving forward,” he said.