Bucks County Courier Times , July 1, 2020.
Facing suit, Lower Makefield to table sewer sale
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The lawsuit filed in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas against is seeking to delay the sale by at least 90 days to ensure Lower Makefield supervisors “work with interested neighboring municipalities, consider all possible options in public and allow for public review of all such options.”
Lower Makefield officials likely will table a vote on the sale of the township’s sewer system after a civil lawsuit was filed in Bucks County court seeking to delay the auction.
The lawsuit filed in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas against supervisor Chair Fredric Weiss and township Manager Kurt Ferguson is seeking to delay the sale by at least 90 days to ensure township supervisors “work with interested neighboring municipalities, consider all possible options in public and allow for public review of all such options.”
Supervisors are scheduled to vote Wednesday on bids by PA American Water and Aqua America Pennsylvania ranging between $35 million to $56 million for the system that serves 11,800 customers.
However, Weiss said supervisors likely won’t vote on the issue Wednesday and that he will handover responsibilities as chair to Vice President Daniel Grenier for the duration of the meeting due to the pending litigation. Grenier has said he will recuse himself from the vote because of his work as an engineer in the water and sewer field.
“Until we get that cleared up, the prudent thing to do would be to delay,” Weiss said.
Recently, Weiss’ residency has come into question after public records revealed he and his wife purchased a home in Florida after selling their township home in January.
When reached by phone Wednesday, Weiss confirmed that he purchased a second home in Florida but that his main residence is a homehouse that he is renting in the township.
He said he has no plans to leave Lower Makefield because he has a disabled child in Morrisville and others in Levittown, but bought the home in Florida so he can visit another child in that state.
“I don’t want my residency status to influence the discuss, so until that’s cleared up — which I know it will be soon ... I will still participate in the meeting but I will not be chair,” he said. ”... I vote in Pennsylvania, I pay taxes in Lower Makefield, so by all possible standards I reside in Pennsylvania.”
Weiss said the matter is being investigated by police.
When reached Wednesday, Lower Makefield police Chief Ken Coluzzi said the department is investigating property records and a report will be made public soon.
In the suit filed Tuesday, resident Jeffery Hall-Gale argues supervisors broke the state’s Sunshine Act and infringed residents’ First Amendment rights by hosting virtual meetings on the sale late into weekday nights while keeping neighboring municipalities out of the discussion. A Republican, Hall-Gale ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Democrat-controlled board in 2019.
At issue is a June 17 virtual meeting, where bid information on the sale was released but public participation was sparse due to the length of the hearing.
″... Holding public comment at midnight on a worknight in the midst of a pandemic causes grave First Amendment concerns as only approximately 3 people called into public comment in a Township of approximately 32,761,” the lawsuit read. “This is an item of great concern to citizens of Lower Makefield as this meeting involved the public discussion of sewer sale bids.”
The suit also claims supervisors broke sunshine laws by voting in an executive session in April to exclude a concession lease option for the system.
In the suit, Hall-Gale argues supervisors need to take more time to review a large report from the township’s sewer engineer that was released last week while consulting with neighboring municipalities.
The sale could affect some surrounding towns that send sewage to the Morrisville Municipal Authority, which serves about 40,000 residents including all of Yardley and Morrisville, 70% of Lower Makefield and parts of Falls.
Each will be obligated to make payments to fund the MMA’s plan to replace its aging treatment plant in Morrisville with a new facility about three miles down the Delaware River in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls.
In response to the potential sale, Yardley council voted unanimously during a special meeting Tuesday to formally request Lower Makefield supervisors table Wednesday’s vote.
“Such a transaction would almost certainly be the largest in Lower Makefield’s history and would undoubtedly have a profound impact upon ratepayers in Yardley Borough,” according to a request sent to supervisors. “Such a decision should not be made until all long-term options have been thoroughly vetted and explored.”
Yardley officials said they want to discuss a long-term plan with Lower Makefield, Morrisville and Falls officials “that best serves all ratepayers,” including the possibility of forming a joint authority. Council members said Tuesday they were led to believe talks with township officials would begin once bids were received.
“We have always believed that although Lower Makefield and Yardley Borough are two separate municipalities, we are one community,” the request read. “In this spirit, we hope to work with you as partners and continue our relationship as friendly neighbors.”
Earlier this week, Weiss said that surrounding municipalities and the MMA never offered to form a joint authority with the township in the last two years while it examined selling the system.
Meeting minutes show the formation of an authority was last discussed during a June 27, 2017, MMA meeting.
Along with a 2015 agreement between the municipalities and the MMA, Lower Makefield and Yardley signed a sewer transportation agreement in 2015 that allows the township to send about 60% of its waste through the borough before it reaches the treatment plant in Morrisville.
Bria said Wednesday that about two-thirds of the daily sewage flow through Yardley comes from the northern portion of Lower Makefield.
However, nothing in the agreement would prevent the township from selling its system as the new buyer would take responsibly to adhere to the agreement, Yardley Borough Sewer Authority officials said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Along with the American Water and Aqua offers, the township received two bids from Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority ranging from $1 to $35 million. However, only votes on the American Water and Aqua bids are listed on Wednesday’s agenda.
The eight separate bids from the two utilities and authority include a multitude of options for the township, including rate freezes and handing over financial obligations it owns to the MMA, according to Scott Shearer, PFM adviser.
Along with the price of the bids, the township has to weigh which offers will be the most beneficial for residents since each comes with varying rate increases, officials said.
If it approves the sale, Lower Makefield could use proceeds to wipe out a $50 million required payment to the MMA for the plant fixes.
Along with the obligation to the MMA, Lower Makefield is motivated to sell the system because of $17.8 million with interest in debt owned from the township-owned golf course as well as a recent Moody’s bond-rating decline due to its “financially strained utilities”
The township also can only increase the current general fund millage rate of 13.88 by .12 mills before needing approval from the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, officials have said.
Weiss: I am a Lower Makefield Resident, despite what “altered” Documents say
- July 1, 2020
- jeff
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Alleged notarized copies of documents said to originate from Lower Makefield Board Chairman Fred Weiss were posted to Facebook Tuesday night questioning his commonwealth residency.
Source: Screen Capture Facebook
The post claims the documents show Weiss is no longer a resident of the township -since January of this year- and is “defrauding” Lower Makefield residents out of tax dollars due to an application for a Homestead exemption.
Weiss said he thinks the documents posted were altered to make it look like he and his wife Cynthia applied for the tax break.
“We can’t apply for that exemption because we are Pennsylvania residents” Weiss said “You have to prove state residency to apply for Homestead with documents such as your state identification.”
The timing of the revelations he said seems to be a coordinated effort to halt a vote on the sale of the municipalities sewer system.
The posting came just hours before Yardley Borough Council met in a special meeting to discuss Lower Makefields plans to vote on selling the municipalities sewer system. Yardley is asking Lower Makefield to at least delay the vote scheduled for tonight.
A temporary vote delay, at least until next months meeting looks to be happening.
There will be no sewer talk at the board meeting and/ or until this residency issue thing is cleared up, said Weiss
.” I don’t want to take away from the business of the board.”
At no time did I ever consider becoming a Florida resident, he said, I have a disabled family member living in the area and a son who lives in Levittown. Yes my wife has family in Florida and we often travel back and forth now that I am retired, Weiss reiterated.
Weiss said Tuesday night the township is investigating the residency allegations said in no uncertain he expects the investigation to clear him.
Weiss said for tonight’s nights board meeting he is “stepping aside temporarily” and vice chair Dan Grenier would lead the meeting.
Asked whether he intended to complete his term as a supervisor Weiss said absolutely.
“This is a free country and we can have more than one home. The gaul some people who want to get their own way”
Attempts to reach vice- chair Dan Grenier for this story were unsuccessful Wednesday morning.
In related matter Board of Supervisors will meet virtually this evening at 7:30. There have been no changes to the agenda since it has been posted.
To view the meeting in real time you can watch on the Cable Channels: Verizon channel 20 Comcast channel 22 You can also view the meeting in the following formats but there will be a slight delay.
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Website: www.lmt.org
Public Comment will be available by phone when the chair calls for public comment. You can dial in by following these easy steps.
1.) Dial 646-558-8656
2.) Enter meeting ID 831 7237 4140# when prompted
3.) Click # when prompted to enter participant ID
4.) You are now in the meeting, please wait to speak with moderator.
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