By By NORMA LERNER / Niles Daily Star
NILES - The Howard Township Board granted the request for an industrial facilities exemption certificate at 50 percent for 12 years for Delta Machining, Inc. of 2361 Reum Road and Delta Industrial Valves, Inc. of 801 Carberry Road. A public hearing was held Tuesday evening on the issue.
Delta Machining manufactures knife gate valves and is a CNC subcontractor of air compressor parts. The company is purchasing $2.6 million of equipment and employs 76 full-time and two part-time employees and plans to create 15 new full-time jobs within two years.
Delta Industrial Valves is expanding by 6,000 square feet at a cost of $497,000 and employs 21 full-time and three part-time personnel. It plans to create four full-time and two part-time jobs in two years. Both requests were granted.
Supervisor Michael Sutherland thanked the firms for staying in Howard Township.
The board also named an interim person to do the job of ordinance enforcer who will volunteer her time. During the board meeting Tuesday night, township Treasurer Shaune Timm was appointed by the board to fill in for Donald Hughes who is a Niles City firefighter who was injured on the job.
Timm said she wanted to help out and will not charge anything for doing the work except to collect the mileage allowance.
The board unanimously adopted an ordinance enforcement administrative resolution and another resolution to authorize the appointment of an enforcer in order for Timm to be appointed.
In a related matter, the board accepted Gary Zaboral as a newly trained firefighter.
Cass County Undersheriff Richard Behnke reported 14 arrests and 54 tickets written in June. He said there has been a high number of larcenies, mostly from yards and one automobile larceny. There was one burglary.