Andree celebrates 23 years
CRANBERRY TWP — There were only two traffic lights in the township when township manager Jerry Andree came here in 1991, and the population was half of what it is now.
Andree recently celebrated his 23rd anniversary as manager and he has no plans of retiring.
The 59-year-old Andree has presided over unprecedented growth in a township that several years ago was recognized as one of the fastest growing municipalities in the nation.
The township now has 48 traffic lights and is home to large corporations such as Westinghouse Electric Co.
The township's population has soared to about 30,000 residents, and Andree said that township officials expect to have about 50,000 residents here by 2030.
It was a journey that nearly did not happen after Andree's wife balked at the idea of relocating here.
“I remember back then, for major hardware purchases we had to go all the way down to Ross Park Mall,” Andree said. “We had to leave the township to do basic business.”
He admits the township looks drastically different today, with open fields and roads replaced by multibillion dollar corporations, new schools and even sports amenities like a golf course and the new UPMC Lemieux Sports Medicine Complex that is being built.
But it was the passion and dedication of the township supervisors in 1991 that eventually drew Andree here
“My wife was initially hesitant in coming because there was nothing here,” Andree said. “But I was so impressed with the board of supervisors at the time and their vision for the community, so we came.”
It wasn't a match made in heaven from the start.
Andree told stories about angry residents during his fifth year as manager.
“It was ugly,” he said. “It was a very nasty campaign to replace all of the supervisors after they began making significant changes in the direction the township was going.”
Or as Andree said it was a faction much opposed to residential and commercial growth mounting a campaign against the progressive views of the then-supervisors.
The supervisors maintained their progressive views, laying the groundwork for today's growth in residential and commercial projects.Of particular importance to Andree was how the supervisors tried to reconcile with those residents with different views.Ever since, almost every major initiative in the township has been accomplished through citizen involvement and input.Perhaps the most important initiative, the development of Cranberry's strategic plan, involved a committee of dozens of residents who participated in forming the document that will govern the township's growth for the next 25 years.“I've always been big on community involvement and interactions,” he said. “Our philosophy is that residents always come first.”That is a purposeful strategy, Andree said, because large companies are always looking to locate their facilities in communities where their residents want to live, and residents want to live in communities that listen and cater to their needs.The 25-square-mile municipality has flourished in the past several decades, but the community still has room to grow.Andree said that about 30 percent of the township is undeveloped, meaning that planning is still a critical aspect of his job.“Everything you see now was planned decades ago,” he said. “And being part of that process in such a passionate governing body is what makes it very exciting. Every public policy decision is about tomorrow.”Bruce Mazzoni, chairman of the supervisors, said he's worked with Andree for the past decade and couldn't imagine a Cranberry without him.Mazzoni said he sometimes refers to Andree as the “CEO of Cranberry, Inc.” because he runs the township like a successful business.It wouldn't look anything like it does today without his leadership, Mazzoni said.“He's recognized across the state as one of the best as far as municipal managers,” he said. “There's not a doubt in my mind that Cranberry's success is because of the vision of Jerry Andree.”
