Ross Township Commissioners Select New Public Works Director

The Ross Township Board of Commissioners voted 6-2 Monday to make an offer to hire a new public works director. 

The township's former director, Jim Stack, retired in late September after 11 years in the job. The department at full staff includes 26 employees but is operating now with about 20 and , said the township's manager, Wayne Jones. 

The board voted to ask Mike Funk, the former public works director for West Deer Township, to be Stack's replacement at a salary of $62,000. The offer also includes a $3,000 one-time payment in lieu of health insurance, three weeks vacation and a six-month probationary period.

Funk, 52, worked for West Deer for 18 years and was making $68,780 a year before taking a buy out in January, according to his resume. He is a graduate of . 

The board met in executive session for nearly an hour Monday, which included a last-minute interview with the sixth candidate, Joe Brimmeier Jr., the son of the former CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the nephew of Township Solicitor Bonnie Brimmeier. 

Commissioners Gerald O'Brien and Dan Kinross voted against the motion. Both said they were in favor of different candidates. 

The item was not on the published agenda. 

Also Monday, the board discussed dedicating $50,000 in funds remaining from this year's paving budget toward the repair of a retaining wall behind the  at 7240 McKnight Road. 

The wall, part of "Old McKnight Road," is township property and its disrepair is threatening the business, Art Gazdik, the township engineer, said Monday. 

The $50,000 price tag was budgeted two years ago when the issue first came to the board's attention and engineers evaluated the work needed to be done, Gazdik said. 

Now, the township is in negotiations with Lazzaro to share the cost of repairs and grant him ownership of the wall in exchange for his coordination of the contracting work and future maintenance, Gazdik said. 

The agreement will come before the board for approval at a later date, he said. 

The board also discussed advertising vacancies on the township's boards and committees, setting a deadline of Dec. 30 for those interested in applying.

Appointments are planned to be made at the Jan. 3 meeting. 

The board also honored  in Boy Scout Troop No. 368. 

Commissioner David Mikec was absent from the meeting.