Scio Township Hires a New Finance Director, Promotes Interagency Collaboration and Says Yes to Frito Lay

The October 28 Scio Township Board of Trustees meeting had another full agenda with a variety of decisions made, including hiring a new Finance Director; helping to keep a neighborhood’s water and wastewater system fiscally healthy and letting Frito Lay move forward with adding on to a local distribution center.

New Finance Director

In hiring a new finance Director, Scio Township fills an important role that’s been vacant. Scio has brought on Niki Timmons for this role. Scio’s Human Resources Manager Aurora Northrup said Timmons is a finance leader “with over 20 years of experience in municipal finance, utilities, and public accounting.”

Timmons has served as Deputy CFO and Treasurer, leading ERP implementations, stabilizing financial operations, reducing fraud by 56 percent and improving controls, Northrup said in her report to the board.

In coordination with executive search firm Sanford Rose Associates, Northrup said Scio has engaged in a thorough search and review process.

“Niki will be an immediate asset to the Township, to improve and build its financial operations,” Northrup said in her report.

LASA

With the water and neighborhood decision, Scio Township has agreed to officially take on some services for the Loch Alpine area water and sewer system. Scio has agreed to help provide ongoing IT, cash receipting and Accounts Payable Services for the system.

The Loch Alpine Sanitary Authority of Webster and Scio Townships (LASA) is responsible for the operation of the Loch Alpine area water and sewer system, including a community well, the water tower, sanitary sewer, and the wastewater treatment plant.

Township clerk Jessica Flintoft said in her report to the board, “LASA is a small system that will grow slightly, if at all, and as costs everywhere increase, additional efficiencies can be made through interagency collaboration.”

Flintoft said “Webster Township does not have a utility department, IT staff person, or other capabilities that Scio Township has, and has expressed its support for an agreement with Scio Township to provide these services.”

“We all recognize that LASA must become more efficient, and modernize practices in order to keep the water and wastewater system fiscally healthy,” Flintoft said.

Flintoft projects costs at $800 a month, which would recover most of Scio’s cost of providing service, and is a flat amount per month. It would be revisited annually to ensure cost is fair.

“We have the technology, personnel, and policies needed to implement these services for the benefit of LASA customers,” Flintoft said.

Frito Lay

The decision for Frito Lay involves its location at 173 Jackson Plaza. The township said the site currently maintains an existing Pepsico distribution building satellite shipping facility containing 9,230 square feet and employing 16 people. The site consists of 3.14 acres and is zoned Limited Industrial.

The township granted Frito Lay’s request to construct a 1,392 square-foot cold storage accessory building at the southeast corner of the existing parking lot.