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Mr. Walt Sackinsky recently submitted this letter to our editor.

Walt Sackinsky

Dear Editor:

First and foremost, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of South Park Township for the past 23 years as a township supervisor. During that time period, I have had the opportunity to be part of many notable things that have happened in our community.
One of the most important things has been hiring a number of great employees through a merit hiring system. The Township’s diverse perspective for our residents is shown by hiring Karen Fosbaugh as township manager approximately 10 years ago. She brings to the forefront many ideas, and addresses concerns to positively impact our community. Other women in key positions include Recreation Director Colleen Dominick, who has held the position for many years, and Library Director Amanda DeKnight.

Through the efforts of the township manager, building inspector and the board of supervisors, efforts are continually being put forth to work with developers. The end product of these efforts in my 23 years of service is that 20+ additional business now call South Park Township home.

During that same time period, 790 homes have been constructed, which includes a planned residential development and a condominium complex, in addition to the conversion of the historic former Library School into apartments. There are currently three major developments in the planning phase. The first is a development in the vicinity of Snowden Road. Another proposed development is the former site of Consol Coal, comprised of 89 acres, that was recently sold. The third area of development is the site identified as “the Bingo Lots.” Allegheny County is in the final stage of acquiring clear title to the properties, and marketing the property as one development parcel.

South Park Township has been very progressive in the electronic media age. A township website (www.southparktwp.com), library website (www.southparklibrary.com), and police department facebook page (southparkpolicedepartment) were established which allow our residents to access information related to township events, community programming, general information, etc. The Township also sent out the first edition of the e-newsletter in April, which provides residents with up-to-date communications related to their community. Sewage and refuse collection is computerized with a new software program that is faster and more efficient. A project electronically mapping all sanitary and storm sewer lines and inlets throughout the Township is more than 50% completed.

South Park Township has consistently worked with South Park School District on numerous projects that are mutually beneficial to the community. The Township baseball/softball fields used by the high school teams and the use of the School District gymnasium for the Township’s summer recreation program are examples of shared resources. South Park Township received grant funding from Comcast and Verizon, which will be donated to the School District and used to assist in purchasing a portion of the equipment needed for a television station.

In a recent survey of our residents, 60% of those who responded said they had lived in South Park Township for over 20 years. This is a testament to the great things our community has to offer. The Township has been awarded Banner Community status for the past 5 years, and was recently named the 10th safest community out of 100 in the United States. However, I am extremely proud of the fact that taxes have not been increased for 19 years.

I have been a resident of South Park Township for 46 years, married to my wife Jayne for 48 years, have two children (Brian and Brenda) and 8 grandchildren. I respectfully hope that you, our residents, are satisfied with these accomplishments and vote for me (The endorsed Democratic candidate) for Township Supervisor on May 16th. I can be reached at sackwj@comcast.net or 412-833-1933.

Sincerely,

Walt Sackinsky

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