By By JAMES COLLINS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- The Niles Township Board of Trustees held a special meeting Monday night to discuss the hiring of a final candidate for the township's vacant building inspector position.
An executive committee made up of treasurer Jim Ringler, clerk Marge Durm-Hiatt and trustee Dick Noble (who sat in for the vacationing supervisor Bill Myers), gave the board its recommendation for the hiring of James Pheifer, a project manager for the Dowagiac-based Getz Construction, LLC.
The committee interviewed 10 candidates and narrowed the field down to three finalists before selecting Pheifer.
Trustee Bob Jones expressed concern with the fact that Pheifer was not a licensed contractor or a licensed tradesman. He wanted to see a full list of credentials before he could be convinced this was the right man for the job.
Noble encouraged any board members who were not sure of the candidate to bring in the three finalists for additional interviews sometime before the board's next meeting on July 6.
None of the candidates were licensed building inspectors and the committee felt Pheifer was the most qualified applicant.