Back in business: Union Township supervisors reorganize, pay bills
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
From left, Larry Spahr, Linda Evans Boren and Stephen Parish are sworn-in at attorney Dennis Makel’s office in Washington after being appointed to the Union Township Board of Supervisors. Charles Wilson, who is not pictured, also was appointed to the board and took his oath later in the day.
Paul Paterra/Observer/Reporter
Union Township Supervisor Michalle Dupree addresses the audience at Monday’s meeting. Dupree was joined by four new appointees to the board.
The new Union Township Board of Supervisors reorganized Monday and asked for patience from township residents at it moves forward.
It was the first supervisors’ meeting since Larry Spahr, Charles Wilson, Linda Evans Boren and Stephen Parish Jr. were appointed by a Washington County court judge and sworn in Oct. 26 following the unexpected resignations of Heather Daerr, Charles Trax Jr., Richard Lawson and Michael Barna a week earlier.
The four new supervisors, who will serve until January 2024, join Michalle Dupree on the board.
Dupree became emotional as she thanked the new supervisors for joining her on the board.
“I’d like to thank the four people for stepping up to the plate, as well as the electors of this community that reached out to Makel & Associates Law Office to get the courts to consider something that’s never been done before,” she said. “We will try as a board to navigate through the avalanche of the issues we are inheriting with the resignation of the four supervisors. Please, be patient with us. It’s going to be a rocky road for a while.”
The board approved many reorganizational moves Monday, including:
- Appointing Dupree board chair and Evans Boren, vice chair;
- Accepted the resignations of Roberta Singer as secretary/assistant treasurer; Terry Gladdis as project manager/planning director; Spahr and Wilson from the board of auditors, and Sweat Law Offices as solicitor;
- Named Makel & Associates Law Office of Washington as solicitor;
- Appointed Parish and Spahr as township roadmasters;
- Appointed Judith Taylor as interim secretary/treasurer, a position she once held in the township.
The supervisors approved advertising for a secretary/treasurer with letters of interest/resume to be submitted no later than Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m.
Dupree said other vacancies that need to be filled include positions on the park and recreation board and the Peters Creek Sanitary Authority, as well as two positions on the board of auditors, in light of the resignations of Spahr and Wilson.
Other actions Monday included the unanimous approval of the renewal of the township insurance. Dupree said if that action hadn’t been taken Monday, the township would have been without insurance as of Dec. 1.
“Everything would cease in the community,” she said. “I found some emails in August with some insistence for renewal.”
Also approved was the purchase of eight tires for the road crews’ trucks from Essey Tire for $1,955.68. Parish said new tires had not been purchased in two years.
Supervisors approved the payment of bills, including one for $90,876.44. That bill included $72,380.26 to Slusarczyk Excavating. Dupree said she heard from an irate member of that company over a payment that was said to be 60 days late.
The board voted to hire accounting firm Cypher and Cypher to handle an interim audit of the township from Jan. 1 to Oct. 26 of this year.
“We all know that expenditures were made by this board or somebody in this township without authorization, which is a complete illegality,” Spahr said. “I want to know how much money was expended by this township without proper board authorization.”
Budget workshops have been scheduled for Nov. 14 and 18 at 6:30 p.m. Dupree said there have not been any budget workshops yet.