Two Franklin Township residents with a history of public service are running for the township's supervisor position.

Voters will have the opportunity to choose a new township supervisor after Janet Gray's term ends Dec. 31.

Running for the open position are Keith Kaib, 65, and Nathan Wulff, 30. The two live in the township and come from different public service backgrounds.Both said they appreciate the rural, agricultural aspects of the township and want to respect and preserve that lifestyle for the residents.Wulff grew up in Center Township before moving to Franklin Township three years ago. In the past, he served as chief of the Unionville Fire Company and now serves as its assistant chief. He is also a past president of the Butler County Fire Chief's Association. Using his experience as a firefighter, he works part time as a fire instructor for Butler County Community College.“Community service is very important in my life,' Wulff said. “This is the next logical step for me.”Kaib has served on the township's planning commission for more than 11 years. Before that, he was on the Connoquenessing Township's planning commission for 10 years. He worked for 33 years as the maintenance and facilities director for the Butler Area School District.“Being a supervisor is related to my experiences and my background,” Kaib said. “It's planning, drawing, blueprints. A lot of info that helps shape the township that I live in. I think it's important to give back to the community and do whatever you can to help.”'Lot to offer'And now, he said, he plans to run for supervisor because he thinks that with his background and work history, “I could bring a lot to the township. I have a lot to offer.”Kaib said that his priority would be to focus on road maintenance.“It's so important to maintain roads not only in the summer, but also the winter,” he said.Kaib said another priority for him would be to propose opening a “workshop meeting” to be conducted a week before the township's regular meetings.“The issue I see is, it's very difficult to get together and discuss issues,” Kaib said. “The workshop meeting would help us to do that much better for residents to voice concerns and get together.”

And Wulff also has plans if he wins. He said that in his fire department roles, he attended meetings in several townships.“I've learned a lot, but the one thing I was to take out of it is people getting hit with these roadblocks of unnecessary regulations,” Wulff said. “I think you should be able to do what you want on your own property.”'Sweeping ordinance'Franklin Township, Wulff said, passed ordinance 101, “a sweeping maintenance ordinance.”He continued, “The citizen shouldn't have to justify why they shouldn't be allowed to do something (while) the government must justify why they're prohibiting the citizen from doing something.”Wulff said that the ordinance went too far in micromanaging people's property.“They're making rules to solve problems that don't exist,” Wulff said. “There were rules about what you can have sitting on your driveway in terms of mechanical equipment.”The pushback against this ordinance and specifications for mailbox replacements made Wulff want to run for supervisor.He also said that the township supervisor meetings have been blocked from public participation since November.“After that, they closed off their meetings to the public, so for three months it wasn't open to the public,” Wulff said, adding that it's open to the public now by calling into the conference, “but you can't speak at the meetings. It's, quite frankly, unethical.”He continued, “I'm so frustrated with them: we're unable to have a dialogue at all. It just blows my mind. Townships all over have meetings in person, so there's a way to do it.”Kaib hopes to address people's concerns by having the auxiliary workshop meetings, and he said that his experience as a retired maintenance director will help him meet residents' needs.“My priorities are making sure money is being spent properly and make sure we're good stewards of tax dollars,” he said. “Make sure there's no waste and everything has been done properly.“I can easily see the big picture, not just what's in front of me. And with that I'm able to make good, sound decisions.”

Keith Kaib

Nathan Wulff