Kiskiminetas board names 2025 chair, officers and vendors in re-organization meeting

The Kiskiminetas Township Board of Supervisors completed its 2025 re-organization on Jan. 6, appointing leadership, administrative officers and professional vendors for the year.

Brittany Hilliard was appointed chairman of the board for 2025 after nominations closed; Mary Long was appointed vice chairman. The board previously designated Hilliard as temporary chairman for reorganization purposes. Supervisors also assigned departmental oversight roles: Mary Long to the Police Department, Mark Kendall to Public Works, and Brittany Hilliard to the Administration Office.

Patrick Bono was appointed Township Secretary and Township Treasurer for 2025, consistent with the PA Second Class Township Code. The board passed Resolution 01-2025 to establish the required secretary/treasurer bond for 2025; the minutes state the bond amount will be set at not less than the statutory requirement, but the specific dollar amount was not specified.

The board made multiple administrative appointments by motion: Patrick Bono as Pension Plans Administrator for the township's listed plans, Flood Plain Administrator, Records Management Officer and Right-to-Know Officer. The board also voted to retain membership in the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS).

Professional and vendor appointments recorded in the minutes include: LSSE, Inc. as township engineer for 2025 (with a monthly retainer and unit-rate fees for services), Estemeyer and Assoc. as the CPA firm to audit 2024 records and prepare the 2024 DCED Audit Report, and First Commonwealth Bank as the township depository for 2025. The board appointed Berkheimer as the Act 511 tax collector and as delinquent tax collector for 2025 and passed Resolution 02-2025 establishing the elected tax collector's bond (minutes note the bond will be paid by Armstrong County, per Mr. Evans).

Legal appointments: Attorney Ryan Fritz of Delaney and Fritz was appointed township solicitor for 2025. The board appointed Campbell, Durant as special counsel for personnel, labor and pension matters as needed, and appointed James Favero as zoning solicitor at a stated rate of $95 per hour.

Other appointments and committee assignments included Ronald Baker as Public Works crew leader, Robert Gibbons as chairman of the 2025 Vacancy Board, Mark Kendall as the township representative to the Armstrong County Uniform Construction Code (UCC) Group, safety committee assignments for Chuck Rodnicki and Mark Kendall, and Larry Ondrizek as Emergency Management Coordinator for 2025. Several representative positions were left without motion and remain open, including a UCC group representative (noted as "No Motion" in the minutes), the UCC appeals board representative and the zoning/code officer.

The board set the 2025 meeting schedule and location: regular monthly meetings on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m., work-session meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m., and the Municipal Building at 1222A Old State Road, Apollo, as the meeting site. The January regular meeting was scheduled for Jan. 22, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

Why it matters: The appointments set the township's leadership and administrative structure for 2025 and designate the consultants and banks that will handle engineering, auditing, tax collection and depository services. Residents can use the published meeting schedule and the Jan. 22 meeting to follow the budget adoption and other implementation items.

Details and limits: Several items in the minutes identify duties or fees but do not list dollar amounts (engineer retainer, bond amount, audit fee). Positions listed as "No Motion" remain unfilled according to the meeting record.