Four Apply to Replace Ziegler on Douglass Board

Tuesday night's Board of Supervisor's meeting only took 16 minutes (a new record?) but some pretty important things happened from an official standpoint.

First of all, given that last month the board accepted the resignation of now-former supervisor Fred Ziegler as part of the former police chief's plea bargain concluding his trial on theft charges, there were only two of them to vote.

So any disagreement meant a tie vote.

But the two remaining supervisors, Anthony Kuklinski and Alan Keiser, agreed on everything, including the re-appointment of Kuklinski as chairman and Keiser as vice chairman.

They also agreed on the re-appointment of Peter Hiryak as township manager and Robert Brant as township solicitor, along with a number of other appointments.

But perhaps the most important item was the replacement of Ziegler.

By law, they have until Jan. 19 to make the selection, or the vacancy board takes the matter in hand.

However the board seems to have things under control.

So far four people have applied to replace Ziegler and they will be publicly interviewed, as is required by law, at a special meeting, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. at the township building.

The four who applied are Constable Josh Stouch; former supervisor John Stacik, whom Keiser ousted in 2015; Roger Updegrove, who has served on the township's recreation and Act 209 committees, and George Kirkwood.

Kuklinski said the board will consider any additional applicants interested up until the special meeting on Jan. 14.

The final vote on a replacement will take place at the Tuesday, Jan. 17 meeting.

The supervisors were asked if Stouch can hold two elected offices at the same time. Hiryak said that matter is currently "being researched."

I guess we'll have to wait to see how that shakes out.

In the meantime, here is a meager Twitter offering a very short meeting.

Doctor's Note for No-Show Supervisor

Monday's meeting of the Douglass (Mont.) township Supervisors was quick, but had some interesting moments.

Perhaps the most significant of these was the absence of embattled Supervisor Fred Ziegler, a former police chief now charged with theft, forgery, witness intimidation and a host of other charges.

Chairman John Stasik said Ziegler would not be at Monday's meeting and mentioned a note from a neurologist excusing Ziegler from the meeting.

Apparently, it also got him out of a preliminary hearing that was supposed to occur last week.

Click here to read our full story on that development.

Fred Ziegler and Montgomery County DA

Risa Ferman in happier days.

Also interesting was Township Solicitor Paul Bauer indicating that former supervisor Fred Thiel, whom the current supervisors are suing over the Mountain Mulch fiasco, had tendered a settlement offer, which the township has rejected.

Click here to read our last story on that saga.

Speaking of Mountain Mulch, the township is gearing up for another legal fight given that the Sassamansville Road facility is under legal agreement to vacate the site by March 31.

Township inspections seem to indicate that is increasingly unlikely.

Supervisors also announced that negotiations with the township police union are gearing up. The current contract expires in December.

And the board also adopted a new storm water ordinance and a new ordinance that makes it easier for the Gilbertsville Ambulance and fire companies to get reimbursed by insurance companies for the materials they use when responding to emergencies.

For more, read the Tweets below.

Out on Bail, Ziegler Attends Township Meeting

Photo by Evan Brandt

The full board of supervisors was present for Monday's meeting. From left are Tony Kuklinski, Chairman John Stasik, Fred Ziegler and Township Manager Peter Hiryak.

The news of this meeting is, I suppose, how normal it was.

With three lawsuits going among present supervisors and former supervisors -- now one less, as embattled Supervisor Fred Ziegler has dropped his defamation lawsuit against the township -- thinks might be understandably tense.

The fact that the last time the supervisors met, Ziegler was absent because he was siting in a jail cell in Pottstown having just been arrested and charged with stealing from the township and corruption, made his appearance Tuesday night significant.

Related to that, Ziegler requested that supervisors get the bill list earlier so they have more time to review it. The fact that they often get it the night of the meeting was something Ziegler said was pointed out to him as a result of the fact that his votes are an element of the case against him.

There was also some interesting discussion about the deed for the Gilbertsville Firehouse, and an Eagle Scout project to improve trails in one of the township's open space parcels.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting:

The News Was Not at the Meeting

So sometimes, the news is happening behind the scenes while a municipal meeting relevant to that news blithely goes along on its merry way.

Who is missing from this picture? The empty chair, 2nd from
the right 

is usually occupied by Supervisor Fred Ziegler,
who has been arrested.

Such was the case Tuesday night in the case of Douglass Township, Montgomery County.

While Supervisor's Chairman John Stasik was saying he did not know where Supervisor and former police chief Fred Ziegler was, and didn't know if he would be at the meeting, sources tell us he was cooling his heels in a Pottstown holding cell, possibly being arraigned on charges of stealing from the township.

So, luckily for us, we caught wind of that and, with some help, got the story in time to make the deadline for today's print edition.

(You can also read the full criminal complaint here.)

In the meantime, here's the other stuff that was going on while Ziegler was making his way through the justice system.

Douglass and Upper Pottsgrove in One Night

So the life of the lowly municipal government reporter is nothing if not complicated.

Monday night, I attended the Douglass (Mont.) Supervisors meeting only to find them behaving like perfectly reasonable people.

What fun is that?

So on my way home, I stopped in at Upper Pottsgrove's Commissioner's meeting and caught the VERY tail end of that meeting, but got some interesting tips.

Some of them appear below, others, I will keep close to the vest....