If you’ve been to any Lower Burrell community event over the past couple of years, Carley Logan has probably had a hand in coordinating it.
The born-and-raised Lower Burrell resident took over as the city’s parks commission president in 2023.
During her tenure, Logan oversaw exponential growth to the city’s summer farmers market, and Lower Burrell added new events including a music in the park concert series, a fall Harvest Festival and the Christmas in the Woods celebration.
Now, she’s excited to expand on those efforts as a member of the Lower Burrell Council.
Logan was sworn-in as a councilwoman this week after winning election in November.
“My family is all here. My husband’s family is all here. My friends are all here,” Logan said. “If I can make a positive impact, I want it to be where there’s people I love.”
About four years ago, Logan set out to make her hometown more connected. Through research, she found that a thriving farmers market can stimulate local economies and improve a sense of community.
She volunteered with the farmers market and, over the years, it doubled in size among vendors and expanded to its current location, the Bon Air Elementary School parking lot.
“I kind of ran with that, and saw how wonderful the community reacted to the farmers market and how it continued to grow,” she said.
The commission, under Logan’s direction, started a fall festival in 2023 and a Christmas festival in 2024. Each event has drawn hundreds.
“It created excitement within the city,” Logan said. “It gave people something to look forward to, and it attracted people from out of town.”
As a newly elected councilwoman, Logan believes her impact can be greater. She plans to lean on advice from Manager Greg Primm and Michelle Hatbob, Lower Burrell’s director of parks and public works.
“There are more resources available to me being on council as opposed to parks commission president,” she said. “(Primm and Hatbob) are so knowledgeable in both of their fields.”
Mayor Chris Fabry said Logan is a natural fit to join the council. She’ll be council’s director of parks and public property.
“Her proven and enthusiastic leadership will be a tremendous asset to the city,” Fabry said. “Carley’s experience allows her to skip much of the typical transition period. She already understands how the city works, knows our staff and volunteers, and is familiar with many of our processes. While there’s always more to learn, she’ll be up and running far quicker than anyone who’s come before her.”
Logan said a top priority is to increase programming at the city’s parks. Her ideas include group recreational activities, park nature walks or public art.
“They say if you build it, they will come. No, they won’t,” Logan said. “By building up programming, hopefully then we’ll be able to have renovations and changes to some of our parks.”
Logan emphasizes that events will be free or as low-cost as possible.
“I don’t ever want anyone to feel as though they can’t be part of the community based on income,” she said. “As long as I can make it possible, I will make every effort to make every event free or as low-cost as I can.”
Logan and her husband, Clayton, have four school-aged children, Annalise, Rory, Ethan and Owen.
“I want to provide them a safe opportunity to engage in their community,” she said.
Building community and having things to do is a need in Lower Burrell, Logan said. As a stay-at-home mom, she knows firsthand how few opportunities there are to make connections with others. She has also assisted elderly residents who have felt lonely.
“I know for a fact there are so many other stay-at-home parents who feel the same way,” she said.
Logan’s hopeful that efforts to add and bolster community events and programs can pay dividends for the city. She said Lower Burrell’s proximity to Pittsburgh, its decent housing costs, safety and school district can make it more attractive for families to buy homes in the city.
“At the end of my four years, if I can increase the number of younger people moving into the city, that means I was successful,” she said.