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Source: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15972673&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6
Supervisors get an earful
BY LISA COONEY
01/21/2006
MAHANOY CITY — Voices were raised and tempers flared at a special supervisors meeting Friday in Mahanoy Township.
At the onset, Chairman Sharon Chiao said the meeting was called as an emergency to address personnel matters, one of which was the resignation of the township secretary following reorganization earlier in this month.
Former Chairman Timothy Bradbury was absent from the 1 p.m. meeting that was advertised Thursday in The REPUBLICAN & Herald.
Chiao and newly elected Supervisor James P. Stevens proceeded to make a number of appointments and to fill certain positions, such as hiring a new treasurer, a solicitor and borough workers, as well as setting salaries for those positions.
As the meeting was being called to a close, township resident James T. Richmond spoke up and said the meeting was illegal, so all business done at the meeting was null and void.
Richmond said the legal notice advertising the meeting Thursday failed to include the place of the meeting, a violation of the Sunshine Act. Stevens apologized for the error and took full responsibility for placing the notice incorrectly.
Chiao then called for the adjournment of the meeting but permitted questions and comments from a number of citizens who were in attendance. Residents questioned the supervisors closely on a number of matters, from the need for recent work done to the township building to concerns about the 2006 budget.
Chiao, in response to questions about the township building, said it is unnecessary to solicit bids on projects costing less than $5,000. She explained that temporary work had been completed on the roof to stop water leaks that had been dripping and forming mold in the former bank building.
There had also been work done on the building's sewer to address an ongoing odor problem, and Chiao said the budget may be re-opened.
"You two are going to be watched," said Alfred Flamm, Buck Mountain, the most vocal of the residents in attendance.
Flamm criticized Chiao for her stance regarding the $612 million coal gasification liquefaction plant that is proposed for the Morea area of the township.
Chiao raised questions regarding the project at recent public hearings on the U.S. Department of Energy's "Environmental Impact Statement for the Gilberton Coal-to-Clean Fuels and Power Project."
"You have no foresight. This is going to be a help for the township," said Flamm.
With an aging population in the township, Flamm said residents are unable to afford a tax increase. He said the new plant has the potential to increase tax revenue as well as create new jobs.
"You mark my words, the way you two are spending, one year from now the taxes are going up," said Flamm, who also criticized the supervisors for accepting the stipend they receive for attending meetings.
"It's an all-in-the-family deal," said Flamm regarding called what he perceives as nepotism since Stevens' uncle, Dan Stevens, is being proposed for the position of roadmaster in the township.
Stevens explained his uncle's numerous qualifications for the position, and Stevens ultimately told Flamm he should have run for office if he was unsatisfied.
"I'm trying to make this a better place," Stevens said.
"What I consider now is we are going down the path to doomsday," Flamm said.
Plans call for a special meeting that will be advertised for 7 p.m. Monday.
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