Peters Township Council moves to acquire shuttered country club

Peters Township Council agreed Monday to hire a Pittsburgh attorney to help acquire some, or all, of the 190-acre shuttered Rolling Hills Country Club on East McMurray Road.
Council is expected to be joined by Peters Township School District, which is expected to vote on the matter at its March 21 meeting.
In a letter dated March 7 to township manager Michael Silvestri and Peters Township superintendent Jeannine French, attorney William Bresnahan said he would perform the legal work for the “possible negotiation, acquisition, and/or condemnation of the Rolling Hills Country Club property on East McMurray Road for the construction of a new public park and high school.”
Bresnahan’s rate would be $385 an hour, which would be split between the township and school district, Silvestri said.
“He has significant experience, and his expertise is invaluable,” Silvestri said.
Rolling Hills, which closed at the end of last year, is in the process of being acquired by a consortium of developers that includes Horizon Properties, one of the major developers at Southpointe. The property is of interest to the township, which would like to use the land for recreational purposes. The district, meanwhile, spent $500,000 at the high school on various repairs in recent years, and is eyeing the land for a new high school.
“The district continues to be interested in the Rolling Hills property,” said Shelly Belcher, a district spokesperson. “The school board will be exploring special counsel at the next regular board meeting.”
Silvestri met with the developers, but said it is too early in discussions to say how developers feel about the township’s interest in the land. The township is also going to begin exploring municipal bond issues with regards to Rolling Hills.