Lancaster Township

LANCASTER TWP — Supervisors unanimously approved the appointment of a new board member during a meeting on Monday, July 21.

After previously meeting with supervisors, Lisa Wylie will assume the role township supervisor through the end of the year to fulfill the six-year term of Timothy Zinkham.

Zinkham recently announced he was resigning due to family obligations.

In a corresponding move, Supervisor Rich Marcotte was appointed as the new vice chairman.

During the public comment period before the vote took place, two residents implored supervisors to appoint Mike Doban to the board.

On May 20, Doban won 61.9% of the votes to win the Republican primary for a six-year term. He also received numerous write-in votes in the Democratic primary. As a result, Doban is all but guaranteed to become the board’s third member next January.

“It would seem inappropriate and a rejection of the wishes of our voters to choose anyone else, given the small amount of time remaining in Tim’s term,” said resident Pat Stirling. “I am hopeful that I can rely on you to respect the choices of the voters in both parties.”

However, supervisors chose Wylie instead, leading several residents to voice their displeasure with the move.

Chairman Greg Kessler did not explain the board’s rationale immediately after the vote and later declined to comment on the decision.

In other business, supervisors unanimously approved a grant application to the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development for a multimodal grant for Scott Ridge Road, Dogwood Drive and Hufnagel Road. The application seeks $859,000 for road improvements.