Last month Summit Hill Borough Council deadlocked on an appointment to the town's water authority, with Chet Maholick, who has been chairman for 11 years, and Jim Yusella, a professional plumber, being the candidates.

Last night, when a new vote occurred, neither Maholick nor Yusella were nominated.The apointment was given to Lewis "Chip" Alexander by a 5-2 vote. The councilmembers voting "no" to the appointment were Harry Miller and Kenneth Boyd.Originally the appointment was to have been made in January but the council opted to delay it until its February meeting.Then last month, it was noted that Maholick and Yusella were the only applicants. The council was deadlocked at 4-4 on an appointment, with one council member absent.A special meeting was called during which Mayor Paul McArdle was asked to break the deadlock, but he declined and sent the matter back to the council.At last night's meeting, it was stated there were now four applicants for the water authority appointment. The fourth was Jack Reber. Both Alexander and Reber submitted applications on March 9.Councilman Bill Chapman made the motion to appoint Alexander.The appointment of Alexander came despite a plea by borough resident James Crampsie that Maholick be re-appointed.Crampsie asked the council to place Maholick on the authority, stating that under his leadership, "The water authority has been run very efficiently, very effectively.""This guy, here, is the leader," said Crampsie, referring to Maholick. "It's like the football team getting rid of its coach."He said the authority has one of the lowest water rates in the stae."I'm just hoping we don't play politics with these appointments," Crampsie told the council.