Butler County residents will experience a number of events in 2015 that will impact their lives now and in the future.

Here’s a look at some of the projects and activities that are expected to occur in the next 12 months.

Plenty of elections

The county commissioners’ terms end this year. Candidates for the three county seats will run in the May 19 primary.

Of the incumbents, only Commissioner Jim Eckstein has said he intends to run for re-election. He has yet to make an official announcement.

Larry Thompson, Jeff Smith, Kim Geyer, Leslie Osche and Lisa Metcalfe are the Republican candidates who have announced so far while Jerry Johnston and Kevin Boozel are seeking the two Democratic nominations.

Also, County Judge Tim McCune is up for a retention vote for a 10-year term.

Three district judge positions are up for election for six-year terms.

David Kovach in Cranberry Township has announced he will run for re-election.

Judgeships held by Peter Shaffer in Butler and Wayne Seibel in Evans City are the other ones to be voted on.

Also, along with several row offices, seats on school boards, borough councils and township supervisors will be up for grabs as well.

County building

The new county office building being constructed on South Washington Street is slated to open in August.

The four-level building will house county human services.

The nearly $12 million project includes repair work and equipment replacement to the courthouse and government center roofs.

New medical facility

Construction began this month on a $20 million, 48,000-square-foot Butler Health System medical office building.

The building, which will include offices for cardiology testing, medical and interventional cardiologists, pain management, laboratory/x-ray/pre-admission testing, obstetricians/gynecologists, and medical oncology, will be at the intersection of routes 422, 38 and 68 in Summit Township.

The three-story building is expected to be finished in the fall.

Pro hockey coming

The new UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex is expected to open late this summer.

At the intersection of Interstate 79 and Route 228, the complex will be both a medical facility for UPMC and a practice facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 185,000-square-foot building also will be open to the public for skating since the facility will have two ice rinks. It also will host high school and league hockey games.

There will be more than 1,000 seats at the ice rinks.

Parking garage coming

The city plans to start building a 225-space parking garage as part of the Centre City project. The garage is to be on South McKean Street.

Officials are getting a bond issue to pay for it.

Mayor Tom Donaldson hopes construction will begin in the spring. The garage would take about eight months to build.

Hotel to be built in city

A Marriott Springhill Suites hotel will join the parking garage as part of the Centre City project. The hotel with an estimated 70 rooms will be at the corner of East Jefferson and South McKean streets.

Construction is expected to begin this spring, about the same time as the parking garage. The hotel will take 12 to 14 months to build.

Truck traffic study

Butler County will do a study to find ways to reduce truck traffic on Butler’s Main Street.

The county commissioners accepted a $435,000 state grant for the study.

The study is administered through a state program that aims to reduce truck traffic in congested areas across the state. The county expects the study to take about a year to do.

School closings loom

Butler School Board members are expected this month to vote on a school consolidation plan to take effect in the fall.

All the plans being considered would close several elementary schools and reconfigure grades in the district.

Freeport school coming

The Freeport School District expects to open a $33 million middle school this fall. It will be adjacent to the high school in Buffalo Township.

Construction began on the school in July.

Superintendent sought

The Mars School District again is looking for a new superintendent after Jim Budzilek resigned in October. He left to take a position with an IT company.

Former Superintendent Bill Pettigrew is the interim superintendent. Pettigrew was the district’s top administrator for 26 years.

Zelie project to start

In 2014 the first phase of Zelienople’s Main Street Revitalization project got a boost from a number of grants. In 2015 some of the work will begin.

Zelienople PA Revitalization and borough council are planning on a budget for that work. State, county and federal grants so far total $3.4 million while the borough can borrow up to $1.8 million, creating a potential budget of $5.2 million.

The first phase of work involves improvements to Main Street and construction of a parking lot off South Clay Street.

Also getting under way in 2015 is expected to be the restoration of the Kaufman House. That project is being spearheaded by the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau to reopen the restaurant and hotel under new ownership.

Economic study set

A study in 2015 will create a plan intended to unify groups in Butler County to promote economic development.

The Butler Unified Plan will be the result of a nine-month study done by Fourth Economy, a Pittsburgh-based economic consultant. Its goal is to lay out goals and an organizational structure for governmental, nonprofit and private groups.

The study is paid for by Butler County Community College.

Zelienople turns 175

Zelienople, which was founded in 1840, will turn 175 this year.

To celebrate, a committee organized by Mayor Tom Oliverio is planning a week of special events.

The events are for the week of Memorial Day and will include a parade, fireworks display and a dinner. The committee also is preparing a book that will feature the history of the borough.