The Morris Township Board of Supervisors met for their regular meeting at the municipal building. Present were Supervisors Dave Dietrich, Rob Sanders, & Doug Smith, Zoning Officer Bob Sanders, Greg Dunn, Glen Crouse, R.C. Cassidy (from the sewage council), Randy Hamilton, Tim Hamilton, Patrick Bracey, Jennifer Dunn, Jeff Money and Pegg Smith.
Meeting was called to order at 7:31.
Motion by Smith to accept minutes from November 16th meeting. Second by Sanders, all agreed.
Road Master report: Getting ready for winter by prepping snowplows and chains, shop maintenance, prep work for the walking trail, and cutting/hauling of trees. Smith questioned where trees are going and Sanders said it is being taken to a CNX property off of Mt. Zion Road. Firewood is available if anyone wants to cut and haul.
In Old Business: Harshman Invoices – Doug is wanting an idea on what is being spent and what we have to show for it. Doug would like a representative from Harshman to come to the next meeting to explain where the money is going. Randy questioned whether Harshman is officially our township engineer. Dave said that yes, it used to be Widmer but then it was switched to Harshman.
Budget Discussion – no questions or comments.
RTK requests for bills: One auditor (Randy) would like to review bills and Doug feels like he only sees 1/3 of the bills. Smith would like to have a list at each meeting, available to the public, to be reviewed before bills are approved and paid. Jennifer Dunn (also an auditor) stated that if there was a problem it would show up at the audit and she feels that it is a complete waste of the secretary’s time. Doug again stated that he only sees 1/3 of the bills. Dave said that all supervisors have the ability to see all of the bills and he feels like it’s not necessary to make a list every meeting. It was questioned why after all of Doug’s years on the board this issue is coming up now and if it is because he does not trust the other two supervisors. Supervisors would like auditors to submit RTK request once a month to see bills. Smith stated his opinion that we do not need two working supervisors/road masters. Dave said that Smith is beating a dead horse and that discussion has been had too many times.
Should solicitor represent VFD – Smith thinks it is foolish to hire a solicitor only because he says he will also represent the VFD. Dave says that was not the only reason to choose him and that Hook and Held (past solicitors) both did it and it would be silly not to allow it. Smith believes it is a conflict of interest. Dietrich said Smith only feels that way because he does not like Makel. Sanders said the reasons to choose him include that he has the lowest hourly rate, he’s in his office at 6:30am, that he doesn’t charge for phone calls unless further research is required, and that working for the VFD also is just a bonus. Smith wanted his opinion to be officially on the record and stated, “You just gave Range the biggest Christmas present.” Smith went on to express that he feels that Makel is in Range’s pocket and that hiring Makel is turning their backs on people of the township and asked that his opinion again be officially on the record stating “Makel and you (meaning Sanders) will work with Range before the people of this township.”
In New Business: CPA audit of tax collector/VFD – Randy Hamilton (an auditor) stated that the CPA that is responsible for auditing the township accounts is reasonable that maybe it would be more professional to have them do the tax collector and VFD books as well. Jennifer Dunn (also an auditor) said that they books were EXCELLENT and that it only took them approximately two hours to audit, that the elected auditors did not even accept payment, and that it is a waste of money to pay the CPA to audit those accounts. Glen Crouse said that maybe having a third party person looks better. Randy stated that he does not care, that he will continue to audit those books, but that he thought it might be worth considering. Dave suggests calling the CPA to see how much they would charge to add on the tax collector and VFD audits.
PA System for Conference Room – Randy brought up that it can be hard to hear during meetings. Jennifer said that she can hear just fine and that sometimes PA systems are even worse for people with hearing aids. Discussion on who could and could not clearly hear during typical meetings. Dave said maybe we can look into options.
There was nothing brought up during the time for Public questions and comments.
Smith motioned to review and pay bills. Second by Dietrich, all agreed. All bills were signed by supervisors and then Doug reviewed the bills that were not signed by him. Sanders went outside while Smith reviewed those bills.
Motion to adjourn by Smith. Second by Dietrich.
Meeting adjourned at 8:16