Aug 15, 2016 2 min read

For Peters Township residents who pay attention to such details, naming the municipality’s top administrators has been easy. The list stayed the same since sometime back in the last century.

But change finally has come, in pretty much the biggest way imaginable.

Longtime library director Pier Lee started the ball rolling in 2015, retiring after nearly four decades that saw the library grow from a small space in the municipal building with a relative handful of materials to a jewel of a building that offers a range of different media, along with such services as three-dimensional printing.

This year really represents a seismic shift, with the retirements of the police department’s two top men, Chief Harry Fruecht – his final day is in September – and Capt. Michael Yanchek, both of whom started with Peters in the 1980s, along with public works director Peter Overcashier, employed by the township since 1978.

Two years before that, Peters Township’s then-newly enacted home rule charter stipulated the planning department “be under the direction of a qualified planner.” In stepped Michael Silvestri, fresh from earning his master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Pittsburgh, who also was given the title of assistant manager.

In 1981, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate took over as manager with the retirement of Jim Ross, and Silvestri has been there since.

That changes after Aug. 26, when Paul Lauer – he’s been assistant manager since 1984 – takes over the top spot.

For decades, Peters Township has been a prime destination for new residents. Its population nearly doubled since 1976. The township has a lot going for it, including an exceptionally well-regarded school district and the fact it is located just over the line of Allegheny County and its higher taxes.

During this extended period of consistent growth, Peters has experienced steady administrative leadership, a state of affairs that should receive far more credit than it probably does for making the township such a desirable location.

Lauer, new police Chief Douglas Grimes, library director Myra Oleynik and public works director Joseph Hursen have those proverbial big shoes to fill, but they are highly qualified individuals who no doubt will carry on the examples set by their predecessors.

After all, Peters Township seems to have a knack for hiring the right people.