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Residents praise snow crews and press trustees on transparency while board names interim finance contractor and outlines baseball complex plans
Summary
Residents praised West Chester Township’s snow-clearing efforts and one resident questioned transparency in board packet practices. Trustees discussed interim finance director services provided by Clark Shafer Hackett and plans to re‑activate the West Chester Baseball Complex with a private operator.
During the public-comment period, resident Joel Herzog (7769 Whitehall Circle East) praised township services for clearing 12–16 inches of snow, telling trustees: "Within 12 hours of the snow, every street, I would say 95% of them was passable. I wanna congratulate Mike's team for an incredible job." The board thanked the services crew for working long hours to reopen streets and cul-de-sacs.
Resident Bruce Jones used the public-comment period to press the trustees on transparency and supporting materials provided with agenda packets, saying changes to document practices "begs the question, what's going on here, Miss Lisa?" He asked whether the board was aware of changes that appeared to include documents related to a finance director item and questioned oversight.
In response during the meeting, the administrator said the township engaged Clark Shafer Hackett to provide interim finance director services to close out 2025 and open 2026 books under a contract currently within the administrator’s procurement limit; she said a larger contract will come back to the board when the term exceeds the administrator's authority. "The contract is under my limit... and then at the next board meeting we'll bring a larger contract," Miss Brown said, adding the interim consultant is the former finance director for Liberty Township and other local governments.
Separately, staff reported on plans to work with Sports Facilities Company (SFC) to operate the West Chester Baseball Complex. Miss Brown said the goals are to reach net-neutral operations, activate the facility as a community asset, and present a business pro forma to trustees at a future work session prior to finalizing an operational plan.
Services director Mike Hoxel briefed the board on snow operations: crews worked overnight and by about 4 a.m. had streets passable, then focused on widening roads, clearing curb inlets to reduce refreezing and addressing more than 600 cul-de-sacs. He credited the crews for sustained effort during the storm.
Trustees closed the meeting after staff updates and announcements; recordings show public praise for snow removal and at least one resident pushing for more transparency on administrative practices.
