The original item was published from October 4, 2016 1:42 PM to January 8, 2021 9:28 AM
Part of the comprehensive planning effort that Cranberry started nearly a decade ago dealt with our community identity: what did we want people to visualize when they thought about Cranberry? After all, we don’t have the signature architecture or geological landmarks that characterize communities like New York, St. Louis, Rome or Rio. And even though the Township was incorporated more than 200 years earlier, for most of that time it was primarily farmland. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the Cranberry Township we know today really started to take shape.
So it’s fair to say that unlike most communities which inherited a place built generations earlier, Cranberry Township was built by people who live here now. So we came up with the phrase “Built for You” as Cranberry’s tag line.
And what was it that people wanted to see built? Beyond the standard municipal infrastructure – streets, sewers, waterlines, and so forth – they wanted us to build the sorts of assets that could transform their municipality into a real community, where people could interact, bond, and help one another as needed. So we expanded Community Park, created two new parks, added a Waterpark, a Skatepark, a Dog Park, a golf course and built a Community Center instead of just a Township office building.
Those facilities, which were built in response to public input and with strong support from our Board of Supervisors, have proven to be the true center of our community, pulling thousands of residents together for a variety of reasons. In fact, last year, our facilities hosted over a million visitors. Those facilities form the critical infrastructure of our community and are just as important as our utility-type physical infrastructure. You could even argue that while every community has sewer, water and roads, few have the variety of community resources we do.
Those same community resources also provide a venue for dozens of civic and volunteer organizations to raise funds for charitable causes. I’ve heard estimates that our facilities enable nonprofits to raise around a million dollars a year through walks, runs, tournaments and outings. As the custodians of these facilities, nothing warms the hearts of our employees more than seeing the thousands of people who use these public facilities. And most of them never give a thought to the awesome infrastructure that made it all possible.
Beyond that, those same facilities are key to Cranberry’s economic development. We have demonstrated over and over again that the key to sustained economic growth is creating a community where residents come first and enjoy a high quality of life. High quality employers will follow.
So my thanks go out to the residents of Cranberry Township for knowing what it takes to build and maintain an awesome community. It is a privilege to be entrusted with these facilities on your behalf, and we promise to continue delivering the finest infrastructure and best services we can.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about our community infrastructure. Write to me at jerry.andree@cranberrytownship.org