Lehigh Township board names Mike Jones permanent chair despite attendance objections

Lehigh Township supervisors completed their annual organizational meeting on Jan. 5, 2026, appointing officers, board members and professional-service providers. In a contested vote, the board appointed Mike Jones as permanent chairman despite objections from Supervisor Cindy Miller about his attendance record; Jerry Pritchard, David Hess and Janet Sheats voted in favor and Miller opposed.

The reorganization began with routine temporary appointments: Janet Sheats moved to appoint Jerry Pritchard as temporary chairman and Alice Rehrig as temporary secretary; both motions carried unanimously. Cindy Miller nominated herself for permanent chairman but that nomination received no second. She then raised Jones' attendance, saying he had missed roughly 25% of meetings last year (about six meetings) and phoned into another meeting. The motion to appoint Jones, moved by Janet Sheats and seconded by David Hess, carried with a 3–1 vote.

The board completed a slate of largely unanimous appointments and administrative actions. David Hess moved to appoint Jerry Pritchard as vice chairman (Cindy Miller opposed). Janet Sheats' motions to appoint Alice Rehrig as secretary and treasurer, to authorize the treasurer to open accounts at approved depositories and use approved investment tools, and to appoint Rehrig as manager were approved (Rehrig was appointed secretary, treasurer and manager; the manager appointment carried with Miller opposed). The board kept the treasurer's bond at $1,000,000 and designated Neffs National Bank and PLGIT as the township's primary depositories, retaining Truist Bank as an approved depository.

The board appointed or reappointed a range of professional services and volunteers. Cindy Miller moved to appoint David Backenstoe as board legal counsel at $160 per hour; the board appointed Michael Corriere as legal counsel to the Planning Commission at $250 per meeting. Hanover Engineering was appointed township engineer. Janet Sheats moved to appoint Keystone Consulting Engineers as interim Sewage Enforcement Officer and to place sewage-enforcement services out to bid after staff noted a 12% rate increase for senior positions and an investigation hourly rate of $129.50.

Vacancy Board Chairman proved contentious: two candidates—Kristin Soldridge and Sandy Hopkins—addressed the board. After an initial motion to appoint Hopkins failed and a later motion to appoint Keith Hantz also failed, the board unanimously appointed Kristin Soldridge as Vacancy Board Chairman.

The board reappointed Matt Motsko to the Municipal Authority (five-year term) and appointed Keith Hantz to the Recreation Board after discussion about new ideas and participation in recent events; Cindy Miller recorded opposition to the recreation appointment. Todd Rousenberger was appointed to the Planning Commission for a four-year term. Justin Hoppes, who had served as an alternate to the Zoning Hearing Board, was appointed to a regular seat; Adam Raker was not present. The board asked staff to advertise for an alternate member to the Zoning Hearing Board.

Other routine actions included appointing Suzanne Hawke as delegate and Denise Schmall as alternate to the Tax Collection Committee; setting the 2026 schedule for regular meetings for the Board of Supervisors, Zoning Hearing Board, Planning Commission and Recreation Board; appointing Alice Rehrig as Chief Administrative Officer for pension plans; naming all supervisors as delegates to the state convention and designating David Hess as voting delegate; appointing Keycodes as Alternate Building Code Official; keeping the Zoning Hearing Board solicitor rate at $130 per hour; and continuing the established list of holidays for non-union employees.

Under new business the board adopted Resolution 2025-1, appointing a CPA to perform the township audit. There was no public comment. An executive session to set non-union employee wages was tabled to the next meeting because of a pending lack of quorum. The meeting adjourned after the votes.

Claims and objections focused on attendance and participation. Supervisor Cindy Miller argued that repeated absences should disqualify a nominee for chair; other board members said Jones had otherwise performed adequately and noted the existence of a vice chair to cover absences. The board did not adopt any attendance policy at this meeting.

Next steps: staff will advertise for a zoning alternate and solicit bids for sewage-enforcement services as directed; the executive session on wages will be scheduled when a quorum is present.