McGroarty selected to join board

LOWER POTTSGROVE » A former township commissioner was unanimously chosen from among three applicants March 8 to fill the board seat left open by the resignation of Stephen Klotz.

Michael McGroarty, 59, was sworn in by District Judge Edward C. Kropp Sr. after the board selected him over the other two applicants.

The other two applicants were Joe Chrisman and Scott Exley, whose firm Bursich Engineering has worked for the township for years, according to Township Manager Ed Wagner.

McGroarty first took office in 2010 but was defeated in the 2013 Republican primary by former commissioner Shawn Watson, who resigned in 2015 after Digital First Media revealed his failure to pay his

property taxes.

McGroarty will serve out the remainder of Klotz’s term, which expires at the end of 2019.

Klotz resigned after he took a job in New Jersey and moved out of town.

Klotz had served as the board’s vice president and March 8, the commissioners also voted unanimously for Commissioner Earl Swavely Jr. to take his place in that post.