Eldred Township has a new township administrator.

The supervisors approved hiring David Anderson for the newly created position during their meeting on June 18. The job will have a starting salary of $63,000, plus benefits.

The new position was created by the supervisors after they received the Organizational Assessment and Administrative Staff Review from the Meyner Center at Lafayette College in March.

The center was hired by the township to review its staffing positions and provide feedback. The township wanted to know what would be the best course of action for staffing, because the township’s treasurer, James Phillips, wanted to retire this year, and the secretary, Ann Velopolcek, plans to retire sometime in 2026.

The center recommended creating of a professional manager or a township administrator position. This position would do the work of the treasurer, and some of the work of the secretary.

“I thought that the study was very beneficial,” said Supervisor Gary Hoffman.

Velopolcek said on Friday that Anderson’s background check and other verifications came back fine, and he began work on Monday.

“I think he will be here for a long time,” she said.

In other business, Jonathan Gula, the Public Works Department supervisor, said workers have been doing lots of roadside mowing.

“The township is plagued with an invasive plant called honeysuckle. It grows 3 to 10 feet a year, and this year it’s growing rapidly. We’re having a hard time keeping up,” Gula said. “So normally we do a section at a time, but with this honeysuckle, we’re kind of just bouncing around and getting what roads are getting worse. I’ve never seen it grow like it has, but we did get over a foot of rain in the last month.”

Gula said they also have been combining street signs that are duplicated too close together. This helps to clean up the area and is less for the department to have to mow around.

The Public Works Department also started the pipe project on Borger Road. Gula said they have seven more pipes to do. One of which is a 36-inch pipe that needs to be replaced, but water runs through it. They are going to dam up the water, and pump it to the other side past the construction. Gula anticipated the work would be done in one day.

Next, Gula also pointed out the automated external defibrillator holder in the municipal building meeting room. Three devices have been ordered and have been shipped, Velopolcek said.

“As you can see on the wall over here, the holders for the AEDs came in,” Gula said. “That is alarmed; if you take that off, it will make a very hideous noise.”

There is an AED holder in the community center, and one will be with on a Public Works truck in case they need to assist at an emergency. Gula said he and his department have been trained on how to use the AEDs.

Gula also talked about replacing the current bed on the 2016 F-550 truck with a stainless steel truck bed for $23,741 through COSTARS, which is a cooperative purchasing program in Pennsylvania.

“Stainless steel is more expensive, but the thought process is that in 10 years when that truck has to be replaced, that bed can be put on the next small bed truck,” Gula said.

The expense was in the budget, so the supervisors approved it.