Bessemer Township appoints Ormes to board of review

RAMSAY - The Bessemer Township board held it's first meeting of the year on Monday night to discuss the board of review, a grant advisory committee and fire department purchases.

Recently, the township board sought individuals to fill an open position on the board of review and received three letters. Donald E. Ormes, P. Russell KinKaid and John R. Maki all wrote letters of intent to fill the one vacancy.

After some discussion, the board appointed Ormes to fill the two-year term. They also approved the board of review schedule and training for the year.

Advisory committee

Supervisor Jeffrey Randall said they received information to appoint an advisory committee for the sewer and water grant project. Those appointed would just serve as a sounding board, but would not have to make any official decisions, Randall said.

Trustee Hope Tarnaski said Randall should be one member of the committee, as he works with many aspects of the township, and the board agreed. Randall, Department of Public Works Coordinator Jean Verbos and DPW Leadman Louis Sworab were chosen to serve as the SAW advisory committee.

Fire department

Bessemer Township Fire Department chief Brian Kuchinski came to the board with purchase requests.

Kuchinski said the fire department wished to purchase six new flashlights which cost about $60 each, a smooth board nozzle for about $300 and a new exhaust fan. The approximate cost of the fan is $2,000 to $3,000 dollars, he said.

He also proposed the board buy a pivoting dump valve for Tanker 98 for approximately $1,300. Buying the dump valve would increase the safety and speed of the firefighters.

After some explanation and discussion, the board approved the fire department purchases.

Other business

In old business, the board again discussed the auditor commitment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development bond process requirements, which was initially brought up at the Dec. 8 meeting.

The board approved a motion to seek proposals for an auditor commitment in order to serve the townships best interests.

In other business, the board:

-Approved the engineering agreement for the River Street waterline replacement project.

-Informed the public about the purchase a plow for the recently acquired pick-up truck. The purchase amount was $4,635.

-Approved the purchase of Michelin tires for the new truck from Section 12 Automotive, LLC., for the amount of $827.20.

-Tabled purchasing equipment for the new pick-up truck, in order to get more information.

-Set the meeting schedule for 2015. The board will meet the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 5 p.m. The board will only meet on Dec. 14 for the month of December.

The next board meeting is on Jan. 26 at 5 p.m.