The Butler County commissioners on Wednesday approved the replacement of a Winfield Township bridge.

The county bridge crew will replace the deteriorated Denny’s Mills Bridge on Marwood Road.

The 39-foot bridge was closed last year after being designated as a safety hazard due to rotting steel beams and loose stone.

The township will borrow the roughly $200,000 to pay the county for the work.

Regional planning

A regional planning agency is reviewing its bylaws following the complaint of a county commissioner who wasn’t appointed to its board.

The Southwestern Planning Commission, which is based in Pittsburgh, set up a committee to review the bylaws.

Under the current interpretation of those bylaws, the majority of each county’s commissioners decide who sits on the SPC. There must be a minimum of two county commissioners and a third elected official occupying a county or municipal seat.

For Butler County, the members are Commissioners Bill McCarrier and Dale Pinkerton, planning director David Johnston, tourism director Jack Cohen and Cranberry Township Supervisor Bruce Mazzoni.

Commissioner Jim Eckstein maintains he should be on the board rather than a township supervisor or a tourism director.

“I feel discriminated against,” he said at the commissioners meeting Wednesday.

McCarrier said the SPC committee can either recommend leaving the situation stand or alter the bylaws.

Recreation fees

The county commissioners on Wednesday approved a 2012 fee schedule for Alameda Pool and Alameda Park.

Dave Hutner from county park and recreation said the only pool fees increased were training classes conducted by the American Red Cross, which sustained increased costs.

The fee hikes to lifeguard, lifeguard instructor and water safety instructors range between $10 and $25.

For the moonlight swim, there no longer is an admission fee for pool members, who formerly paid $2.

Under recreation programs, only the Ultimate Frisbee League entry fee increased, from $80 to $100 per team.

For shelter rentals at Alameda Park, weekend rates, which apply to Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, rates increased between $10 and $15.

The Pine Shelter fee increased from $40 to $50.

The Jaycees, Steelworkers, Kiwanis and Holly shelters rose from $50 to $60 a day.

The Lions Shelter rose from $60 to $70.

Shelters 3 and 4 rose from $70 to $80.

The Carousel and Odd Fellow Gazebo rose from $95 to $110.

The Masonic Shelter rose from $145 to $160.

Rentals for Shelters 1 and 2 remain $50. The Rotary Shelter remains $40.

Daily rates for Monday through Thursday are half the amount of the respective weekend fees.

McCarrier said the county is seeking groups or individuals to build additional shelters for the park.

“We would certainly welcome that,” he said.

County legal counsel

McCarrier at the meeting Wednesday defended the use of two law firms for legal work.

McCarrier said the use of Dillon, McCandless, Coulter, King & Graham and the Linn Law Group is a minor percentage of legal work outsourced by the county.

For 2011, Dillon McCandless was paid $34,095 and Linn nothing out of a total $914,129. McCarrier said that $34,000 only amounted to 3.7 percent of the total fees.

He said the remainder of the legal costs incurred were due to county court and human services functions.

“We have no control over that,” McCarrier said. “Some law firms receive much more than the commissioners’ outside legal counsel.”

Eckstein previously criticized the board’s exclusive use of Dillon McCandless and Linn as special counsels.