Plans for new South Fayette municipal building, community center move forward

South Fayette commissioners hosted a public meeting Tuesday as the first step in drafting a strategic plan for the township.

Commissioners listed facilities, economic development, public safety, infrastructure, finances, operations and parks and recreation as the issues to address. They also agreed to prioritize facilities and began discussing a new municipal building and a recreation center.

Plans for a new municipal building have gestated for years. Commissioners and residents agreed a new building is the answer as they have outgrown the 515 Millers Run Road facility. Township administration and police share the building with South Fayette Township Library and the senior citizens center.

Many expressed frustration that the police department, especially, has had to work with too little space.

Creating a recreation center, a project that also has been in the planning stage for years, was discussed.

Commissioners agreed they do not want to hire an outside consultant to plan the center or propose a location. Commissioner Joe Horowitz lamented they received a proposal previously and did not like the results.

“The community center plan was terrible, and the Star City plan was worse,” Horowitz said, referring to the original proposed location of the center.

Horowitz said the price tag of the ambitious project was almost $30 million, an amount commissioners found shocking and were unwilling to spend.

The public works facility also was discussed. Public Works director Butch Truitt agreed with the assessment that the current building is still feasible with some work and expansion. It is next door to the municipal building and is well-suited to the area, which is mostly industrial.

Commissioners agreed to explore other locations for a new municipal building, which also would be home to the police department. They have yet to decide if the community center will be a part of the same building or in another location, and where the library will be located.

Library Director Ben Hornfeck said the library is best served being in a building with other township services.

Resident Jared Imperatore told commissioners they first need to decide what features they want in a recreation center and what the needs are for a new municipal building before making further plans.

Township Manager John Barrett said he will begin looking at the needs of departments, especially police, with staff and police Chief John Phoennik.

Horowitz also asked for more meetings next year to ensure the project moves forward. He said having a concrete plan by the end of 2020 is a realistic goal.