Ten applications submitted to fill open trustee post

Ten applicants for a vacant trustee seat were expected to be interviewed by the Commerce Township Board of Trustees at a special meeting slated for yesterday, Tuesday, Feb. 1.

The 10 candidates are all vying for the position previously held by current Clerk Dan Munro.

Former Clerk Sandra Abrams announced her resignation in December citing personal reasons, one of which being her husband’s health. She had been the township clerk for 13 years.

At their Jan. 11 meeting, the Commerce Township board members accepted Munro’s resignation as a trustee and then voted to appoint him as a replacement for Abrams.

In order to fill the time remaining in Munro’s trustee term — a little less than two years — the Board of Trustees accepted letters of interest from township residents wishing to replace him as a trustee for the remainder of his unexpired term. All applications had to be into the clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Daniel Klemptner, James Poppelreiter, Thomas Hughes, Rusty Rosman, Chris Hill, Peter Pace, Pamela Jackson, John Scott, Ryan Berman, and David Law all submitted applications.

According to Supervisor Tom Zoner, all the candidates were asked the same 10 questions and had 20 minutes to “impress the board.”

As it was an open meeting, the candidates had the option of waiting outside or being present for all the interviews.

One member of the board was designated to ask all the questions during the interviews.

“This is so there is no discrimination with how the question is asked or answered,” Zoner said.

The rest of the board was expected to remain silent and take notes.

Zoner said he believes board members will narrow down the 10 candidates to the board’s top three after comparing notes.

Needing time to evaluate, Zoner added that the decision on who will join the board won’t be made until the Tuesday, Feb. 8 township board meeting.

Munro’s trustee term ends Dec. 31, 2012. Township trustees typically serve four-year terms and receive approximately $100 per meeting.