SUMMIT TWP — Township supervisors on Wednesday approved an agreement with Saxonburg for borough police to work part-time in the township beginning June 1 on a six-month trial basis.

Supervisors unanimously voted in favor of an intermunicipal ordinance containing the contract for Saxonburg officers to work 10 to 12 hours a week.

Solicitor Michael Gallagher said Saxonburg Borough Council approved the agreement Tuesday.

He said the township will pay the hourly wages of officers when they work in the township.

The hourly wages vary from $24.78 to $46.27 for standard time and $36.05 to $56.21 for overtime. The township also will provide mileage reimbursement.

Supervisor Richard Green, who will serve as a liaison between the township and borough, said the township will tell the Saxonburg Police Department the days they want officers to work, and can tell them to focus on certain roads to watch for speeding drivers, but the officer will work under the direction of the police chief. The days and times police will work will vary from week to week, he added.

Speeding, illegal parking on roadways and overweight trucks are the primary reasons the supervisors sought police service, he said.

Speeding is already a problem on Bonniebrook Road, Green said.

Saxonburg police are in the process of buying a truck scale and becoming certified in truck inspections, Gallagher said.

Officers will notify the county 911 dispatch center when they are on and off duty in the township, so state police can resume coverage when the officers are not on duty, Green said.

The officers will not become township employees. The contract can be canceled or renewed for a year after the six-month trial period, he said.

In unrelated business, Butler Area School District Assistant Superintendent Brian Slamecka, curriculum director Julie Hopp and other district officials reviewed the plans to build an outdoor classroom for agricultural education at Summit Elementary School this summer.

They said the classroom will be used to weave hands-on learning about agriculture into the regular curriculum. Nurseries have agreed to donate trees for an orchard that will be located behind the building.

The district received a $25,000 state grant to build the classroom, which will resemble a pavilion and feature raised flower beds, water and electric service, a cement floor and workspace.