Cranberry Township is inviting residents to apply for an open seat on the township board of supervisors.

The seat was previously held by the board’s previous chairman, Richard “Dick” Hadley, who died in August after spending more than 25 years on the board.

Township residents are eligible to apply if they have lived in Cranberry for more than one year and if they are registered to vote in the township.

In a post on the township website, interested applicants were instructed to send a letter of interest, name, contact email and phone number to board@cranberrytownship.org by Sept. 16.

The new board member will be installed in November and continue in the role until the end of 2023, when whoever is elected in the 2023 election will take over for a four-year term.

The new member would not automatically take on Hadley’s previous role of chairman, as the board would likely name a new chairman at a later reorganization meeting.

“We’re looking for someone that has had some community involvement, (like) volunteering with an organization in the township,” said vice chairman Mike Manipole. “We know it’s a short term, so we want to get somebody in who has a little bit of knowledge of how the township works. Our board is always very dedicated to trying to move forward, and we think that would be in our best interests.”

The supervisor role is not a full-time position, said township manager Dan Santoro.

“They are elected, and as elected officials, they set the big-picture vision and direction for the community,” he said. “Most of them are either retired or have other jobs, but it’s to set vision, direction, policy and budget for the township, all of those things that are from an operation standpoint.”

Manipole said the board will ask applicants questions after they apply to get a sense of their perspectives on managing growth, investing in infrastructure, and the future of the township.

“We’re looking for unique insight,” he said. “We want to try to find somebody with a broad knowledge of different things that go on, and how they want to adapt to that and be a part of that.”