DUBOIS – The City of DuBois and Sandy Township on Monday night took a step backwards in the process of hiring an interim city/township manager.
At the last Sandy Township meeting, the two municipalities reported having a candidate, Jason Dailey, to serve as an interim manager through the consolidation as current City/Township Manager Shawn Arbaugh will be resigning, effective Dec. 2.
Dailey’s firm has since withdrawn its proposal to serve as joint interim manager upon realization that the scope of work would be far greater than it initially expected. However, the firm remains interested in the possibility of serving as the city’s interim manager.
There are two other firms with potential interest in the interim manager position, council noted.
Council also announced its municipal meetings will be relocated to the Third Ward Fire Hall, beginning Nov. 12, due to the planned renovations at the city building.
The work will also relocate the city/township zoning, building, treasurer and administrative employees to the Sandy Township Municipal Building. Telephone contacts will remain the same.
Any resident wishing to meet with local officials are strongly encouraged to either visit the township building, or make an appointment for the city.
In other business, there were calls for both resignations and apologies during Monday night’s council meeting.
DuBois area firefighters as well as community members filled the building with the crowd extending through the foyer and out the front doorway.
Those outside the meeting room resorted to watching the city’s livestream of the meeting on their cellular phones.
As a result, every uproar inside was echoed outside seconds later .
What brought such a crowd?
It was the comments of Council Member Jennifer Jackson at the Oct. 16 DuBois/Sandy Consolidation Joint Board meeting.
That meeting had gotten heated over allegations of the city fire department’s level of involvement with former City Manager John “Herm” Suplizio’s alleged crimes.
The city and Sandy Township fire departments had sought permission to revive Community Days in June 2025, which became a matter of much debate with push back.
And, it was suggested that the DuBois Days Committee should just remain in charge as the city fire department hasn’t earned back the trust of its community.
Towards the meeting’s end, Jackson implied that there were three city firefighters who would let her building burn if it caught fire.
City firefighters showed up Monday night in solidarity and the three fire chiefs called for Jackson’s resignation.
Multiple fire engines were also parked in the lot across the street. Jackson, however, was excused from the meeting.
Both firefighters and community members alike asked why Mayor Pat Reasinger didn’t do more to rein in the accusations at the joint board meeting.
For instance, there was a letter from Dave Glass, alleging possible links between the department’s Community Days Funds and Suplizio’s hidden “Community Fund.”
In his letter, Glass noted he was only addressing this matter as a DuBois resident, not as a Clearfield County commissioner.
But, on Monday night, he sought an apology as both.
He accused the department of possibly running around the chain of leadership to operate off the Jefferson County 911, and not Clearfield County 911.
Council Member Elliot Gelfand questioned why there were even fire engines at the city building for this meeting.
He accused the department of using city property in an attempt to intimidate a city council member and felt it should follow proper procedures.
Gelfand said the department should have sought council approval before having them at the city meeting, noting there could have been an emergency.
“The trucks are not toys,” he said.
Fire Chief Leo Brooks defended the department, saying if an emergency occurred with the volume of firefighters on-site, it would be faster to cross the street than return to their fire halls.