Park named after longtime council president in Bethel Park

In 1995, a Bethel Park resident in his early 30s attended a public hearing to address the possible placement of lights at a municipal park near his home.

Called Village Green Park at the time, the recreational area at the end of Alicia Drive has a new name:

Moury Park.

A sign to that effect was unveiled during a March 2 event honoring Tim Moury, who served on Bethel Park Council for 28 years, serving most of the time as president. He decided against seeking reelection last year, and at the start of 2024, John Oakes became the first new council president since Moury was elected to the position in November 1996.

“During his tenure, he was a driving force behind many of the wonderful recreational amenities that we now enjoy,” Oakes said, citing construction of the Bethel Park Community Center as an example. “With his guidance, grant funding and community partnerships were pursued in helping bring this project to fruition, and all within the current budget at that time.”

Other projects completed while Moury was in office include the development of Millennium Park and the Bethel Park spur of the Montour Trail, construction of a new public works facility, implementation of a dedicated fire tax and building a new Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company main station.

For Moury, such accomplishments represent the work of a team.

“I always followed the one rule, and it’s to do the right thing. It may not seem like that, but that’s what we always try to do as a council,” he said. “While the early days were a challenge, I looked at my role as a facilitator: How do I take the ideas of the community, ideas of council, staff, and how do I come up with a plan to get it done?”

Municipal manager Kristen Denne credited his success in that regard.

“I can say there are very few people who can accomplish what Mr. Moury can, and that is, one, being an idea person, and two, being a person who executes those ideas,” she said.

“We work with a lot of people who have great ideas, but overcoming the barriers and the issues and the political opposition to make those things happen takes years,” Denne continued. “Mr. Moury has patiently found a way to build on all of the partnerships and the relationships that he has within the community to make these things a success, this park being one of them.”

Although the park dedication took place on a rainy Saturday morning, a large crowed turned out to on Moury’s behalf. State Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, and Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Peters, presented him with certificates of congratulations from their respective chambers.

Barry Christenson, Bethel Park School Board president, spoke about the district’s relationship with Moury.

“In Tim’s mind, it’s not municipality versus school or anything,” he said. “It’s about how both entities can work together to make Bethel Park a great place to live.”

That perspective came in handy when trying to reach consensus among council members, the two dozen or so with whom Moury served. As one of them, the late John Pape, would remind him:

“Just remember, you may be president, but you’re still only one vote.”