EXETER TWP., Pa. – There was another changing of the guard at Monday night’s meeting of the Exeter Township Board of Supervisors.

The board voted to accept the resignation of Township Manager William Heim and to thank him for his service and dedication to Exeter Township.

Supervisor Jack Piho pointed out that, “Actually, Bill retired.” Solicitor Chad Schnee said, “It was a pleasure working with him. He tackled several big projects and brought stability” to township operations.

Heim was appointed township manager in September 2024. He previously served as the City of Reading’s managing director. In addition, Heim served as police chief in Reading, Lancaster and Muhlenberg Township.

The supervisors also voted to ratify and confirm the employment agreement appointing Larry Piersol as township manager. Piersol previously served as the township’s executive director of public works. Piersol also previously served as interim township manager before Heim was hired and after the departure of consultant Betsy McBride.

Joint comprehensive plan

Following an earlier public hearing, the supervisors unanimously adopted the joint comprehensive plan for the township. The adoption of the updated plan, prepared in cooperation with the Berks County Planning Commission and the participating municipalities — Amity Township, Douglass Township, Exeter Township and St. Lawrence Borough — will replace the 2005 plan and provide a coordinated vision for future land use, growth, transportation, housing, economic development, natural resource protection, and community facilities.

Agricultural security area

A resolution authorizing the inclusion of the property located at 105 Old Friedensburg Road, (Witthaut property,) into the Oley Township Agricultural Security Area was approved by the supervisors. The township received notice that the owners of the property, which largely lies within Oley Township, have applied to include their land in the agricultural security area, which will help preserve the property’s agricultural use by providing protections and benefits afforded under Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Area Security Law.

Chicken processing facility

The supervisors also approved a variance request submitted by Mesorah Farms for the property located at 441 Fairview Chapel Road. The owners of the Mesorah Farms chicken processing facility located on Lincoln Road are proposing to utilize the property on Fairview Chapel Road as an off-site cold storage facility.

To facilitate this use, the applicant submitted a request for several variances to the planning commission. After review at its July meeting, the planning commission recommended that the board of supervisors and the zoning hearing board approve the requested variances, with the exception of the sight distance variance. The recommendation is further conditioned upon the applicant working with the township to establish an agreeable area of the site to be paved.

Township-owned property sale

The township announced its intent to sell the township-owned parcel located on Naugle Road, which has an estimated value of less than $6,000. Due to its size and location, the parcel appears to function as part of the adjoining property at 203 Naugle Road. The owners of 203 Naugle Road have approached the township with interest in purchasing the parcel.

In accordance with applicable requirements, the township must provide 30 days of public notice prior to the sale of township-owned property. At the purchaser’s expense, an appraisal of the property was completed and established a fair market value of $5,548.

Architectural services

By a 4-1 vote, the supervisors rejected Boyle Construction Management, Center Valley, for architectural services at 1 Hearthstone Court and police department renovations at 4975 DeMoss Road, at a cost not to exceed $59,502.

Supervisors Piho and Mohammad Mohammad said that the proposal looked “bloated” and proposed an excessive number of people to accomplish the tasks.

The township received three responses to the request-for-proposal regarding architectural services for both the forthcoming Exeter Township administration building and the Exeter Township Police Department renovations. Each of the firms prepared and submitted information about their organization and its accomplishments.

All three proposals demonstrated adherence to the RFP requirements, including both technical and cost information. The submitted costs for each were: Beers and Hoffman, $99,896; Buchert Horn, $102,120; and Boyle Construction Management, $59,502.

The supervisors directed new township manager, Larry Piersol, to ask the three respondents to resubmit their bids.

Police statistics

Police Chief Stephen Powell delivered police statistics for the month of June. There were 2,605 incidents reported, of which 33 were false alarms, 31 were domestic related, 14 were noise, and 14 were disorderly conduct.

There were 61 total arrests, Powell noted. A total of 379 traffic citations were issued, of which six were DUI related. There were 17 criminal investigations initiated, and 33 cases were closed/cleared.