Cecil hires 2 police officers
CECIL – Cecil Township supervisors voted 3-2 Wednesday to hire two police officers at a salary of $52,000 each after a failed vote to table the measure.
Vice Chairman Eric Sivavec motioned to table the vote after noting a 15 percent discrepancy in the police budget, which was later clarified by township staff and Chief Shawn Bukovinsky as an error with new accounting software. Sivavec added the supervisors should investigate the long-term costs two additional officers would put upon the township in terms of retirement compensation. Sivavec and Supervisor Elizabeth Cowden voted against the hirings.
Bukovinsky said newly hired officers, Richard Oddi, 24, and Thomas Quinlan, 26, would increase the police force to 20.
Oddi served two years with Pittsburgh police and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. Quinlan recently graduated from the police academy and is an Air Force reservist.
“This will help complete our staff. This helps us have a minimum of three officers on at all times. We are a very busy township. Last month, we had over 400 calls,” Bukovinsky said.
During discussion on the vote, Supervisor Cindy Fisher said she called police over the weekend for a fireworks complaint and that officers weren’t able to respond for 40 minutes because they were busy with other calls.
“We have 27 square miles in the township that police have to cover. Our staffing levels before weren’t where they needed to be,” Fisher said.
In other business, the board approved by a vote of 3-2 an updated ordinance for cellphone communication towers that prohibits them within 500 feet of a residence, or a setback of 150 percent of the height of the tower, or whichever is greater. Fisher and Supervisor Frank Egizio voted no.
“We should separate the zoning districts and not have all the same setbacks. This is good for residential areas, but this will inhibit growth in commercial areas,” Egizio said. A hearing to amend the ordinance that was just voted on will be held Aug. 8.
Before the meeting, Colin Otis, of 38 Hahn Road, thanked the board for considering his letter and submissions to revise the ordinance to “allow residents a say what’s in their backyards.” Crown Castle has an appeal hearing July 11 for its proposed tower at 455 Hahn Road. But other residents were surprised by a settlement offered to TowerCo for a proposed cell tower at 216 Cumer Road.
The settlement was tabled after audience protests that the proposed offer of allowing a setback of 225 feet from an existing property line under a conditional use variance contradicted the just passed ordinance.
“I just heard of this tonight. I’ve been out of town for two months for work and I come back to a surprise settlement about allowing a tower in my backyard,” said John Yago of 38 Muse-Bishop Road.
The board also approved by a unanimous motion by Cowden to move $500,000 from the township’s general fund to a certificate of deposit with Slovenian Savings and Loan.