Bell Acres officials have inked a new one-year deal with the police chief.
Kristoffer Korol is in his 13th year as borough chief. He was hired as a part-time patrolman in 1999 and promoted to full-time in 2000.
Korol also served multiple years as captain before taking over the department following the passing of Chief Brian Brown in September 2013.
Council voted 6-0 to approve a new contract with Korol on Oct. 20.
Councilman Greg Molchan was absent.
“The chief has been an asset for the borough for a lot of years,” council president David Renfrew said after the meeting.
Vice President Brock Meanor agreed.
“Chief Korol is great,” said Meanor, public safety chairman. “We are lucky to have him. We hope he will be with us until he chooses to retire.”
The chief was in the audience and talked about what it’s like working for Bell Acres.
“I just love the community,” Korol said. “The department is great. All our guys are wonderful. This is where I wanted to be. I was part-time in several other departments before I came here. This is where I wanted to work.”
Korol, 47, worked part-time in Ambridge, Leetsdale and Baden.
He graduated from Ambridge Area High School in 1996 and the Beaver County Police Academy in 1999. Korol still lives in the district.
Korol’s new contract comes with a 5% pay increase. His salary starting Jan. 1 will be $106,953.
The agreement brings Kolor’s contract in line with the other full-timers as far as the negotiation schedule.
Council approved a three-year deal with the department in January 2024.
The department contract terms include annual wage increases of 2.5% and a 5% healthcare premium contribution by the officers.
The contract also provides for a deferred retirement option plan that full-timers eligible for retirement can draw from.
Korol’s compensation was not impacted by that deal. However, his healthcare contributions are lumped in with the other contracted officers. Both contracts will be reevaluated next year.
Council also approved the hiring of part-time officer Dalton Janicki at $23 per hour. He fills the spot created with the retirement of part-timer Larry Vierling after a lengthy career, including five years with Bell Acres.
The veteran law enforcement officer also served in the Northern Regional Police Department from 1977 to 2021.
“He’s fantastic,” Korol said of Vierling. “Just a generally nice guy. Everyone loved him in the department. He helped everybody. He was doing the job for 47 years. His experience was extremely valuable for us. It’s going to be sad to see him go.”
Janicki was hired by Leet as a part-time officer in late May and promoted to full-time in late June. He is expected to stay with the township while working for Bell Acres.
“We work closely with him already in Leet Township,” Korol said. “It was just a natural fit (for him) to come on with us. He’s relatively new to law enforcement. He’s going to be a general patrol officer on a fill-in basis.”
Bell Acres has five part-time officers, including Janicki. The department serves and protects a town of about 5.5 square miles with approximately 1,470 people.
