South Fayette Township's manager resigned his position to work for MarkWest in its SouthPointe office, he confirmed in an email obtained by Canon-McMillan Patch.

The email, dated Thursday, read:

From: Mike Hoy <MHoy@sftwp.com>
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2011 11:27:54 -0400
Subject: Resignation

As you may have heard, I have resigned as Township Manager for South Fayette Township. My last day will be November 11, 2011. I just wanted to take a moment and thank those people that I had the pleasure to either work with or had the pleasure to meet as a result of my employment with South Fayette Township. For almost 11 years, I was provided the great opportunity of working for one of the finest Townships in Western Pennsylvania. I would like to think that we made a lot of progress in those eleven years. Starting on November 14, 2011 I will be working for MarkWest out of Southpoint. I will not have my new e-mail address or new cellphone number until sometime after that date. After November 11^th if you need to contact me please send an e-mail or call  Peggy Pattern at the Township (412-221-8700 or ppatterson@sftwp.com). She will forward any messages on to me directly.

Michael W. Hoy

Township Manager

South Fayette Township

515 Millers Run Road

Morgan, PA 15064

412-221-8700

Hoy's resignation came in the wake of South Fayette's fight with Southpointe-based Range Resources over Marcellus Shale regulations.

The email was sent a day before South Fayette filed an injunction in Allegheny County Court to keep members of its zoning board from hearing an appeal of its ordinance, which was challenged by Range Resources because of members' ties to the Marcellus Shale industry, according to the Observer-Reporter.

Hoy did not return messages to his office Friday seeking comment.