Sunbury City Council approves paving contract, multiple grants and contracts, and hires full‑time police officer

Sunbury City Council voted to award a city paving contract to Rightway Paving for $182,460 and approved several financial and contractual measures, including acceptance of the DCED Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) financial management plan and a resolution authorizing Greenway Trail grant work, and unanimously approved the full‑time hiring of police officer Tyler Herpster.

Council members first considered bids for the city paving project after a public bid opening. Alistair Seager, who announced the results, said the low bid and apparent winner was Rightway Paving at $182,460 and asked, “Would you like to award that to them?” Council members then moved and seconded the item and recorded affirmative votes.

The council also moved to accept the DCED CDBG financial management plan required for administration of the CDBG program; a staff memo described the update as adding detail on authorized check signers, payroll responsibilities and bank reconciliation procedures. Council members voted to accept the plan.

Council passed Resolution 2025‑11 to pursue a Greenway/Trail recreation program grant for engineering work at the Oppenheimer playground; the vote authorized city staff to proceed with the grant application and related engineering scope to ready the site for construction.

Other contract actions approved at the meeting included renewal of the annual contract with CEG Engineering and an addendum to the police department contract (article 26) concerning health‑insurance benefits; the council also approved a separate employee health‑care payments resolution (listed in the meeting as Resolution 2025‑12) as presented by staff.

On personnel, the council voted to hire Officer Tyler Herpster as a full‑time police officer at step 3 with no insurance selected; Herpster was then administered the oath of office and sworn in at the meeting. City staff noted the hire brings the department to 11 full‑time officers and six part‑time officers on the roster.

The council approved tax and voucher payments as presented: general fund vouchers of $93,308.46, tools of $10,621.90 and payroll of $69,414.80. Several other administrative motions that required formal votes during the meeting (including the addition of a bid opening item to the agenda and authorization to list decommissioned municipal vehicles with a reserve price) were moved, seconded and recorded as passed.

Votes at a glance - Award paving contract to Rightway Paving, $182,460 — approved (unanimous). Evidence: bid opening and subsequent vote announced by Alistair Seager. - Accept DCED CDBG financial management plan — approved (unanimous). Evidence: staff explanation and council motion to accept. - Approve Resolution 2025‑11 (GTD/Greenway Trail grant for Oppenheimer playground engineering) — approved (unanimous). - Renew CEG Engineering annual contract — approved (unanimous). - Police contract addendum (Article 26) on health insurance benefits — approved (unanimous). - Approve Resolution 2025‑12 (employee health care payments) — approved (unanimous). - Hire Officer Tyler Herpster, full time at step 3, no insurance — approved (unanimous); officer sworn in at the meeting. - Approve tax and vouchers: general fund $93,308.46; tools $10,621.90; payroll $69,414.80 — approved (unanimous).

Council members who voiced recorded “yes” votes during roll calls included Barnhart, Eister (appears as Iister/Eister in the record), Savage, Martina and others present; the meeting record shows the motions were seconded and carried. The meeting transcript does not include roll‑call tallies broken out by every member for all items, and where precise roll‑call tallies were not read aloud the article describes the recorded outcome from the meeting.

The council did not adopt new policy language for several items that were discussed (for example a proposed vehicle‑tracking policy); staff were directed to draft policy language and return with a proposal at a future meeting.

The decisions authorize staff to proceed with contracting and grant application steps; for the Greenway/Trail grant and the CDBG plan the approvals are administrative steps required to access state funding or to comply with program management requirements.

A number of the items approved are contingent on subsequent administrative steps (contract signatures, engineering scopes, grant submissions) that staff indicated will follow the council’s approvals.