While looking back on his first year in office, Mayor Bob Dandoy is setting goals for 2023.

“I think (2022) has been a building year. Now, we want to say, ‘Let's finish what we started.’”

Dandoy said his game plan to improve Butler starts with Main Street. He said he wants to improve the look of the street and has taken part in initiatives with Downtown Butler and the Butler Cultural District, to make the city attractive to businesses.

“We have empty storefronts on Main Street. I want those filled,” Dandoy said. “We want to entice business owners, have them come to downtown Butler.”

He said the street itself could use improvements in infrastructure and beautification. The Main Street streetscape project, funded mainly by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, is underway as well.

“The sidewalks, that's the main thing. They are in horrible shape. Not only are they unattractive, they are a safety hazard,” Dandoy said. “Along with the sidewalks, we're going to take the benches, powder coat them, make sure they are cleaned up, looking nice; take care of that visual aspect.”

Dandoy said he also wants to pave streets in other neighborhoods of the city.

Dandoy referenced several major developments that took place in 2022, including the sale of Butler Middle School to Pittsburgh Gateways; the sale of Penn Theater from the Butler Redevelopment Authority to Bryan Frenchak; and the pending sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania American Water Company.

He called the sale of BASA the biggest development.

BASA will give its assets to the water company for $231.5 million, which will be split between Butler and Butler Township. The sale is being reviewed by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission. Dandoy and council agreed not to plan spending the money from the sale until it is official, but the mayor said roads may be a target.

“I don’t like to spend the money we don’t have; it’s not finalized yet. We’ve talked to financial advisers; we want to make sure we do the right thing,” Dandoy said. “What do we do when and if we receive the BASA assets? I’m going to say pave more streets, take care of more streets.”

The mayor called 2022 a year of rebuilding due to the turnover on City Council and the death of Councilman Mike Walter, 74, in March.

In addition to a new mayor, city government last year saw two new council members and one open seat that will need to be filled by the end of this month.

By the end of April 2022, all five city government posts were different from the same time the previous year, with Dandoy, who went from councilman to mayor, being the only holdover from 2021.

Joining him were Don Shearer and Larry Christy, who were elected to council in 2021, and appointees Fred Reese — who had been on council in the 2010s — and new face Dan Herr — who took Dandoy’s council seat.

Walter, who was elected to council in 2015, had been director of the streets department in his second term. Following Walter’s death, the seat was filled by Reese in April.

Shearer said Walter’s death personally affected him.

“Mike was a big mentor for me whenever I started getting involved in Butler,” he said. “(When) I decided to run, he was one of the first people I reached out to. He definitely left a nice little road map for me.

“Just one of the all-time good guys.”

Shearer said he was happy to see the 2023 budget, passed in December, balance revenues with expenditures without a tax increase for residents.

As the city’s finance director, Shearer said Butler typically faces challenges with its budget and added that he also wants to hold off on plans for the money from the BASA sale.

“Just speaking financially, the one thing about the city is we're constantly running on a shoestring budget,” Shearer said. “It's just the history of what we have; we are the county seat.”

He noted that there are a number of nonprofits located within the city.

Shearer said he would like to implement better technology in city offices and spread the attention Main Street gets to individual areas of Butler.

“We've seen a lot of focus on Main Street, so I'm hoping to get more done in the neighborhoods,” Shearer said. “We want to see if we can get the technology up to date as much as we can. There's not much time to look at technological advancements in the city.”

As the director of parks, recreation and public property, Herr has similar ideas to develop the city’s parks. He sees the most opportunities for improvement at Memorial Park and Father Marinaro Park.

“I'd like to see more improvements to the skate park; I'd like to see the ramps and stuff like that get fixed until we make those improvements,” Herr said. “I can see the cracks, and I'd like to see that become cement, so upgrade the ramps to the concrete because it's going to be less maintenance in the long run.”

The city has received several grants for park improvements, some of which have been used, such as the upgrades to the pickleball courts at Ritts Park. The city also has grant money for improvements to Father Marinaro Park, and Herr said new technologies could be installed in parks.

“We have been talking about upgrading and improving the number of cameras in our parking decks to make those more secure,” Herr said.

Christy is director of public safety and also has goals to update technology in the bureaus of police and fire. A previous chief of the Butler Bureau of Fire, Christy said he hopes to obtain a new rescue vehicle for the department this year. Its current vehicle has been in use since the 2010s.

“It’s an older vehicle that’s due for replacement,” Christy said. “We’ve been trying to find a new rescue truck … we’re checking all dealerships and waiting for a good fit.”

Christy also is looking to keep policies up to date in both departments. He bought a motion to council in December to pay for training in the fire department.

“We have been doing some work in the fire department with standards and training,” Christy said, “making sure they are current and relevant.”

Christy emphasized his support for a goal Dandoy also has: filling the city boards and authorities with members.

Reese is director of streets and public improvements, and said the city’s purchase of a new dump truck last year will help save money on projects going forward.

“We have our own paver and roller already; hopefully we can get some smaller street projects done this year, instead of contracting everything out and waiting,” Reese said. “We're getting ready to go this year, seeing what we can do with the streets.”

Dandoy and each member of council said they are happy with the direction of the city government because everyone worked well together through 2022.

“We have four members of council and a mayor who want to roll up their sleeves and get to work,” Shearer said.

Having served on council in two separate occasions in the past, Reese said the group he is among now likely is the best he has worked with.

“Everybody talks to each other, nobody does everything themselves,” Reese said. “Before it was some people did it just for their area. Now, I think everybody on council is in it for everyone in the city.”

Shearer also said the city is working on projects covered by grants that have already been received. He said no new grants are currently in progress. However, that could change in the coming months, because a lot of the grant money must be spent by July, he said.

Aside from the BASA sale, Dandoy said the redevelopment of Butler Middle School by Pittsburgh Gateways will be one of the largest changes to the city in the coming years.

The addition of several nonprofits and businesses in a building as large as the middle school and so close to Main Street will be a game changer, he said.

“The project at the middle school, I think that's a pleasure of even greater significance,” Dandoy said. “I'm very heartened by the fact that people have indicated to me that they think the city is moving in the right direction.”

The reopening of the Penn Theater will be a benefit to the city, too, he said.