COURT HOUSE — At a special meeting of Middle Township Committee, Dec. 22, members repealed an ordinance despite objections from both sides of a related lawsuit.
Deputy Mayor Susan DeLanzo and Committeeman Stephen Barry rescinded the measure, which granted a mining license transfer for Albrecht and Heun, and its subsidiary Future Mining and Recycling Inc., from its current facility on Goshen Road to a proposed site on Indian Trail Road in Burleigh.
Along with a 100-acre sand and gravel pit, the company is planning to run a Class-B recycling facility and an accessory retail store at the site.
Conflict of interest issues had been raised in the company’s site plan application, which was recently approved by the township zoning board, as well as an ongoing lawsuit related to the proposed facility.
Based on a “conflict check” done last year, Mayor F. Nathan Doughty, Solicitor James Pickering and Engineer Vincent Orlando recused themselves from the original mining license proceedings. The three officials also stepped down for the Dec. 22 vote.
Pickering has said the officials did not actually have conflicts in the matter, but acted over-cautiously.
The conflict issue was the main reasoning factor given by committee members and acting Solicitor John Gillespie for the ordinance repeal.
Barry said Dec. 15 at committee’s previous meeting when the repealing ordinance was introduced that the township’s legal fees associated with the lawsuit had reached over $30,000. By narrowing the scope of the lawsuit, future legal fees would be decreased, he said.
“Special Counsel (Gillespie) has recommended to the township committee that it simply repeal the existing ordinance with the option in the future to enact new legislation, thereby saving thousands of taxpayer dollars by avoiding unnecessary depositions and legal time associated with the same,” the ordinance stated.
Parties on both sides of the lawsuit were opposed to the repeal.
Future Mining’s attorney Jeffrey April said his clients relied on the governing body’s action in pursuing site plan approval for the Indian Trail Road site spending many thousands of dollars along the way.
Attorney Carole Mattessich, who represents a party opposed to the mining company’s plans, wrote a letter to Gillespie expressing her clients’ concerns over the repeal and the township’s intent and ability to address the core issues raised in the lawsuit.
Despite the opposition, committee repealed the licensing ordinance.
With the conflict issue handled thus, Gillespie said the township could focus on settling the outstanding host community benefits (HCB) owed by Future Mining’s recycling operation, which is the other major issue in the aforementioned lawsuit.
According to a report submitted by municipal Auditor Glen Ortman earlier this year, the company owes Middle Township over $180,000 based on a $1 per ton fee charged for each ton of recyclable material brought on to the Goshen Road site. Future Mining’s figures showed the township owing the company around $50,000 based on a calculation of $1 per ton of recycled material leaving the site.
Hence the lawsuit.
“My clients would be delighted to let prosecution of HCB issue be left up to the township, if the Township gave any indication that it intended to pursue the HCB claims in good faith…,” Mattessich stated in her letter.
Before the township rescinded its ordinance, Mattessich said the township should have provided answers to certain questions regarding the HCB agreement, including:
• Exactly what monitoring, and reporting, was done regarding the HCB obligations?
• What township employees participated in the discussions changing the agreement from “material in” to “material out?”
• Why were HCB obligations and payments not placed in the regular accounting stream?
• Is the Township really in a position to make these investigations and answer these questions?
• Will the Township join my clients in referring this matter to the new State Comptroller, agreeing to cooperate in all respects with a state investigation?
• Will HCBs be made a condition of any new license for the Indian Trail Site?
Gillespie listened to these and several other questions from those attending the meeting. He and committee members answered some, but left many unanswered based on the pending litigation.
When asked to describe one particular aspect of the case, Gillespie looked to April and Future Mining executive Victoria Heun sitting in the front row and replied:
“Do you really want me to give you my strategy with Albrecht and Heun sitting right there?”
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
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