January 6, 2015

Concord Township supervisors reappointed Hugh Donaghue as township solicitor despite the objection of residents who questioned the solicitor’s ethics.

One resident, attorney Jamie Marino, said she’s ready to file a disciplinary petition against Donaghue for his participation in a court filing on behalf of an entity that did not officially exist.

“It’s a disciplinary inquiry as to his actions of filing a brief on behalf of someone he was not authorized to file a brief upon. He did not have client authorization to file that brief. He did not have authorization by the commission to file that brief,” Marino said.

At issue are two petitions and a brief filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of Concord’s newly formed Government Study Commission.

Donaghue, at the request of township supervisors, had fellow attorney J. Michael Sheridan file the papers with the state Supreme Court in response to an appeal brought by the citizen’s group Concord First.

Concord First appealed to the state’s high court to overturn two lower court decisions that denied its petition to have a question on the November 2014 ballot. That question would have asked residents whether they wanted to change the township designation from township of the second class to township of the first class.

In response to Concord First’s petition, supervisors enacted an ordinance to have their own question on the ballot that asked voters if there should be a government study commission to explore a possible change in government structure.

Supervisors also challenged Concord First’s petition in the Court of Common Pleas. That court denied the petition despite Concord First’s getting more than the necessary signatures. Concord First then appealed to Commonwealth Court, which upheld the Common Pleas Court opinion. That, too, was appealed to the state Supreme Court.

(The appeal centers on the interpretation of a state law that allows for a ballot question to change a municipal government structure. The court must decide whether a petition such as the one presented by Concord First needs to be on the first municipal ballot at least 90 days after a census or other official population ascertainment, or at least 90 days after both the ascertainment and a petition signed by five percent of the registered voters.)

The Supreme Court’s filing deadline for briefs was Nov. 17, but the study commission did not officially exist because the election was not certified until Nov. 24, and the members were not sworn in until Nov. 25.

Members of the commission were unaware that a brief was filed in their name.

“It’s unethical,” Marino said. “You don’t file a brief unless you have client approval.”

Marino said she’s been in practice for more than 18 years and never once filed a brief without the consent of a client.

Another resident, Jim Brown, said he wanted to formally protest Donaghue’s reappointment. A testy exchange between Donaghue, Brown, other residents and solicitors followed.

Donaghue said the matter was moot since the court denied the petition to intervene that Sheridan filed. (That petition would have given the commission party status to the appeal. However, the court denied the petition on Dec. 31.)

However, Donaghue defended the timing, saying that he and the supervisors felt the court should have been made aware that the study commission had been voted into existence.

Supervisors’ Chairman Dominic Pileggi — who was re-elected as chairman during the reorganization meeting — said Sheridan and Donaghue were acting on behalf of the supervisors.

Pileggi then tried to dismiss the conversation and move on saying, “Mr. Donaghue has been appointed solicitor and we’re through with that.”

Brown, however, wasn’t finished.

“Is there a way to recall [that]?” he asked.

“No,” was Pileggi’s response.

Ann Mueller, another resident, said she was not aware of the supervisors’ looking at the possibility of changing the government structure before the board learned of Concord First’s petition.

“Ever since then, your actions as a board have been to thwart the efforts of the people you represent. It’s not like you were thinking of a different form of government, which you now have empowered after we started our efforts,” Mueller said.

Pileggi interrupted her to say he disagreed.

“We told you when we had the hearing [to enact the ordinance for the ballot question] that we had been thinking about this for years,” Pileggi said.

Mueller responded by saying the board and the residents seem to be moving in separate directions.

“You’re elected to represent 100 percent of us, but people want to be heard and want you to act like you care. I don’t feel I’ve been listened to or cared about,” Mueller said.

Other business

In addition to Donaghue’s reappointment and Pileggi’s selection as chairman, John Gillespie was re-elected as vice chairman.

Brenda Lamanna was appointed township manager. She replaces Bob Willert, who resigned to become the executive director of Delcora, the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority.

Lamanna served previously as assistant township manager.

Halfway through his first — and what he promised would have been his only — term in office, Keith Klaver has resigned from the Chadds Ford Township Board of Supervisors.

“It’s for health reasons,” Klaver said. “I have to deal with a lot of things in the next three or four months, and I can’t do both.”

He said he has a lot of regret over resigning before the end of his term, but said he appreciated the opportunity to be supervisor and work with those with whom he served.

“It was an honor and a privilege,” he said. “The more important point is how much I appreciated the citizens and volunteers of Chadds Ford who have helped to accomplish so much in our township in the last three years.”

The announcement came during the township’s reorganization meeting on Jan. 5 during which Frank Murphy was elected supervisors’ chairman for 2015 and George Thorpe was elected vice chairman.

Murphy and Thorpe now have 30 days to appoint a replacement for Klaver. However, that person will only have the appointed position until there’s a new election.

Republican Party leader Mary Kot said Klaver’s resignation means there will be two supervisor positions on the ballot this coming November. Thorpe’s term ends this year and state law requires an election for someone to serve the remainder of Klaver’s term, which expires in 2017.

Thorpe said Klaver’s resignation is a “great loss of a very knowledgeable and thorough person. He’s always possessed kindness and thoughtfulness in his dealings with everyone and always tried to resolve problems and issues so that everybody was a winner…He was always very loyal to Chadds Ford.”

Murphy said the word that best describes Klaver is “gentleman.”

“What Keith brought to the board was a sense of civic duty, which really directed all of his efforts. He was so concerned about the welfare of the township and the residents,” he said.

Murphy went on to say that Klaver’s knowledge of the sewer system and his recognition of the impact of that one piece of infrastructure on the daily lives of residents was of vital importance.

“Having him there with that knowledge and that concern was a great experience,” Murphy said.

Former Supervisor Deborah Love said Klaver “always did his homework.”

“Having been in office for a term and a half when he came on board, it was great working with someone who had fresh eyes,” Love said. “I felt he always had the public interest at heart. He always did his homework; he didn’t just respond to what he heard, but always investigated the issue before making any decisions. We didn’t always agree, but I always appreciated his approach.”

In addition to serving as a supervisor, Klaver has also served on the township Sewer Authority and Planning Commission.

At its annual reorganization meeting on Monday night, the Pocopson Township Board of Supervisors elected Barney Leonard as chair and Georgia F. Brutscher as vice-chair.

“I will work very hard to maintain order in the meetings and get the business of the people done,” Leonard promised.

Supervisors Leonard, Brutscher and Ricki Stumpo also approved a lengthy list of reappointments and an omnibus fee schedule. The existing fees remain unchanged. However, the township approved the hiring of United Inspection Agency as the township’s electrical inspector so charges related to electrical inspections were added.

A resolution establishing boundaries for emergency service providers passed unanimously. Longwood and Po-Mar-Lin Fire Companies, Longwood Ambulance, and Pennsylvania State Police from the Avondale barracks will serve the township.

In response to a third offer of dedication, the supervisors agreed to authorize the appropriate officials and consultants to assess the work by Toll Brothers at the Preserve at Chadds Ford and report back to the board.

Brutscher said she had received many calls from residents who expressed gratitude for the recently completed roundabout on Route 52. “It seems to be working well,” she said.

So far, Brutcher said the only negative comments have come from tractor-trailer drivers. “You know what? This is not I-95,” she said, adding that there’s plenty of room for big rigs if they use the apron.

Brutscher said township resident and former supervisor Steve Conary had worked tirelessly for eight years to help make the project happen, and the supervisors agreed to send him a letter of recognition.

Leonard expressed the board’s appreciation for three recent donations made by township residents. He said Bruce Yeltin wrote a check to the township for $1,000; the Fair Play Foundation, run by Blaine T. Phillips Jr., donated $7,500, earmarked for the historic Locust Grove school; and Bill and Marie Strahan gave $1,500 to the township and $500 to the Longwood Fire Company.

Monday night’s meeting eliminated the need for a meeting on Monday, Jan. 12, so the next supervisors’ meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the township building.