Child care facility looks to open in Shaler
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Shaler officials recently discussed possible plans for a child care site development.
Wright Childcare Solutions would purchase 904 Mount Royal Blvd., site of the long-vacant Braun School, planning commission member Chris Chirdon said at an April 9 commissioners meeting.
Planning commission Chairman David Piekarski said the planning board needs to review the day care company’s landscape plan, traffic study and additional information prior to granting final approval.
“We had their traffic study reviewed by a third-party traffic engineer,” said Matt Sebastian, township engineer. “They then submitted a revised traffic study. Our engineer has revised and commented on that.”
Shaler Manager Tim Rogers said egress for drivers is one of the development’s major issues.
Rogers noted that the road to the building’s left formerly was a “paper street” — a road or alley existing only on paper because city or subdivision planners never completed it. The township sold the street years ago to a now-defunct auto repair shop in the area. Wright Childcare Solutions must prove it has reached an agreement with the paper street’s owners regarding its usage.
The parties will discuss further issues during the next planning commission meeting. If the commission grants Wright Childcare final approval, the board of commissioners will vote on the plan at a future meeting.
Wright Childcare Solutions has two Larimer locations: Wright Family Daycare, a licensed, home-based center for children 6 months through 2 years old; and the Learning Loft at Urban Academy, which offers a science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) curriculum for 2- through 12-year-olds.
Also at the commissioners’ meeting:
• “We have officially kicked off the Three Rivers Heritage Trail project,” Sebastian said of work to connect the trail to the planned Etna Riverfront Park. “The design engineer is going through their survey work right now, and they’ll be doing some environmental work as well.
• The township has requested that the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority assist with funding its Saxonburg Boulevard sanitary sewer line repair work.
“Alcosan intends to help Shaler and other municipalities identify additional Grow Grant-fundable projects, so they are very interested in helping us do what we can to get flow out of the system because it helps the whole region,” Sebastian said.
Rogers said the benefits of having Alcosan conduct the flow monitoring are twofold: It is constructive to have a third party complete the work, and Alcosan will pay for it.
• Public hearings for ordinances regarding nuisance property, fire hydrant safety, renaming Anderson Road Extension to Anderson Place and wireless facilities are set for 7 p.m. May 14.
• The commissioners appointed Diane Reimer to fill a vacancy, following Barbara Stern’s resignation, on the Girty’s Run Joint Sewer Authority. Reimer’s term will expire in January 2022.
• Commissioner James Boyle shared his experience spending Mentor Fishing Day with his grandsons at Fawcett Field.
While he was there, he observed the Allison Park Sportsmen’s Club cleaning Pine Creek and offering fishing guidance to the children participating in the outing.
“Along with the Shaler Road Department and the Hampton Township Road Department, their cleaning efforts took out three dump trucks of garbage. Tires. Papers. Everything. I would just like to commend them for their own outstanding job that they do,” Boyle said. “Not only with mentoring the children but with this cleanup. And they’ll be out other times in the year, too, cleaning up. And they just did a great job.”