KNOX, Pa. (EYT) — The Clarion County Association of Township Officials (CCATO) will hold its 97th annual meeting on Thursday, September 28, and it could be the group’s last convention if more members are not found for its executive board.
(Photo courtesy of CCATO website.)
Bergen Dilley, a Clarion Township Supervisor, has served as president for the last three years and has been on the executive board for four years.
About 200 township officials attend the annual meeting held at the Knox Firehall Complex.
“The real problem that we’re having is getting new executive board members, and that’s why there was a letter sent out to all of those who normally attend the annual convention and tell everyone that we’re in dire need of executive board members,” said Dilley.
“We have had some response, and it sounds good, but nothing is positive, yet. It sounds to me like we have a few new ones coming on board. They can be a secretary, an auditor, or a supervisor to serve on the executive board.”
Dilley said that a couple of years ago he spent a whole weekend on his home phone trying to recruit executive board members, and he got zero.
One of the problems facing the group is that supervisors from Limestone and Elk Townships are going off of the board because they are not running again for office in November.
“The annual meetings serve as training and education for the supervisors and other township officials such as auditors and secretaries,” said Dilley. “There’s a session for the auditors, a secretary’s session, workshops, a supervisor’s workshop. You can always learn something out of that convention – I always have.”
CCATO’s official mission is to provide Clarion County township officials with education, communication, and representation.
“Our goal is to support our township officials, so they can help their municipalities be successful, resourceful, and productive communities to live in.”
Special sessions at the annual meeting or conventions include:
- Road Maintenance
- New Technology
- State Funding Eligibilities
- Regulations that Affect Municipalities
- Posting Bonding
- Tax Collecting
- Marcellus Shale
- Drug Safety and more…
Vendors at the annual meeting are also an attraction. Additionally, they can be a good information source.
“Vendors have a room, and I think that they answer a lot of questions….There’s insurance people there, equipment personnel — you name it,” said Dilley.
“They have solved problems for me. Before I was on the executive board, I really enjoyed walking around and talking to the vendors; they have displays, and you can see some new things to help what you’re having trouble with. I think the attendees get a lot from the vendors.”
If the townships don’t have an annual meeting, training and education would have to be obtained from other resources. Classes are available through PennDOT’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) in addition to other educational items on CCATO’s website at https://www.clarioncountyato.org.
“Unfortunately, a lot of times when they hold those classes, they’re not around here, and you have to drive to Clearfield and sometimes farther than that,” said Dilley. “Once in a while, they’ll have one locally like at one of the inns in Clarion, but a lot of times they’re not here. LTAP has instructors who come, and it could be on anything — like on snow and ice removal. It could be on vegetation control; it could be dealing with the general public; it could be on maintenance on equipment, and the list goes on and on.”
Dilley also likes seeing and talking to other township supervisors and borough personnel, and it often solves problems.
“Clarion Township joins Millcreek, Union, Monroe, and Limestone townships and connect with all four townships plus Strattanville and Clarion boroughs,” said Dilley. “What I like about it is I’ll see all of these people at the convention, and if they’re having a problem or we’re having a problem, it’s like two heads are better than one. You might think about it until you’re blue in the face until you talk with someone else and bang…the problem is solved.”
Joint purchases aren’t even out of the question. Dilley said the only joint purchase Clarion Township has made has been with Millcreek Township, but it shows how municipalities can cooperate with each other when needed.
“The only joint purchase that we’ve done recently is a jump bridge with Millcreek Township,” said Dilley. “It’s a temporary bridge, and what it does is it spans your existing bridge that’s not safe anymore. This is a bridge that gets inspected through the state. They tell us basically what to do, and if the span is over 20 feet in length, the state governs the operation of that bridge. This one had a span of 26 feet. It was a joint effort because we share the bridge with Millcreek Township, so we had a temporary jump bridge installed. It took only two days to have it put in, and we shared the costs with Millcreek Township. It stays there until the permanent bridge is in place. It could be used again when needed and moved to another location.”
For more information on the CCATO 97th annual meeting go to https://www.clarioncountyato.org/97th-county-convention.html.
