Forward Twp. vacancy board to meet Monday

The board is expected to appoint a new supervisor in light of Dave Magiske’s resignation.

A vacancy board meeting will be held prior to Monday’s Forward Township supervisor’s meeting, where it’s expected a new supervisor will be appointed.

A legal advertisement placed in today’s MVI, states that a vacancy board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday ahead of the supervisor’s regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m.

It’s expected the vacancy board will fill the seat left by former Supervisor Dave Magiske.

There are eight people interested in serving as a supervisor, according to Supervisor Tom DeRosa. They were not identified.

His appointment or replacement has been a long and contentious process for the past several months.

According to Second Class Township code, a resignation has to be accepted by the majority vote of the board of supervisors. If that doesn’t happen, it will take effect 45 days after the date it was submitted.

Magiske submitted his first letter of resignation Nov. 19.

Because a vote wasn’t taken to accept his resignation at that meeting, Magiske’s first attempt to resign would have been accepted Jan. 3 regardless of a vote.

However, Magiske was present at the Jan. 6 reorganization meeting and announced he had rescinded his resignation before it was formally accepted by law a few days prior.

The matter was not brought up again until Jan. 24 when Magiske submitted his second letter of resignation dated the same day.

Supervisor Dave Levdansky wasn’t present at that meeting, and therefore no vote was taken to accept Magiske’s resignation for the second time, which started the process over again.

According to code, DeRosa and Levdansky had until Feb. 23 to accept Magiske’s resignation.

No special meeting was held to vote on the matter, so per the law it went into effect officially March 10 which would have been the date of the township’s regular meeting, had DeRosa not canceled it for health reasons.

Per code, after a resignation is accepted by law, sitting supervisors have 30 days to choose someone to fill the vacancy.

If sitting supervisors can’t make a decision within 30 days after a resignation is accepted by law, the vacancy board has to be called in to make a decision.

The deadline for supervisors to decide ended Wednesday.

Currently, DeRosa, Levdansky and Tom Headley sit on the vacancy board.

The vacancy board has 15 days to decide who to appoint someone to fill the seat, which means a decision by the vacancy board must be made by April 24. Failure to reach a decision by the vacancy board means the decision will be brought before a judge who will decide and appoint a person to fill the open seat that runs through the end of this year.

Magiske’s seat is up for reelection during the May 20 primary election. On the ballot are Democrats Thomas D. Prentice Jr. and Timothy Bell. Republican candidates on the ballot are Amy L. Cline and Jayme Stoffer. The winner of each party’s nomination will square off in the fall general election.

Running for tax collector are Republicans Susan Molnar and Wendy Buza.