Editor’s note: Dan Suttles’ next neighborhood meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 29 at Brookfield Township Community Park.

Brookfield Trustee Dan Suttles held a neighborhood meeting Aug. 18, the day after trustees hired David Masirovits as the new fire chief. One of the first questions he was asked was about the hiring.
Specifically, Henry Sanker asked, why didn’t the trustees promote from within the department?
“I’d like to hire within, but I want the best candidate,” Suttles responded.
Two full-time Brookfield firefighters were among 18 men who applied, and both of them, Capt. Matt Gordon and Lt. Nick Cresanto, made it to the field of six that underwent assessment center testing. Gordon was one of four to be interviewed.

Jim Wherry, left, and Dan Suttles

Jim Wherry, left, and Dan Suttles

The candidate pool overall was very strong, but Masirovits was “by far, head and shoulders, the best candidate,” Suttles said. Masirovits had the qualifications, interviewed well and exhibited the personal qualities the trustees were looking for, Suttles said.
Sanker asked if Masirovits would be a long-term chief, and Suttles responded that he believes so, but could not guarantee that. The new chief, whose hiring is contingent on his passing a background check and a physical exam, said he wants to retire from Brookfield, but Suttles acknowledged that people leave jobs for any number of reasons.
Masirovits will be on probation for a year, during which time he can be relieved of the job for any reason, Suttles said.
“We did our homework,” Suttles said, but added, “You never know what someone’s going to do until they’re in the job.”
The meeting was held at the home of Jim Wherry on Amy Boyle Road, the first in a rural location, and the attendance, eight, was low when compared to other of Suttles’ neighborhood meetings.
But, there was no shortage of issues for Suttles to address.
A couple of times, he had to explain how the township received a $100,000 grant from AEP Energy, the company the trustees chose for electric aggregation; and a matching $35,000 grant from the Strimbu Memorial Fund, O’Brien Children’s Fund and Kirila Family Foundation; what the trustees plan to do with the money; and why those uses were chosen.
The money will go to upgrading the electrical service and installing a security gate at Brookfield Township Community Park; building a columbarium and installing a decorative fence at Brookfield Township Cemetery; and replacing the changeable copy sign with an electronic one on the green in Brookfield Center.
Sure, the trustees could have used to the money to, say, pave streets, but wanted it to go for projects that all of the residents of the township could benefit from, Suttles said. He added that no tax money will be used.
Suttles also engaged in discussions about why the trustees went ahead with the Aug. 6 meeting when there was no power in the administration building; whether the township could help a property owner with a storm water pipe issue; the road improvement project on the dirt part of Amy Boyle Road; property maintenance issues with some local houses; the speed limit on Amy Boyle; and how the corn is doing on a local farm.