Towamencin Township supervisors made it clear Wednesday night that the passage of a Home Rule Charter will not negate a signed contract with a multimillion-dollar utility company and they intend to see the sale through.
In response, Towamencin Township resident and former Government Study Commission (GSC) Chairman Kofi Osei made it more clear — if the sale is still in process come July 1, expect a lawsuit.
“I’m not in the mood to sue the township, but if you haven’t attempted to terminate the contract by the end of your first July meeting, I will pursue any legal option necessary,” Osei said at the start of public comment. “The contract we have does have no liability termination language in it. I do believe you owe us the attempt, and I would like our legal opinions to come from (township solicitor) Bob (Iannozzi), not Chuck.”
Supervisors Chairman Chuck Wilson, reading from a prepared statement that was later released on its website, said supervisors are aware of the unofficial results, and though the vote was close, supervisors “acknowledge that the charter will be the law of the Township as of July 1.”
“As have we previously stated, and as we have shared with the opponents of the sewer system sale, the township legal team does not believe the passage of the Home Rule Charter negates the sewer sale under current Pennsylvania law and the Pennsylvania Constitution. There is strong legal precedent against overturning pre-existing contracts based on the passage of new laws. As such, we do not intend to seek to terminate the contract,” Wilson said.
“We, as elected representatives of our citizens, continue to believe firmly that the sale is in the best interest of our community,” said Wilson.
He continued that the supervisors exercised due diligence and transparency throughout the 18-month journey, including researching Pennsylvania’s Act 12 of 2016, which allowed the privatization of wastewater systems for fair market value.
“We remain confident that, after considering the many benefits to our community, we have made the right decision. We intend to honor our contractual commitments. We are committed to working with PA American Water on a smooth transition,” Wilson said. “This matter is pending at the Public Utility Commission …The township is confident that the commission, after full consideration of the mounting environmental challenges of the system and other relevant facts, will find that the transaction is in the public interest.”
Supervisor Joyce Snyder, the lone Democrat who opposed the sale, said she was disappointed that she cannot change the minds of her four colleagues.
“I heard a comment of risk of litigation, and I want to correct that to I’m pretty sure that will happen and that makes me even sadder, not only as a supervisor, but as a taxpayer, that we are going to have to pay the litigation to do what should have been done appropriately,” Snyder said.
Of the 32 comments made either in person or via email Wednesday night, only two were against the home rule charter and in favor of the sewer sale.
The majority of the comments all shared the same phrases: “terminate the sewer purchase agreement,” “end the contract,” “abide by the charter,” “we have spoken,” and “What are you waiting for?”
“What else do you guys need to hear from us? Anything else you would like to hear from us?” said former GSC member Gisela Koch. “Haven’t you heard enough from all these people? What else do you need to kind of wake up, smell the coffee, and realize that we have spoken?”
“For a group that took an oath to uphold the Constitution of Pennsylvania and look out for the best interests of your township residents, four out of five of you have failed miserably,” wrote Donna Lucas in an email to supervisors.
Residents Gina Burnitt and Dr. Rich Costlow were the only ones to speak out against the home rule charter and urged the sale.
“The fact that the home rule charter won the election does not indicate that Towamencin residents want it,” wrote Burnitt in an emailed comment. “As a matter of fact, only 20% of residents voted for home rule, and I venture to say that 80% of us do not want the township government overturned for home rule charter.”
Costlow said ballot language matters, and the November ballot initiative was to create a Government Study Commission to do a comprehensive study of the government and it was not followed.
“Following through with a valid contract is a responsible thing to do as a government body and I am pleased that that’s what’s happening,” Costlow said.
In response, Osei, a Democrat who is challenging Republican Supervisor Rich Marino in November, said if 80% of people did not want the charter, they would have shown up to vote.
“Being against the sewer sale and against the charter was a relatively common opinion I heard at the polls. You would have to be a magician to interpret those election results,” Osei said. “Over the past few years, as residents being in favor of the sewer sale, this is easily one of the most embarrassing things that could happen to local elected officials, but I did warn you multiple times and you had multiple opportunities to simply listen to your neighbors. We proved our point about the sewer sale for the millionth time.”
Resident Mark Gerlach wrote in that the supervisors undermined “the financial security of the good residents of Towamencin.”
“Surely, this does not portray the conservative values they were elected to uphold. Please use the same haste you used to get into the deal to get the township out of it,” Gerlach said.
For nearly two years, township voters opposed to the potential sewer sale to PA American Water and a majority of supervisors have battled back and forth over privatization of a municipal utility.
Last week, a home rule charter was successfully voted upon by more than 2,800 Republicans, Democrats and Independents, which will take effect July 1.
In 2021, the township announced its intention to sell the supposedly dilapidated sewer system and outdated treatment center, as well as all sewer easements. Osei and other dissenters said they would form a group to oppose the supervisors, because they did not want to sell the sewer.
Then, four of the five supervisors approved in May 2022 the sale, initially, to NextEra Energy. NextEra backed out of the deal in the spring and transferred the sale to PA American Water at a loss of $11 million to the township.
Other residents, like Sean Judge and Jonathan Campbell, echoed the same sentiment as Koch and eagerly awaited a township response to the PA American Water deal and wanted to know what is next.
School Board Vice President and resident Christian Fusco said it was the expectation for the board to uphold an oath.
“Your oath was not to uphold a contract, and that is in fact constitutional,” he said. “You didn’t take an oath to serve PA American Water.”
Osei reiterated that the termination language will be invoked and a judge will decide the fate.
“We are asking please don’t make us sue the township because we don’t want to spend our tax money on getting sued,” he said.
In response to a request for comment from North Penn Now, Osei and former Government Study Commission member Jenn Foster provided the following statement:
“We are disappointed that the Board of Supervisors has indicated that their intention is not to adhere to the recently passed Home Rule Charter, specifically with regard to the provision prohibiting the sale of our wastewater system. We had hoped that after the election, we could come back together as a community and move forward from this largely unpopular decision.
Our position, along with the GSC solicitor, has been that the Home Rule Charter, coupled with the termination language in the Asset Purchase Agreement is sufficient grounds to exit the agreement with cause and with no penalty to the township. It is unacceptable that the board refuses to explore the termination of this agreement based not only on that, but also the consistent dissent from the community by way of public meetings and three decisive elections. The people have spoken and continue to be ignored.
The charter becomes effective on July 1. Should the board continue to refuse to explore terminating, we, as residents, will be left with no choice but to explore additional legal options, including but not limited to, a lawsuit. This brings us no satisfaction, as we too are taxpayers. Any litigation at this point in time rests solely on the shoulders of Supervisors Wilson, Marino, Smith, and Warner.
We will have no further comment until after the charter is made effective and we have a better idea of how the board will proceed.
To read the full statement from the Towamencin Board of Supervisors, which was read at Wednesday night’s meeting, click here.
See also:
PA American Water to Proceed with Towamencin Sewer Purchase Despite Passage of Home Rule Charter
Letter: Next Steps for Towamencin Post-Home Rule Charter Passage
Towamencin Voters Pass Home Rule Charter as Fight to Overturn Sewer Sale Continues
Everything Towamencin Residents Need to Know About Tuesday’s Ballot Question on Home Rule Charter
PA American Water to Take Over Towamencin Sewer Purchase Following Vote by Township Supervisors
