Mt. Pleasant hires township manager
The former manager of Robinson Township didn’t have to look long or far for a job as she was hired Thursday by Mt. Pleasant Township supervisors.
Erin Sakalik resigned as manager in Robinson on Feb. 19 and took a vacation to Disney World with her family. She said she didn’t expect to be back so quickly in the profession she’s worked for the past 17 years.
“I didn’t expect to (find a job locally) so quickly. One of the supervisors here reached out and asked me to consider interviewing for the position,” said Sakalik, who started in Monday at a salary of $53,000, according to board of supervisors Vice Chairman Brian Temple.
“Our search committee narrowed it down to three candidates. Her extensive experience in local government and her ability in other municipalities to get grants and funding was what stood out to us,” Temple said.
“So once she gets a handle on things here the next thing is looking at funding for additional municipal improvements within the parks. Within the past 12 years they haven’t had the maintenance that they should.”
Sakalik said parks and recreation and the opportunity to lead improvements in that area was what drew her to the position. Temple and Sakalik said they would prioritize her role as a steward of the parks and getting funding to improve them.
“This township is very similar to others I’ve worked in except the one that was very attractive to me was Mt. Pleasant’s community involvement. From the Hickory Apple Festival to the presence of its four parks, it’s a community that has a lot to be proud about. I took a three-hour tour yesterday and it’s absolutely gorgeous here,” Sakalik said Tuesday.
“We had a consultant from Chartiers Township look at our parks last year. We haven’t drilled down on the numbers yet but they need work, especially the playgrounds,” Temple said.
“But the big things that Erin will be doing have to do with her public relations abilities and her knack for reaching out to all types of organizations in the community. Supervisors come and go but she can really be the face of the township, where we didn’t have something like that before.”