Liberty Township

 Liberty Township, McKean County

Route 155 Building

January 3, 2023

The Reorganization Meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Liberty Township was called to order at 8:30 A.M. by Chairman Dick Brown. Supervisor Fred Ernst, III., Supervisor Neil Shepard and Secretary Cindy Speeth, were present.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was recited by all.

1. On a motion by Mr. Ernst and a second by Mr. Shepard, Supervisor Brown was unanimously appointed as temporary Chairman.

2. On a motion by Mr. Ernst and a second by Mr. Shepard it was unanimously agreed to appoint Ms. Speeth as temporary secretary.

3. On a motion by Mr. Shepard and a second by Mr. Ernst, Supervisor Brown was unanimously elected as Chairman of the Board.

4. Supervisor Shepard made a motion to elect Supervisor Ernst as Vice-Chairman of the Board, Chairman Brown seconded the motion and it was unanimous.

5. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard, it was unanimously agreed to appoint Ms. Speeth Secretary/Treasurer with compensation set at $17.70 per hour.

6. On a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst, it was unanimously agreed to appoint Donald Snyder as shop boss with compensation set at $23.70 per hour.

7. On a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst, it was unanimously agreed to appoint Michael Greenman and Shawn Mohan as full-time road crew with compensation set at $21.70 and $19.70 per hour.

8. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard, it was unanimously agreed to appoint Mr. Bickleman as primary SEO and Mr. Braun as back-up SEO.

9. On a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst, it was unanimously agreed to appoint Bruce Manning as township EMA Coordinator.

10. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was unanimously agreed to appoint Sandra Kinney as the Township’s per capita tax collector.

11. Supervisor Ernst made a motion to appoint Berkheimer Associates as the Township’s EIT tax collector for 2023 and Supervisor Shepard seconded. It was unanimous.

12. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard, it was unanimously agreed to appoint Berkheimer Associates as the Township’s delinquent per capita tax collector.

13. On a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst it was unanimously agreed that any Supervisor who would work part time as a laborer would receive no wages; on a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst it was unanimously agreed that that any part-time road crew would be hired at $12.00 per hour and Supervisors who would work part time that have a CDL license would work for $19.00 per hour.. The Supervisors also stated that they would take no Supervisor’s pay in 2023 and on a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst it was unanimously agreed upon.

14. The Treasurer’s Bond amount is set at $200,000.00 on a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard, it was unanimously carried.

15. On a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst it was unanimously agreed to appoint Tony Alfieri as Township Solicitor with compensation as agreed upon.

16. Supervisor Shepard made a motion to appoint David Culver as Chairman of the Vacancy Board and on a second by Supervisor Ernst it was unanimously agreed upon.

17. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was unanimously agreed to appoint the JVB Bank as depository for Township funds.

18. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was unanimously agreed that the Township meetings will be held the second Thursday of each month in the Rt. 155 Township Building at 8:30 AM. Any changes will be advertised.

19. On a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst it was unanimously agreed that all the holidays would remain the same for workers and the secretary except that Black Friday will be exchanged for Veterans Day. Secretary will get the same amount of pay raise, holidays and personal days as workers. Also, workers will be able to carry over 3 days (24 hrs.) vacation and 1 day (8 hrs.) personal.

20. On a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Chairman Brown it was unanimously agreed that Supervisor Ernst be appointed as voting delegate to the State convention.

21. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was unanimously agreed to pay certain bills between meetings to take advantage of discounts and avoid penalties.

22. It was unanimously agreed on a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard to use the Township Seal on DEP reimbursement forms.

23. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was unanimously agreed that all other appointments, resolutions and ordinances remain the same.

The reorganization meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:37 AM on a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst.

REGULAR MEETING

The regular meeting of the Liberty Township Supervisors was called to order at 8:38 AM by Chairman, Dick Brown. Attendance remained the same.

REPORTS:

1. Ambulance Report was not received.

2. Fire report was not received.

3. Secretary’s Report for December 8, 2022 was presented and unanimously

accepted on a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard.

4. Treasurer’s Report for the month of January, 2023 was presented and

unanimously accepted on a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by

Supervisor Ernst. Chairman Brown stated that in the General Fund there were bills paid in the amount of $10,880.83, revenues received in the amount of $6829.93 and a balance of $114,704.94. In the State Fund there were bills paid in the amount of $6829.71 and a balance of $67,925.06. In the Sewer Fund there were revenues received of $0 and a balance of $1434.64.

CORRESPONDENCE:

1. Chairman Brown presented PSATS Conference Materials and

PSATS annual dues letter

2. Chairman Brown presented Upper Pine Creek meeting minutes

All correspondence was made available to the public.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was

unanimously agreed to sign the Agreement between the township and Roger

Bickleman regarding him taking care of his own payroll taxes for the 2023

year.

2. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was

unanimously agreed to have the secretary sign the letter from Roger Bickleman naming him as SEO and naming Russ Braun as alternate.

3. On a motion by Supervisor Ernst and a second by Supervisor Shepard it was

unanimously agreed to sign the Certificate of Election of Treasurer.

OLD BUSINESS:

All dirt roads –

graded and ditched with material added as needed. Raised Hamilton Run Road one foot for a total cost of $20,321.00

Blacktopped –

Skinner Creek Road 1800 ton

Hamilton Run Road 450 ton

Coleman Hollow Road 375 ton

Lower Portage Road 100 ton

________

2725 tons = $80,635.00 spent on blacktop in 2022

$3,000 for 10 sluices on Coleman Mills –cut shoulder and ditched to get ready for blacktop in 2023

We tarred and chipped Open Brook and Skinner Creek. $47,246 to Suit-kote for oil and

chipper.

Total spent on roads in 2022 =$151,202.00

1800 tons for Skinner Creek Road paid for in 2021in amount of $95,000.00

We will be getting $48,637 from County Commissioners for infrastructure and we will use it on Coleman Mills Road

We will also get $20,000 for parks and recreation from County Commissioners and we will meet with Area Recreational Authority (of which we are a member) to spend.

We cut shoulders on Brooklynside Road, Lower Grimes Road, Open Brook Road, Benson Hollow, Two Mile Road, Portage and Comes Creek.

Equipment updated.

Triaxle from 1996 to 2007

All equipment is updated and paid for. Township does not owe anyone. This is the first time since 2012 when they bought a 305 excavator financed by Caterpillar and then in 2014 they traded the 305 for a bigger 308 refinanced by Caterpillar which is now paid for.

Liberty Township blacktopped two roads for Annin Township.

We would like to thank all the townships that helped us with our blacktopping and tar and chipping.

We would like to thank Bill Kamats of Penndot for lending us three trucks in the agility program. We would also like to thank Chad Moses, Brad Greenman, Ryan Herzog and Jordan Seefeldt for their help.

We have applied for $65,855 to fix the bridge on Lower Portage Road at a total cost of $93,275 with Liberty Township doing all the work. The bridge will be named the Richard “Dick” Kallenborn Memorial Bridge. Dick did a lot for Liberty Township as a County Commissioner, President of the Planning Commission, Port Allegany Boro Manager and local business owner. We will know if we get the money after January 11, 2023.

The Supervisors would like to thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding while the roads were being worked on.

PUBLIC CONCERNS:

None

As no further business was brought before the Board, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:50 a.m. on a motion by Supervisor Shepard and a second by Supervisor Ernst.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lucinda Speeth

Secretary/ Treasurer