Mary Hess

For the better part of the last two decades, Mary Hess has been at the center of Zelienople’s most significant projects and initiatives.

After 16 years of service, Hess formally resigned from borough council last month, halfway through her latest four-year term. She cited her full-time responsibilities as Lancaster Township manager as one of the main reasons for her decision.

“I worked so many night meetings for Lancaster, too, so I wanted to have a little bit of a social life,” Hess said. “It was time. There are young people stepping in, and I feel really good about how I left Zelienople. I did a lot of the things that I wanted to accomplish, so I feel very good about that.”

At a meeting on Monday, Zelienople Borough Council officially appointed Karen Lyle to serve the remainder of Hess’s term.

Hess, however, will remain as Zelienople’s representative on the Southwest Butler Stormwater Authority, which also includes Jackson Township, Evans City and Harmony.

During her time as an elected official, which included three years as council president, Hess served as one of the founding members of Zelienople Revitalization.

That included guiding the borough through the process of moving electricity underground and applying for facade grants to improve the appearances of storefronts along Main Street.

Hess, who was the head of the borough’s Human Resources Committee and Main Street Committee, was also part of an ongoing project between borough officials and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to redirect traffic away from Zelienople.

Hess spoke highly of her time with the borough and the people she worked with over the years.

“One of the primary things we did was listen to each other,” she said. “We always respected each other at the end of the day. It was never political. The climate was never a political one, so we always looked into what was in the best interest of the borough and sometimes it’s hard because the public doesn’t really see what’s going on behind the scenes.

“You have to do what’s best for the entire community, and we always did that. I still value every one of the people that I sat on the board with and count them as good friends.”