Walker Township supervisors held their reorganizational meeting and their January general meeting Monday evening at the township municipal building on Township Road.

Ann Ostergaard was elected the temporary chairperson, then Craig Wagner was reelected the chairperson and continued the meeting. Kent Heisler was elected the vice chairperson. Ostergaard was reelected secretary, assistant treasurer, secretary of the planning committee, secretary of the zoning hearing board and one of the assistant zoning officers.

The amount of the treasurer’s and assistant treasurer’s bond was voted to be $250,000 each for calendar year 2025. The position of treasurer was tabled for now.

Chad Felty was appointed roadmaster and emergency management coordinator. Dave Duffy will continue as the assistant emergency management coordinator.

In the legal areas, Chris Riedlinger will continue as the township solicitor, and Eric Brown will once again serve as the assistant solicitor.

Additional positions filled: sewage enforcement officer, Bill Brior; alternate sewage enforcement officer, Robert Fugate; zoning officer, Bill N. McMullen; Building code official, Comprehensive Inspection Agency; flood plain administrator, Bill N. McMullen; assistant flood plain administrator, Shannon Darker; chair of the vacancy hearing board, Christine Troxell; and delegate to the Eastern Schuylkill Recreation Commission, Kent Heisler.

The mileage reimbursement rate, as per the IRS as of Jan. 1, 2025, will be 70 cents per mile.

Supervisors also approved the following resolutions for 2025: reenacting all local taxes; setting wages and salaries; appointing sewage enforcement officer and fee schedule; naming depositories for the township; naming depositories for tax collection; appointing building and code enforcement and adopting fee schedule; appointing zone hearing board members; and authorizing operational support activities for New England Fire Company.

The monthly general meeting followed the organizational meeting.

Grant received

Walker Township was awarded a Dirt & Gravel Road Grant from the Schuylkill County Conservation District in the amount of $64,106.75.

The grant is stage two of a three-part road project for Kettle Road. The township completed the first stage in 2023. The township was not awarded a grant in 2024. The new grant will allow the township to continue the Kettle Road project.

“We will be putting down DSA, driving surface aggregate, which is put down with a paver,” Roadmaster Chad Felty said. “It’s a gravel and dirt mix, and provides a very hard surface.”

Supervisors also began to discuss the 2025 road projects allocated in the new budget. Several potential roads were discussed, including tarring and chipping sections of Wildcat Road and Cold Run Road. A final decision will be made at a future meeting.

Fire company

New England Fire Company representative Chad Felty reported that the fire company responded to seven calls in December: a house fire in Barnesville; a commercial fire in Hometown; a carbon monoxide call in Walker Township; a vehicle crash; a landing zone call; a medical assist; and an automatic fire alarm.

The number brings the total for 2024 to 93 calls.

“I think that’s one of our highest numbers in the past 20 year,” Felty said.