A few days ago, there was an 0p-ed written by Mr. Barney Leonard, regarding setting the record straight. Unfortunately, the Leonard piece only raised more questions about what is going on in Pocopson government. A Right-to-Know request provided me with copies of emails and legal bills from the township solicitor’s office. What they revealed is that Mr. Leonard had contacted and requested that Ross Unruh, the township solicitor, find someone to conduct a study regarding switching to a township manager style of government.
Granted, there may be value in exploring a solution such as this, however, the concern is that Mr Leonard switched tactics and now refers to it as an ‘efficiency study’ after receiving many negative public comments regarding this study or even the need for it. The contract does not mention anything to do with efficiency. https://chaddsfordlive.com/2015/02/10/pocopson-supervisors-ok-efficiency-study/.
Mr. Unruh charged the Pocopson taxpayers around $3,800 to find someone to conduct the study, and then another $2,000 was spent on actually completing it. Additionally, not all of the supervisors wanted to have this study done as Mr. Leonard indicated in his piece earlier this week. The vote for the study was 2-1.
Another interesting piece of information that came out of my Right-to-Know request was that all of the emails are between Mr. Leonard and the attorney. We have three supervisors on the board, and all of them should have been made aware of what the attorney had to say regarding township matters. Keeping them out of the loop raises suspicion, whether it’s warranted or not. That is why a transparent government is always the best.
The results of the study were finally released Thursday and may be accessed from the township’s website at www.pocopson.org. There is no surprise that the study reported that a township manager is not needed in Pocopson. Heck, I could have told them that, and it wouldn’t have cost them a dime. It does indicate in the report that out of the three supervisors, only one of them wanted a township manager. Since Mr. Leonard commissioned the study, it is only reasonable to conclude that he was that supervisor.
Another interesting fact in the report is in regards to the Barnard House. The author chose his words carefully while broaching the subject and concludes that it is not a suitable venue for a township building. There is also some dialogue on the ridiculous idea of having the administrative offices on the second floor, which would make them totally inaccessible to those who are disabled or handicapped.
In one of the report’s five recommendations, it states that the township should prepare a master plan for the relocation of its administrative offices. I really wonder if Mr. Leonard will take that advice or will he continue to spend good money after bad on a project that has a never-ending appetite for money. Remember, he was recently quoted on this very site as saying that this project cannot fail. Unfortunately, it failed $611,000 ago, with no end in sight.
The township installed hardwood floors in the very beginning of the project. There was no heat in the building, which resulted in warped floors – so the hardwood needed to be replaced again. Over $20K was spent on four single-pane windows. I still can’t believe that the township signed a contract for time and materials, AKA a license to steal. Melton, the architect, has made over $120K to date, and when he found out the township had hired a space planner, he told the board he could do that as well. What has he done for the first $120K? The mistakes and waste go on and on here, unfortunately.
While the $5,800 that was spent to obtain an ‘efficiency study’ report was a waste, maybe it will stop the insanity. Since the election for two of the three supervisors is next week, it is possible that a majority of the board will change. The most reasonable thing to do at this point would be to wait until after the November elections before making any further spending decisions in this matter. That will allow those who are actually going to be on the board to be involved in the process. It also allows the taxpayers to indicate whether they are fine with higher taxes and out-of-control spending, or do they want real change. We can only hope that common sense will prevail here.
Sean C. Rafferty
Pocopson Township
