UPPER MOUNT BETHEL TWP., Pa. — Township supervisors voted again Monday to dissolve the township’s municipal authority amid concerns their first attempt violated open meeting laws.
The board first adopted a measure last week directing the authority, set up last year to manage wastewater treatment infrastructure built as part of River Pointe industrial park, to dissolve itself.
While “discussion on the municipal authority” was listed as a topic on the agenda for last week’s meeting, the resolution supervisors ultimately voted on was not.
“The issue was that the dissolution [resolution] should have been specified on the agenda."Upper Mt. Bethel Supervisor David Friedman
The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act requires that “all issues to be deliberated on and any planned official action, such as votes,” be included in the meeting’s agenda, according to the state Office of Open Records website.
“The issue was that the dissolution [resolution] should have been specified on the agenda,” Supervisor David Friedman said Monday night.
“In order just to make things simple and avoid litigation,” Friedman said later, the board first voted unanimously to repeal last week’s resolution.
Immediately after, they voted unanimously to again direct the township’s municipal authority to dissolve itself.
A lawyer representing the authority, Gary Asteak, urged supervisors not to take action until they met with the municipal authority’s leadership, referencing conflict last week between board President John Bermingham and River Pointe developer Lou Pektor.
“There was a very intelligent and thoughtful dialogue among the members of this board until personalities and acrimony — past histories — boiled over,” Asteak said.
“We don't need litigation, we don't need expenses, what we need is an opportunity to sit down and reason with each other.”
Last week, Bermingham said he intends to re-establish Upper Mount Bethel’s municipal authority in the future.
