On the Agenda: Shelby to Approve Towing Contract; Clerk Appointment

The Shelby Township Board of Trustees will consider the appointment of a new clerk and the awarding of a new towing contract at Tuesday evening's public meeting.

Both subjects have often been the topic of heated debates among township officials and the public.

After several , when at the beginning of the new year to take over the clerk's office in Auburn Hills, the board will try again Tuesday.

This time, the board will only need a majority vote, rather than a unanimous vote, to select one of the five candidates who applied. During a Jan. 27 work session, the board voted to amend a decades-old ordinance that required a replacement be chosen by a unanimous vote. If no clerk is appointed by mid-February, a special election will be held in May. The clerk will fill Kowal's remaining 10-month term.

An often contentious and divided township towing contract may be awarded Tuesday evening.

A new towing contract is needed after, Nightingale Service, which has held the contract for the good part of 50 years, board meeting among allegations of contract violations.

Nightingale Service was the lowest bider of six companies that submitted bids for the new contract. The others include: BBB Auto Enterprises of Shelby Township; Utica Van Dyke Service, Sterling Heights; Byers Wrecker, Rochester; Ruehle’s Towing, Mount Clemens; and Shelby Township Towing and Wrecker Service, Shelby Township.

Members of the Nightingale family spearheaded a effort against Supervisor Rick Stathakis and other members of the board, and have said the contract cancelation was in retaliation.

Patch will bring live updates from the meeting on Facebook and Twitter.