Sumpter board votes 6-1 to promote Burdick to township manager

At its regular meeting on June 28, the Sumpter Township Board of trustees approved hiring its Deputy Clerk Anthony Burdick of Arkona Road as its new township manager on a 6-1 vote. Trustee Peggy Morgan voted no because she said she had not been furnished with the background information the other board members said they had. She told Burdick after the meeting that her vote was not to be interpreted as being against him personally.
Trustee Morgan asked about why this position was called township administrator and then changed to township manager and Trustee Matthew Oddy said the terms had been used interchangeably.
“I never saw his resume or any minutes from the hiring committee meeting,” Morgan said.
Trustee Oddy said if it didn’t come in the packet, she had five days to request it and she can ask for it.
“I reviewed his resume. He had been an applicant [and then withdrew the first time around],” Oddy said.
“The hiring committee had it,” Trustee Tim Rush explained.
“Who’s the hiring committee?” Sharon Pokerwinski asked from the audience, and attorney Rob Young said Bowman was running the meeting didn’t need to allow questions.
“Who is the hiring committee?” Pokerwinski repeated and Treasurer Vincent Warren, the committee chairman, named the committee members which included Oddy and Rush.
Burdick was approved to become township manager as of July 1 with an annual salary of $90,000 and a benefit package equal to what he currently has. He is expected to do his deputy clerk job as well as township manager job until a new deputy clerk is appointed at his new manager salary.
Included in the motion to hire Burdick was the dissolution of the township manager hiring committee. That committee last met for 10 minutes on June 27 and voted unanimously in favor of Burdick. The hiring committee’s recommendation was not mentioned at the regular board meeting.
In other business at the June 28 meeting, the board:
• Approved recognizing Juneteenth as a township hall holiday and to grant June 5 as the day in lieu of the federal holiday for the 2022 year. Since township attorney Rob Young is still working on negotiating contracts, he was directed to keep the 15 paid holidays at 15 and work it out in the contracts. Trustee Rush said the employees already get three weeks of holidays, plus vacation pay. Young explained the cost of holidays and the time-and-a-half pay incurred in some positions. Treasurer Vincent Warren, who proposed the Juneteenth holiday, said, “This is about freedom … I fought in the Persian Gulf”;
• Approved the township’s investment committee members as: Treasurer Warren, Trustees Matthew Oddy and Don LaPorte, Police Captain Patrick Gannon, and Finance Director Scott Holtz, with Deputy Treasurer Erica Campbell as an alternate. The committee was approved at the last meeting of the board;
• Approved adding one more day of cleaning of the porta-johns at Banotai/Sherwood Park, making three times a week;
• Heard Trustee Morgan discuss the specifications for bidding to replace the fairgrounds fencing that has been torn down, along with Mrs. Hoffman’s private fencing next door. Supervisor Bowman said he wasn’t a fence specialist, but they will see the fence is put back the way it was. Morgan spoke of residential fencing being specified to replace commercial fencing and said she was just trying to make sure the township doesn’t have another lawsuit. After some discussion, Oddy suggested they bring the issue back to the building department, make any changes needed, release the changes to the bidders, and extend the deadline for a week or two;
• Heard Parks and Recreation member Donna Stewart announce they doubt there will be a turkey shoot this year because of the cost of meat and ammunition, so they are planning a Food Fair and Crafters Folly for the middle of October. She said they expect a dozen food trucks to be parked on the grass behind the community center;
• Heard resident Mary Ban ask if there is any update on the museum and Supervisor Bowman said he hasn’t heard from the committee. She said she heard that Van Buren Township feels since it is paying the most for the museum and Belleville and Sumpter “pay piddly-squat,” that it can say what to do. “Van Buren should not have an attitude,” she said, saying it all is about area history. Ban also said the previous Tuesday night there was a major transformer burnout in the Lohr/Bemis roads area and the power was out with no air conditioners when the temperature was 97 degrees. She said her son asked DTE for an assessment because of the growth in the township and DTE told him they would reassess the coverage in the next few weeks;
• Heard Clerk Esther Hurst say the cards for voters telling of their precincts are being printed and will be mailed out in the next few weeks, definitely before the Aug. 2 election;
• Heard Trustee Don LaPorte announce there will be no fire department union chicken broil in 2022 because of the cost of chicken and “with COVID flaring up here and there”; and
• Heard Supervisor Bowman said that at the last board meeting he was verbally attacked by Trustee Morgan. He said it was mentioned Mr. Po was not involved other than selling the property. “What are you accusing me of? That Mr. Po is involved?” he said. “None of us knew Mr. Po. I don’t know what you’re accusing me of.” Trustee Morgan said Trustee Matthew Oddy said during the meeting that the developer had until the 28th to give a presentation and they never mentioned a name. Morgan said as soon as the board adjourned, she was told it was Mr. Po and “that’s why I was angry.” Oddy asked her why would she be angry. “This guy pled guilty to illegal drug crimes in this community and paid a quarter-million-dollar fine,” he said. “You went all the way around,” she replied. “You never said who you were talking about. Isn’t that strange?” Oddy said he didn’t name the company because it wasn’t appropriate. Morgan said she was told Po met with him and Oddy replied that was an absolute lie and whoever said that is “an absolute liar.” He said he was not going to name who was there, but, “They offered that Mr. Po is not involved.” Attorney Young said the individuals talked of industrial development, but it depended on opting in to the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act. “I was surprised Mr. Oddy spoke about it,” Young said and then addressed Morgan, “You can smirk, wrinkle your face, nod your head yes and no. What you’re good at. It’s what you like to do.”