Foster Township Supervisor Chairman Bob Slike defended himself
against allegations of taking township property during the public
discussion portion of the supervisors meeting held Monday
night.

Audience members took to the podium to address circulating
notions that the chairman had borrowed and retained possession of
property belonging to the township, arguing that such was unfair to
the citizens of Foster Township and an abuse of power.

A spirited exchange, though tempered by the formality of the
occasion, took place between several members of the audience and
supervisors regarding the temporary location of a York Rake at
Slike’s residence for approximately three years.

Tom Perry, a resident of Seaward Avenue, was first and most
fervent with his questions and complaints and directed them not
only toward Slike but also against a previous township supervisor,
Cary Kaber.

Perry began with allegations regarding a trailer that the
taxpayers paid $200, not including costs of labor, to try to fix
and ended up laying around until relocated to Kaber’s
residence.

“Once it went home with him (Kaber), it was stolen at that
point,” Perry claimed.

Joe Sweet, township road supervisor, conceded that the trailer
was originally intended to be taken to Goodman’s Services for
disposal and that he should have contacted Foster Township Police
Chief Jeff Wolbert instead of Kaber.

Slike reported that the trailer is now back where it was and is
up for sale in the attempt to garner funds for the township.

In response to his alleged theft of the York Rake, Slike said it
was junk headed to the landfill that he borrowed and improved the
value of while it was in his possession and that the has now
returned it and placed it up for bid as well.

“Joe (Sweet) couldn’t use it in the condition it was in and
neither could I. It kept getting loaded up and you’d have to stop
every five minutes (to fix it),” he said. “It was heavy and I
procrastinated and left in my yard. I should have returned it
sooner, but if it’s missing again it wasn’t me.”

Foster Township resident Margie Leonard commented that she was
unaware “things were up for public borrowing” and resident Joe
Piganelli complained that it’s just because of Slike’s status as
supervisor that he took it upon himself to let himself borrow
property belonging to the people.

To these allegations, Slike replied saying “Nobody’s allowed to
borrow as of now. It’s not like I haven’t lent things to the
township either. My sandblaster has been here for ten years.”

Resident Bob Baker made a few suggestions in the effort to
resolve the situation.

“Bob, I don’t think you’re a thief, I think we’ve got the
disease out,” Baker said. “I think the past … made people
suspicious of what’s going to happen in the future. From now on,
why not just pass everything by the public, then everyone can speak
their objections there.”

Slike agreed, “I admit I was guilty of borrowing, but I’m not a
thief and it’s not going to happen anymore.”

Supervisor Jim Connelly assured the public that inventories are
taken twice a year and that done with a witness watching over the
process, saying the lesson was learned just to watch more carefully
and be more aware of what’s going on.

Resident Barb Price brought up a separate complaint concerning
the “deplorable” conditions several houses and yards are in on
South Kendall Street.

“I have a list of 10 places that need to be looked into,” she
said. “I brought it to the attention of John Place (Township Code
Enforcement Officer) and he said the only way to get things done is
by the people complaining, so please complain everyone. South
Kendall is junk yard city and unlicensed cars are everywhere.”

Baker then asked Place whether there was any law requiring code
enforcement to be a complaint-driven entity.

“Not legally,” Place responded. “I could be proactive if I
worked 80 hours a week and had about three people helping me out. I
know exactly where (Price) is talking about, but by all practical
purposes, code enforcement is complaint-driven.”

In other business, the supervisors agreed to check into the use
of Harrisburg Run by oil and lumber trucks since it is not bonded
for the travel of such heavy equipment.

In response to the complaint by resident Dale Yohe, Sweet said
that “Pine Bros. had paved part of the road through the government.
I agree with you 100 percent on that, I’ve been wanting to pave
that for years,” Sweet added.

A spokesperson for the Rew Volunteer Fire Department reported it
had received 55 calls over the last year and announced that it is
in dire need of trainees and volunteers to help strengthen the
force.

Supervisor Chris Wolcott reported that the new flood-hazard
mapping would put some people into the flood zone that weren’t
previously there and require that they get flood insurance in order
to mortgage or sell their property.

“If get coverage before the map is finalized, it will be
dramatically cheaper — from $264 to $3,022 — and then get
grandfathered in,” Wolcott said. “It will be a few months before
finalization is complete.”