Supervisor Mazzoni loves libraries and they love him back

Bruce Mazzoni, who has served on Cranberry’s Board of Supervisors for the last three years, was just named “Public Official of the Year” by a statewide library organization in Harrisburg. It caught him by surprise – the result of a hush-hush nomination by the Cranberry Library’s board. Bruce is a long-time resident of our community who, along with his wife Conni, used to regularly bring their now-grown daughters to the library. That eventually led to an invitation to join the Library’s board, which, in turn, marked the start of Bruce’s amazing public service to the Township and ultimately to his election as a Township Supervisor. Although he had to step down from the Library board upon becoming a Supervisor, his support for the Library continued in a number of important ways, which included work with the County library board, advocacy for library projects, and his own personal generosity. So the recent award was a well-deserved honor. And it has been an honor for me and for everyone else on the Township’s staff to work with a Board made up of people who are so incredibly committed to the quality of life of our community. Way to go, Bruce!

Cranberry’s stepping into the world of social media

What’s the best way to reach you? That’s a question our Board and a lot of our staff members have been asking. And the answer seems to depend on two things. One is the type of information – for instance, an announcement for an upcoming concert may be handled differently than an alert about a road closure. The other factor is the personal media preference of each individual; some people are big on text messaging, some people hate it. And so on. So we did a survey earlier this year and determined that we needed to use a mix of different media to reach people. As a result, in addition to our more established channels – the website, CranberryToday, news releases, and email – we’ve gotten into social media, including this blog. We’ve got a presence now on Facebook. We’re on Twitter. And we’re using a new Twitter-like service called Nixle, which is reserved for urgent and emergency-type announcements. You can sign on for any of these from our home page. They’re all free. And we hope they will help us stay in touch.

When do you call 911?

by Lt. Kevin Meyer, Cranberry Police Department

Everyone knows that 911 is the number to call for an emergency response, anywhere in the country. So if you have a serious situation – a fire, a wreck, a burglary, or so on – that’s who you call and that’s the number you teach your kids to call. But what if it’s not really an emergency? What if it’s a request for some other service, like getting a cat down from a tree, or help getting into your locked car, or your dog ran away, or someone’s blocking your driveway? What then? That’s a 911 call, too. The only time you would use the Cranberry Police Department’s administrative phone number, 724-776-5180, ext. 5, is to request a copy of a police report. For everything else, call 911. Why? So they can be documented to make sure no calls are overlooked.

Cranberry Woods sale confirms the value of planning

Late last month, the entire Cranberry Woods Business Park complex, except for its Westinghouse, MSA and Regional Learning Alliance campuses, was sold to a Pittsburgh-based investment group. Altogether, it included 460,000 square feet of office space, and it sold for $89.5 million. If you do the math, that’s a little more than $185 per square foot. But, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times, the average price per square foot for suburban Class A office space in western Pennsylvania today is just $90, and in downtown Pittsburgh it’s $67. That’s a huge difference, and it didn’t simply happen. Way back in the early ‘90s, our Board of Supervisors worked with MSA on creating the vision for a world-class business park capable of competing with the Carolinas for knowledge-based industries. It became part of our 1995 comprehensive plan. And over the following years, we worked hard to implement that plan. I think it’s fair to say that the recent sale of Cranberry Woods validates the merit of formulating a vision and following it through.

What’s the deal with Cranberry’s Internet/Video service providers?

A lot of people want to know: when is Cranberry going to get more TV/Internet services? And why are we stopping this or that service from being offered in the Township? The fact is, Cranberry has been actively recruiting video and Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, to provide their services here. It’s purely a business decision by each provider. Local governments have to approve the use of public rights-of-way to install lines and vaults, and we’ve done so with both Armstrong and Consolidated Communications. We’ve also invited Verizon and Embarq to offer those services as well. And while we haven’t heard back yet, we anticipate that they will begin offering them sometime in the foreseeable future. The bottom line is that the Township is poised to help all the ISPs offer their services to Cranberry customers on the same footing. It gets complicated, but if you have any questions, give me a call: 724-776-4806.

What will change when Waste Management arrives in Cranberry?

Nothing. For the last five years, Vogel Disposal has done a great job of working with Cranberry in setting up the Collection Connection residential solid waste program. Last month, the Board of Supervisors took bids on a contract for the next five years, and Waste Management came in with the best price. So they’re getting the contract. But except for the color of the trucks going by your street, nothing’s going to change when Waste Management starts collecting in November. You’ll put out the same carts, recycle the same material, use the same 65¢ bag tags, get billed the same way, and have your trash collected on the same days you’re already familiar with. It’s going to be a big non-event. But I do want to thank our associates at Vogel for helping us pioneer a real breakthrough program which has become a model for all of Pennsylvania. Collection Connection has been a tremendous success and we are pleased to have had such a strong partner in that effort.

Traffic enforcement - Not a revenue generator for the Township

Sometimes people will tell me that the only reason the Township is having its Police write traffic tickets is because we need the revenue. Nothing could be further from the truth. If a motorist fails to stop at a stop sign, the basic fine is $25.00, the state returns 1/2 of that amount to the Township, or $12.50. On top of the $25.00 fine, the state levies extra fees of $84.50 that are all kept by the state, so out of a $109.50 traffic ticket, the Township will receive back from the state $12.50, the state keeps $97.00. If the violation is for speeding,the basic fine is $35.00, the Township receives $17.50 of that amount. The cost of enforcing that traffic law is many times that amount, which often includes court time.

So, it is certainly not a revenue generator for the Township as the Township must absorp the costs of its police department. Traffic laws are strictly enforced in the Township by our well trained, professional police department because it saves lives! Excessive speed and careless driving are a significant cause of traffic accidents. Our Police work hard to create a safe community for our residents and visitors. So please, the next time you see one of Cranberry Township's Police Officers on the side of the road with a traffic stop, it is not about raising revenue for the Township it is about keeping everyone safe on our highways, and please let them know you appreciate their dedication to our safety.