A special meeting was held by North Shenango Township supervisors on Wednesday, January 27.

Jeff Daniels, Chairperson, opened the meeting and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Supervisors Jeff Daniels, Eloise Settlemyre and Bill Emerick were in attendance.

Supervisor Daniels asked for Public Participation and Allan Graczyk, the North Shenango VFD President, took the floor and brought up the matter of the Saturday Bingo at NSVFD. Revenue is down, added to with the nosmoking ban being put in place, and the Fire Department needs money to operate.

He mentioned they had come to the Supervisory Board a year ago with this dilemma.

Since numbers are down, the NSVFD has cancelled Bingo until February 13, 2010.

They are contemplating a Mega-Bingo, once a month.

He went on to say that they have learned that the North Shenango Community Center now has a Saturday Bingo, too. He believes this could hurt the Fire Department Bingo, and that these are opposing events.

He believes that people don’t have a lot of money to work with these days, and that they are saving up to participate in Bingo on certain days out of the month. His best interest is with the Fire Department and that they would like to see some successful events held there, specifically, to increase revenue.

Chairperson Jeff Daniels stated to Mr. Graczyk that this was not a matter for the North Shenango Board of Supervisors.

The NST Supervisors appoint the Community Center Board and they are their own entity, one that has monthly meetings and is open to the public.

He also noted that there is a private organization called the "Pymatuning Hall, Incorporated," and that their meetings are not open to the public.

He thought the Fire Department should take this issue directly to the Community Center Board and not involve the NST Supervisors.

To this, Mr. Gracyk replied that if the necessary monies are not obtained, fire protection for the township could become an issue.

He also said that a year ago a possible tax had been discussed as a means of generating operating funds, etc.

Bill Lee then took the floor, saying that his upcoming Bingo on the 6th at the CC should not interfere with the Fire Department Bingo, if the Department is eliminating some Saturdays from their roster.

A discussion that grew progressively louder ensued; it appeared that the Fire Department and the Community Center were at odds with one another, and Bingo is the issue.

Mr. Lee stated he did not have to check in with the Fire Department on events at the Community Center; Allan Graczyk stated he thought the Community Center should talk with the Fire De-partment, in a mutual effort to benefit the community at large.

Chairperson Jeff Daniels waved his gavel in the air, telling the floor to keep it civil.

Don Goodenow then took the floor, making the statement that he believes there is a lack of communication between entities in the township.

Daniels, raising the gavel again, said he thought everyone should talk with one another and entities should advertise in local publications their intentions and events. If more people talked together, more issues could be resolved and things could move forward for the general good.

Bill Lee spoke up, stating he did not want to steal the Bingo from the NSVFD.

The discussion then became loud again, with allegations coming from (the Community Center) that things weren’t being run properly.

Daniels waved his gavel once again, requesting order.

Allan Graczyk spoke up again, saying that all Fire Departments locally and their Bingo’s are suffering; they have lowered prices at North Shenango so people could still come.

Supervisor Bill Emerick took the floor, stating he agreed with Roadmaster Don Goodenow in that there is a lack of communication between entities and that all groups should discuss events and ideas with one another.

Daniels mentioned the previous discussion of a year ago concerning the Fire Tax to raise money for the Department. He said this was not a sure thing as of now, just an idea and perhaps it should be discussed. He stressed that no tax is being implemented at this time.

Lee spoke again, "on the record, that the Community Center would never take away Bingo from the Fire Department, but I will not stop events at the Center if the Fire Department isn’t having one the same day."

Supervisor Daniels mentioned a trailer parked at the Center, along with someone’s boat. He said he, a Bingo player himself, had heard of the NSVFD Bingo cancellation in Linesville, not from a member in Espyville. He said the NSVFD should have posted a sign beforehand and let citizens and officials know personally that Bingo had been cancelled.

He went on to say that some Bingo players had arrived to find a note or something pasted on the door, and no one knew anything for sure.

Supervisor Eloise Settlemyre took the floor, stating she is a Bingo player and that this lack of communication between entities is a very bad thing. She thinks working together and talking is a good start for resolution of issues.

Supervisor Settlemyre went on to discuss the Bingo with the other Supervisors and those present at the meeting.

Allan Graczyk and Jeff Daniels told each other that neither one of their Boards attend the other’s meetings; both agreed that this was truth, Graczyk speculating on the future of fire protection in NST, it was taxes vs. fire insurance, etc.

Tony Durnye spoke up then, saying that threats should be left out, that entities should discuss issues and ideas. He also said that, in his opinion, the new late-night Bingo would not be successful.

Supervisor Daniels said Andover has a tax and doesn’t want their Department and Ambulance services leaving their borough. The tax is paid by the recipients in that borough and they mean to keep it there.

Citizen Jerry Settlemyre chimed in about the Mega-Bingo being held once a month and the time it was scheduled. He, too, felt everyone should try to work things out.

Graczyk responded that the Fire Department needs new ways to attract Bingo players - possibly with some big payouts.

Goodenow thought that attending other area Bingo parlors might give everyone some ideas.

The meeting lightened up somewhat as everyone joked about sending out Bingo Spies.

Durnye said that senior citizens really look forward to Bingo as a regular outing and something to do.

Format changes were mentioned again, with the fact that players were upset with this.

The North Shenango Community Center Board meets every third Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm, followed by the private meeting of the Pymatuning Hall board.

The North Shenango Volunteer Fire Department meets every first Thursday at 7:00pm

Chairperson Jeff Daniels moved the meeting on at this time, indicating a need for a temporary Secretary/Treasurer.

Full-time Secretary Denise Gray is out, due to health reasons, thus the need for a temporary fillin for the position.

Since this is an appointed position, the Supervisors don’t need to advertise.

There is a need for a temp because township business continues on with things such as payroll and bills, so Jeff Daniels then made a motion to the Board to consider a part- time, temporary Secretary/Treasurer. Motion carried.

According to Daniels, having spoken to Solicitor Alan Shaddinger, the Supers do not have to advertise this position, but the appointee must be bonded.

At this time, the temporary Secretary/ Treasurer position is vacant.

Moving on, Road Master Don Goodenow took the floor once again. He began with the news that the 1990 Chevy plow truck belonging to the township had caught on fire recently while the crew was out working on roads. The truck was towed away and the insurance company notified.

The 1975 truck is inoperable and the township needs to have a truck ready for plowing and road work.

He was told to look for a truck suitable for the township. He said he had looked at both new and used trucks, for purchase under state contract.

A 2009 Ford 550 has been located, complete with spreader box, dump bed and 9 foot plow for $58, 268.00. This price is after the Piggyback Program and the township having a Ford fleet.

At this time the motion carried unanimously to purchase the new truck, located at Walsh Equipment.

Apparently there are no parts available for the 1990 truck and it would take more than $3,000.00 to repair it, plus the parts it would still need. The insurance company has offered $9,000.00 to total the truck, but did not include hydralics and clamps that would need to be transferred off of the old chassis.

Goodenow is negotiating with the insurance company, Integrated Risk Management, to get more money for the burnt-out truck.

Moving on to Public Par-ticipation, Dave White spoke up, saying he would like a moratorium on the Bingo matters and wants to sit down with the Community Center board and talk.

Bill Lee repeated he does not want to take Saturday Bingo away from the Fire Department, but the center will still have their own Bingo if the Fire Department doesn’t have one scheduled.

Again, the discussion became somewhat heated, with White questioning Daniels on when and where Daniels had heard that Fire Department Bingo had been cancelled and how word was getting around so fast that the news had traveled out to Linesville.

Again, Goodenow stressed that communication is key; the discussion continued for a few more minutes before Eloise Settlemyre made the motion to adjourn for the afternoon.

Bill Emerick seconded. Motion carried.

The North Shenango Board of Supervisors meets every second Monday of the month at 7:00pm. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.