The Board of Supervisors of West Finley Township held their monthly meeting on Monday, April 8, 2024, at 6:00 pm at the Township Office Building. All Supervisors were in attendance.
Township residents present at the meeting were Brenda & Jerry Seibel, William & Rachelle Tompkins, Steve Emery, Ian & Heather Martin, Ed Ritsko, David Minch, Warren & Melinda Duncan, Tracey Shaulis, Don Mohr, Darcie Phillips, and Tim Collins.
CALL TO ORDER
The call to order was made by Chairman Martin at 6:00 pm.
READING OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES
The Secretary read the minutes from the March monthly meeting. There are two errors that need correcting (Vice Chairman Pritt not Supervisor Pritt and 30 yard dumpsters not 30 ton dumpsters). The motion to approve the minutes, with corrections, was made by Chairman Martin and seconded by Vice Chairman Pritt. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
The minutes from the handbook workshop were also read. The motion to approve the minutes was made by Chairman Martin and seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Steve Emery informed the Board that there is currently no dirt being dumped at the fire hall due to the road conditions on West Finley Road. The brush truck repair cost was around $8,000.00 which was somewhat less expensive than expected, however, it still will not draft water. It will need to be taken in again, as it could be the primer causing the issue.
OLD BUSINESS
The West Finley Township employee handbook was updated based on the suggestions from the workshop meeting. Supervisors will review the changes and forward any comments to the Secretary. Once all comments have been received and reviewed, the Supervisors will determine if another workshop is necessary.
Clean up days are Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20, 2024. All bulk items are acceptable, including electronics and dried paint. The disposal of tires will not be approved on either day, however, a separate collection day for this specific issue may be scheduled for a later date. Township Road Crew employees will be available to assist residents with items, as always. The Foreman will determine the employees’ schedule for clean up days with overtime pay approval from the Board.
The Verizon representative who established our wireless account reached out regarding other services that could benefit the Township. One Talk is a cloud-based voice over internet protocol (VoIP) office phone system that would allow for incoming office calls to be transferred to anyone via their township cell phones. Calls can automatically be rerouted to the Secretary’s cell phone so that it mirrors the desk phone. Live calls can also be immediately transferred to recipients in the field via the mobile app. Costs will include the desk unit ($100) and the monthly line access ($25/month), which will be added to the cell phone bill. The motion to upgrade the Township phone lines to the One Talk system was made by Vice Chairman Pritt and seconded by Chairman Martin. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
The Township resident who has helped with mowing grass at the grange building in the past now has very limited time to do so. For the last year, Ian Martin has been mowing the grass after hours with his personal lawn mower. The grange is township property and should be maintained by the township employees. The motion to purchase a riding lawn mower, not to exceed $5,000.00 was made by Supervisor Collins and seconded by Vice Chairman Pritt. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
A Cintas First Aid & Safety Rep contacted the township regarding services. A quote was received for an AED, new medicine cabinet, first aid kits for the trucks, and a water break water cooler system for $724.77. The motion to approve was made by Vice Chairman Pritt and seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
ROAD CREW REPORT
There are several roads currently closed. Miller Creek Road, Blockhouse Run Road, Spotted Tail Road, and Jake Hill all have slips. Whiteman Road was previously closed but reopened over the weekend. CNX and Paris Contracting are working on the mud slide on Miller Creek Road and are making progress.
The Blockhouse Run Road slip was inspected by engineers from K2 Engineering. They offered some recommendations on how to go about fixing the road by addressing the water flow issue. The Supervisors will meet with the property owner (William Tompkins) on Wednesday at 2:00 pm to discuss options to control the water.
The slip on Jake Hill could be problematic for emergency services if the state closes Chapel Hill Road. The slip has moved in the last few days. It is possible that it could be temporarily fixed to allow access for emergency vehicles. Jake Hill will be assessed tomorrow at 2:00 pm to determine necessities for a temporary restoration of the road.
ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS
The financial reports for all accounts were presented. Bank statements from March with balances and QuickBooks reconciliation reports were reviewed. The motion to accept the financial reports was made by Vice Chairman Pritt and seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
An itemized list of current bills was also brought before the Board. Supervisor Collins has requested to attend the state conference in Hershey for a few days and the Road Crew Foreman would like approval to attend the Dirt and Gravel class in July. Both would need hotel rooms as well. The motion to approve payment of the bills, plus the added expenditures, was made by Vice Chairman Prit and seconded by Chairman Martin. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
The Township received the 2023 Audit report from the CPA at William T. Grimm and Associates. The hired auditor submitted the report to the DCED, and the elected auditors filed the report at the county courthouse. The required financial statement was emailed to the Observer Reporter and was published. Realizing that the newspaper statement would not separate out individual costs, and for informational purposes, Melinda Duncan added that the total for the building expansion project was approximately $99,000.00 with $24,000 in labor cost and the rest in materials.
Lt. Steven Dowlin sent the PA State police report detailing calls for our area for March 2024.
The National Pike Days Festival will be held in Claysville on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
MISCELLANEOUS
Chairman Martin received a phone call from the Pennsylvania 811 center. West Finley Township has a 97% ranking in responding to the 811 tickets.
There will be a scrap metal dumpster from Brookman’s for clean up days.
ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING
Chairman Martin adjourned the meeting at 7:18 pm.