SMETHPORT – It was the equivalent of “check/check mate” in a
political chess match between the McKean County Commissioners and
Solid Waste Authority Saturday as the two entities dueled for power
over the authority’s money.
The day started with a commissioners meeting where county
leaders dissolved the authority and ended with that same authority
handing out the controversial $1.3 million to local municipalities
in a meeting held on State Street outside solicitor Tony Alfieri’s
office. The battle will continue at 1 p.m. today in McKean County
Court.
The authority announced at its Nov. 1 meeting that it would dole
out the money to all municipalities who paid the higher rate since
it increased its tipping fees in late 2002. It also settled its
lawsuit with the City of Bradford and Bradford Township, who sued
over the fee increase. The landfill has since been sold to Rustick
LLC of Pottsville.
When it was deemed that meeting was not valid because it was not
properly publicized, the authority scheduled a meeting for 10 a.m.
Saturday. The county one-upped the authority and scheduled the 9
a.m. meeting, during which numerous local government officials
stormed out of the small courtroom threatening a lawsuit of
Sunshine Law violations, including not allowing those present to
speak on the pending resolution.
“Gentleman, I think you are going to have a very stinky mess at
the end of this,” Port Allegany Borough Manager and former county
commissioner Dick Kallenborn told the commissioners. “The citizens
of McKean County deserve better than this.”
While Kallenborn’s statement was met with cheers and applause by
the approximately 50 disgruntled audience members, Commissioner
Chairman John Egbert held steadfast in his conviction that the
county should control the money.
“Those funds are the property of the county,” Egbert said after
the commissioners meeting. “That is our asset and the Solid Waste
Authority did not have the authority to do this.”
According to Egbert – who had a police escort from the
courthouse to turn over the resolution to authority members
gathered inside Alfieri’s office – the funds under the county’s
control would be placed in bonds, which is a requirement of state
law when dealing with public funds. Egbert added the current panel
of commissioners would do its best to protect the funds from being
“inappropriately” handled by future county leaders.
Commissioner Clifford Lane, who spoke via a speaker on a cell
phone, said after the meeting the municipalities and Solid Waste
Authority should have seen the dissolution of the authority
coming.
“We have always maintained that it (authority) would be
dissolved,” Lane said, adding “they are upset because here was a
windfall and they (municipalities) believed they could spend it
right away.
“The prudent thing to do is to invest the cash. That way, it
will benefit us in the long run,” Lane added.
Egbert said after the commissioners’ meeting the county will
still continue to receive royalty payments from Rustick as part of
a previous deal worked out between the two entities.
Government officials on the other hand, were vocal Saturday in
their opposition to the county’s plan, stating they – like the
county – are battling rising costs and the windfall was a blessing
in the budget-planning process.
“It was a godsend (windfall),” Dave “Digger” McFall, an Annin
Township supervisor, said during the public comment portion of the
authority meeting. “You people (authority) have an understanding of
what the municipalities are going through. The commissioners only
see what they want to see.”
Earlier, McFall said the commissioners “were elected by the
people of McKean County – and you are in the wrong.”
The political tug-of-war is also being waged with a backdrop of
Tuesday’s general election, in which some municipal officials are
up for re-election. One official even handed out cards seeking
re-election at Saturday’s meetings.
The contentious commissioners meeting was a battle of wills
between the audience who fought to be heard and the commissioners
who limited the public comment portion of the meeting to roughly 15
minutes.
At that point, municipal officials erupted, demanding to be
heard as per the Sunshine Law. The commissioners, however, stood
their ground and refused to yield as audience members called for
the five-page resolution to be read aloud and forewarned the panel
they would be violating the crowd’s right to speak on the
issue.
Peppered with questions by the audience, Egbert said the
resolution was drawn up Friday; those in attendance believed the
document should have been drafted during a public meeting.
To this, Hamlin Township resident Bill Belitskus stood up and
berated Commissioner Bruce Burdick and County Administrator Richard
Casey for their part in the vote and for not allowing everyone in
attendance to speak.
“Bruce, this is an embarrassment,” Belitskus said. “I never
thought I would see you do this. And, Mr. Casey, you served your
country to fight this.” Then, looking over the whole board,
Belitskus said “I expected better from you as commissioners – you
are learned men.”
When Casey began reading the resolution out loud – after the
audience said it did not have time to read it – Port Allegany
Borough Councilwoman Kate Kysor stood up and began reading her own
statement.
“This is a sneaky maneuver,” Kysor said as she read from a
prepared statement.
After this, others in the crowd said they preferred the
resolution be read over again because they couldn’t hear Casey’s
rendition; one man even said in a tongue-and-cheek manner that he
couldn’t read the document because his eyesight was bad.
While Casey continued to read, Solid Waste Authority member
William Kilmer got up from his front row chair and began to leave
the meeting, saying on the way out “There is no sense in staying
here and listening to this farce.”
Kallenborn followed and the duo was soon joined by a majority of
the crowd. One person could even be heard saying the municipalities
should organize a class action lawsuit against the commissioners
and county for its actions.
In the end, the resolution was passed as the crowd worked its
way across the street from the courthouse to Alfieri’s office to
form a “human wall” in an attempt to block Egbert from delivering
the signed resolution to authority members. Egbert had indicated
during the commissioners’ meeting that he would be hand-delivering
the document to authority chairman Mike Holtz.
The delivery of the resolution passed without incident, however,
as Egbert was escorted across the street by Smethport Borough
Police Chief Ryan Yingling. Members of Kane-based state police, the
McKean County Sheriff’s Department and courthouse security were
also on hand.
Once inside the building, Egbert proceeded up the steps to a
conference room where he handed the resolution to Holtz. At this
time, the authority members agreed their meeting should be held
outside on State Street to accommodate the crowd that had
assembled.
Egbert did offer the courthouse to the authority, who declined
the gesture.
In what authority members termed “a true open meeting,” Holtz
began by asking those in attendance to raise their hands to
indicate who was not able to speak at the commissioners’
meeting.
“It’s our understanding the public comment portion of the
meeting was cut off,” Alfieri said. “Our position is that the
commissioners violated the Sunshine Act. We don’t believe they
complied … and their actions are void. We also believe portions of
the resolution part are invalid.”
As the authority members stood on the sidewalk and the audience
spilled onto State Street, the municipal officials lauded the
authority for handing over the funds.
“I wish to express my appreciation for what you gentlemen are
trying to do for us,” Eldred Mayor Bill Luce said.
Guy Raught said the commissioners’ action was “nothing more than
a power grab.”
A few minutes later, those municipal officials were grabbing
checks from authority members. To receive a check, the municipal
officials had to show proof of identification and sign a release
indicating they wouldn’t sue the authority for any actions previous
to Saturday.
Authority members even were seen signing the checks outside,
which were then matched with a packet containing the information
releasing the authority from any litigation.
All told, about 13 checks were handed out of a total of 20
municipalities on tap to receive those funds. This excludes the
City of Bradford and Bradford Township who garnered $189,925 and
$77,575, respectively, as a result of the litigation with the
authority.
“This is not a gift,” authority member Dave Fair said in
response to a comment made by Egbert in Saturday’s edition of The
Era. “We are requesting they release us from any litigation in
exchange for the release of these funds.”
The resolution drafted by the commissioners prohibits the
authority from “expending, gifting, transferring or disposing of
any assets” except in certain limited specified cases. It also
orders the authority to turn over to the county within 15 days all
funds and assets and surrender control of all bank accounts or
accounts receivable to the county.
Within 30 days, the authority is ordered to turn over control of
all its functions to the county and “directed to dissolve
itself.”
The authority held an “emergency meeting” Friday night to figure
out how to handle the fallout of the invalid Nov. 1 meeting and
handle Saturday’s special meeting.
When questioned by The Era on the validity of Friday’s meeting –
and whether it was legal per the Sunshine Act – Alfieri pointed to
the “confiscation of property” and the “whole situation” as reasons
for holding the emergency meeting.
After distributing the checks, the authority went into a
20-minute executive session for what Alfieri termed as possible
“pending litigation.” Afterward, however, asked whether the
authority would take any legal action, Alfieri said “There are no
specific plans for litigation.”
While back in public session, the authority re-voted on all the
issues took up during the Nov. 1 meeting, including settling the
litigation with the city and Bradford Township, and the delivery of
$2.5 million from the authority to the county, which is less than
half of what the commissioners believe the county should get.
“It’s no surprise,” Egbert said of the check distribution
Saturday afternoon. “I think it’s illegal … that’s
unfortunate.”
On Sunday afternoon, Egbert said the county has still not
received its money from the authority. When asked when the county
might receive it, Egbert said simply, “When they give it to
us.”
Egbert said there will be a 1 p.m. hearing today at the
courthouse in front of President Judge John M. Cleland “to prevent
them from spending that money.”
The county will be represented by an attorneys Neil Devlin and
Jennifer Gornall Rouch from the Knox, McLaughlin, Gornall and
Sennett PC law firm from Erie.
Egbert said Saturday afternoon he did not know about the Nov. 1
meeting and was actually out of town at a conference to help
residents pay heating bills this winter.
