Carnegie

In a 3-2 vote, council has requested free technical peer assistance from the Governor's Center for Local Government Services for the public works department.

Voting no on July 14 were members Vera Freshwater and Fred Carini, who said the move was not a good idea because it would result in micromanaging for workers who have dedicated job descriptions.

Ms. Freshwater said she couldn't see getting the help for only one department.

"Either we do them all or we do none," she said.

Council member Dorothy Kelly pointed out that she has on previous occasions suggested such intervention for all borough departments.

"They don't tell you how to do things," she said. "They just recommend how you can improve."

Councilman Mike Sarsfield thought the move would help with summer work.

• Officials voted to hire two additional students as summer public works employees at $8 an hour with a maximum of 32 hours a week for up to six weeks.

Under public safety, council voted to advertise an ordinance that would prohibit parking on both sides of Cathedral Court between Scenic Hill and Mountain drives and to designate Thomas' Auto Body as the borough's towing service.

The resignation of longtime crossing guard Larry Byerly was accepted. Mr. Byerly watched over the Washington Avenue school crossing near Carnegie Elementary School.

• KH Designs presented a small version of the mural that will be painted as part of the MLK Community Mural Project on Mary Street near the Conscious Cafe. MLK stands for "Moving the Lives of Kids." Production of the mural, which will feature elements of Carnegie's past and present, will begin Saturday.

Findlay

The parks and recreation department will sponsor a six-week basic boot camp for adults and teens.

The sessions start Aug. 5 in the Activity Center on Main Street in Imperial.

For fees and other information, call Marianne, 724-695-2239.

South Fayette

Commissioners Monday granted manager Mike Hoy a vehicle allowance of up to $513 per month.

The move makes up for a controversial decision the commissioners made in April, when they revised township policy to eliminate all personal use of township vehicles. That constituted, in effect, a pay cut for Mr. Hoy and township engineer Dave Gardner, who both had been given the use of vehicles along with fuel and maintenance.

Mr. Hoy gave the commissioners a study done in neighboring Upper St. Clair a couple of years ago, which showed that most municipal managers had the use of a vehicle in one fashion or another.

Commissioner Deron Gabriel, a leader in making the policy change, said he likes the allowance because it offers "cost certainty." No one, he said, will be left wondering how much township-paid gas Mr. Hoy is using.

Mr. Gabriel said no such allowance has been considered for Mr. Gardner.

• Commissioners Monday approved putting temporary stop signs at the intersection of Willowbrook and Weeping Willow drives.

The signs will be up for 60 days, during which time the township will explore various traffic-calming methods and decide how best to control speeding on Willowbrook.

Manager Mike Hoy and engineer Dave Gardner both said the intersection does not have enough traffic or history of accidents to get permission from the state Department of Transportation. The township has a policy against putting up stop signs under such circumstances.

But Nick Rodi, president of the Willowbrook Homeowners' Association, complained last week, and Mr. Hoy agreed that speeding is a problem.

Traffic-calming devices include speed platforms -- sort of elongated speed bumps -- as well as roundabouts, chicanes, center islands and other devices that get drivers to slow down naturally.

• Presto-Sygan Road, which is closed so Pennsylvania-American Water Co. can get a waterline out of a landslide zone on the road, which will run along the back of the Newbury Market plan, will be closed again for about three months in the fall.

The state Department of Transportation will let bids on Aug. 12 for design and construction of a stabilization plan for the slide-prone hillside.

Manager Mike Hoy said work on that would likely begin in late September and last for three months.

• Commissioners may rezone the Mayview Hospital property as soon as next month, after the planning commission reviews the issue later this month.

The state is closing Mayview, and the property -- 335 acres along Chartiers Creek on the Upper St. Clair border -- will go on the market. A task force has been discussing what should be done with the property. South Fayette officials want to be sure they maintain some control, since the property lies in their municipality.

The property is now zoned R-1, for rural residential use, but has many potential uses. South Fayette may look toward commercial zoning of some sort because housing has been outstripping business growth in recent years.

• HRG Engineers of Cranberry will do surveys and a study to determine what kind of community center, if any, South Fayette needs.

The library board already is looking at sites, feeling the need to expand to serve the needs of a growing township. Other departments are generally squeezed as well.

The contract with HRG is for $49,450, but can go higher as the township adds some unrelated survey questions.