At the Feb. 12 Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners meeting, Robert Piligian was sworn in as the seventh commissioner. The vacant seat was created when Joseph J. Marx Jr. became the township mayor in January.

Piligian serves as chairman of the planning commission, but his appointment to the board did not come easily.

Commissioners Alberta Scarfaro and Randy Atiyeh were absent from the meeting, leaving four commissioners at the dais. According to the township’s Home Rule Charter, four votes are needed to appoint a new commissioner, Attorney Jack Gross reported.

A motion to appoint Piligian was made at the start of the meeting. He received three “yes” votes and one “no” vote from Commissioner Jeffrey Warren.

Motions for other candidates failed to move forward.

The board members then explored their options from there. They had 45 days from the time the vacancy opened to appoint a candidate or the task could be given to the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas. The 45-day window was set to close Feb. 14.

The board had three options: let the Court of Common Pleas handle it, vote again at the end of the meeting or reconvene Feb. 14, hopefully with a fifth commissioner.

The board elected to take another vote at the end of the meeting.

Piligian was once again put forward as a candidate, and this time, he received the required four votes. He was sworn in at the meeting.

In other business, commissioners approved a motion designating Mickley-Prydun Farm as a place of historical significance. This motion, as discussed at the board’s workshop meeting, does not put any restrictions on future uses of the building, nor does it give any other board oversight to determine what happens with it.

Commissioners also approved the retirement of police Officer Ray Seiling, who served the township for 32 years, almost all of it on patrol. Police Chief Michael Marks called him “dependable” and “a really good police officer.”

The board of commissioners will next meet 7 p.m. March 4 in the municipal building, 3219 MacArthur Road.