Brady Twp. reorganizes, addresses concerns
BRADY TWP — Township supervisors made changes to their meeting structure Wednesday evening, and welcomed newly appointed Supervisor Darlene Covert.
Supervisors also further discussed plans for the new township building with concerned residents. Further construction on the structure is on hold until plans have been finalized.
Supervisors reorganized with Robert McConnell, again appointed chairman, and Donald Staiger as vice chairman.
The possibility of reinstating the township website was discussed. Supervisors said they were in the process of comparing three different systems and prices.
“We should bring it up at the next meeting,” Covert said.
Minutes from the April 20 meeting were read aloud by Covert and a copy was provided to those in attendance. Covert said this was to promote transparency and inform the public of what went on previously in the township.
“It’s so we could be open,” she said. “I think in the future we’ll only read how many people were in attendance, who had comments and read those comments aloud.”
During public comment, township resident Rick Hutchison said he sat outside the current township building at 141 West Liberty Rd. talking to voters during the primary election. He said he asked if they had similar concerns about the cost of the new building, record transparency and other topics.
“Anything I’m about to read is my opinion; I wanted to see if people had the same questions I did,” he said. “This is not a petition, it was for information and to show others were concerned.”
The letter asked for construction of the new building at 131 West Liberty Rd. to be put off until November.
Hutchison also asked if a petition should be started to have residents vote on the continued construction on the November election ballot, whether or not the building should be done by a single contractor or be continued by the township and to only build when sufficient funds were available.
Furthermore, he suggested a building project committee be formed to guide the construction in ”the right direction.“
Hutchison also asked if a complete list of building project funds could be provided to township residents and if a forensic review could be done on the township reports. “To go over everything we have and are spending money on,” he said.
According to Hutchison, 115 people agreed with him Tuesday.
Covert said before she was appointed a township supervisor, she would have acted in a similar manner to Hutchison.
“I wanted to know what residents thought when I was on the other side of it,” she said. “I do believe they will know how much we’ve spent and what we’re going to do in the future.”
Residents requested to walk through the site and new building after the meeting, but supervisors agreed they had to go over the matter of tours with their lawyer for safety precautions.
There are “definitely plans to have (a tour) in the future,” Covert said.
