WEST DECATUR – A heated debate broke out at the monthly Boggs Township meeting Monday night leading to the township supervisors asking those present to stop speaking out of turn.
The major subjects of debate covered the ponds on PA Waste LLC’s land that were authorized by the Department of Environmental Protection and are maintained by the same group, complaints about the township’s policy that questions be put forward in writing and questions as to the proper use of township funds.
Sam Carns, Boggs Township resident, presented more evidence to support his claims including a bucket full of water from said ponds, photos and better prints of the Mapquest image from last month. In response, Supervisor Bill Dickson brought those present up to speed on what the township had been doing about the ponds. The DEP contacted the supervisors to express concerns about the unsupported allegations that were made in the previous meeting, specifically regarding alleged contamination. The DEP explained in an e-mail that there had been some problems that were caused by improper construction and repairs. However, repairs and upgrades for these treatment ponds had been approved and put into motion. The DEP invited the supervisors to a guided tour and met them on Sept 4. The work is authorized and supervised by DEP with Eric Rosengrant as the lead field inspector.
The second complaint lobbied against the supervisors was that of a policy of asking for questions and correspondence to be presented to them in writing. The complaint was lodged by Paula Norris. Norris expressed concerns that it didn’t seem right that citizens of Boggs Township had to write a letter and pay for postage to get a question answered when there was a public comment section in the monthly meeting. The supervisors responded that they were advised to follow this system to create a paper trail to avoid misunderstandings. Norris continued to alledge that this made it the process private and hidden from other citizens who might want to know the answer and that the letters should at least be read in the meetings. Dickson explained under Pennsylvania’s Right to Know law, anyone can see the responses and questions in the files, interested parties could contact the person who first made the inquiry and that many letters received contain comments not fit to be read publicly.
The rest of meeting became periodically interrupted by questions involving an official trip Harrisburg when concerned citizens expressed dissatisfaction about how it was billed to the township. The two biggest complaints by the concerned citizens were that Dickson was unable to join in the carpool down, yet charged the down trip only. He was able to join the carpool back so he didn’t charge for the return trip, though he stated that legally he could have if he felt like it. Later the concerned citizens asked why Supervisor Jeff Baney stayed at the hotel Sunday night if he didn’t have to be there till Monday morning, but if he hadn’t joined the carpool Sunday he would have been in the same situation as Dickson.
The second complaint was over Secretary Denise Dobo including an espresso and orange juice on her charged items on the trip, equaling over $6. The latter set off an argument that brought up all of the unpaid work and items used in the building the township officials have done.
There was also concern over a joint meal for all four that was more than $200 since they weren’t given a receipt for the meal, but it received little conversation time compared to the previous two topics.
Just before adjourning, Supervisor Greg Straw made a motion to pay Dickson’s daughter $8 an hour for two hours a week under the condition she no longer received college credit for doing the cleaning as community service. It was felt this was needed after Dave and Gale Harris saw Dickson’s daughter cleaning the building with her fiance. According to Dickson, the Harrises accused his daughter about lying that she was cleaning for community service and receiving pay under the table for it before calling the police on them Aug 26. Dickson abstained from the vote; Straw and Baney voted for it.