After two residents this week officially
filed suit against Towamencin Towmship to stop the sale of its sewer system, township supervisors continued to defend their decision to the public.
The board kicked off Wednesday night’s monthly business meeting by announcing it will not comment on the legal action filed against them this week regarding the sewer sale. Following public comment, supervisors Chairman Chuck Wilson said despite the board’s efforts to explain why they’re continuing with the sale, its benefits and its current progress, residents are still asking questions.
"Despite all that, we still have the same questions,” Wilson said. "Obviously, we need to get more information out, so we're going to embark on that after Labor Day at our first meeting in September.”
On Tuesday, Towamencin NOPE (Neighbors Opposing Privatization Efforts) founder Kofi Osei and resident Jenn Foster officially filed a lawsuit against the township. The suit, filed in Montgomery County court, asks the court to force the township and the board of supervisors to terminate the purchase agreement.
"Four of our Township Supervisors have repeatedly disregarded the will of the people, which was shown through two elections and the passage of a Home Rule Charter. The lawsuit filed today is a necessary step to ensure that the voters' will is respected,” Foster wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "We are grateful for the continued support of our community, and we are hopeful that we will achieve a positive resolution in this matter.”
Supervisors say the first meeting in September will have a presentation led by the township sewer engineer Bill Dingman on the costs of the plant and collection system. At the second September meeting, township engineer Mary Stover will have a presentation on MS4 (separate stormwater sewer systems) requirements, the projects needed to meet those requirements and why the township wants to replace the corrugated stormwater piping.
The township also will be sending out additional mail outlining the public benefits of the sale and updating residents on the status of the sale, Wilson said.
"These are all the things that we had in a more summary fashion in the presentations that we made before as to what our needs are,” Wilson told North Penn Now. "This will go into a little bit more detail.”
In response to the board’s announcements, residents voiced their disapproval of the actions the board is taking to continue to promote the sewer sale. "You didn’t make your comment before [public comment],” said resident Joanne Andrews. "So I can’t respond to comments like yours.”
"I didn’t ask anyone to respond to my comment, I just outlined what we’re going to do this fall after Labor Day and why,” said Wilson.
Andrews told North Penn Now, that she feels the board is wasting more money attempting to educate the public about their decision.
"It astounds me that they want to spend more township dollars trying to educate the community when the community has already voted, made their voices heard and expressed how they feel about the sale,” Andrews said.
Osei, who is also a candidate for township supervisor in the November elections, said he attended the municipal authority meeting for the sewer where Wilson already announced the board’s plans to have presentations. However, he was surprised that there was going to be more mail sent about the sewer sale.
"I've just been really frustrated that they continue to defend the sale and even at this point where we're we've filed a lawsuit against them, they're still saying they're going to spend our money to continue to defend themselves,” Osei said.
The lawsuit is just the latest chapter in the long-running battle between NOPE and Towamencin over the pending $104 million sale of its municipal sewer system to Pennsylvania American Water. The township cites escalating costs of maintaining, repairing and upgrading the system, as well as the budgetary benefits of the sale. Voters, fearing exorbitant rate hikes under private ownership, formed NOPE and ultimately passed a Home Rule Charter with provisions to prohibit the sale last May.
Osei added that he will not continue speaking to the board about the lawsuit and will let the court and their lawyers decide the next steps going forward.
