Compromise on Air Quality Tests Leads Conciliatory Meeting of Commissioners

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Photos and Story by Rick Hiduk

Wyoming County Solicitor Paul Litwin (right) works with Bunker Hill Veterinary Hospital owner Michele Zajac (center) and Bunker Hill office manager Bill Dobitsch to finalize a new lease agreement with the county, which rents space below the hospital in Factoryville for the offices of District Magistrate David Plumber. It was Litwin’s first public meeting with the county commissioners.

The Wyoming County Commissioners preempted the need for a lot of public discussion about proposed air quality testing at their Jan. 13 meeting. Chairman Tom Henry moved quickly from the approval of the minutes from the contentious meeting held on Dec. 30 (story: http://www.endlessmtnlifestyles.com/?p=3103) to a motion to approve a plan that involves both DEP and air quality expert Dr. Timothy McCauley.

Pending final approval by the solicitor, the Commissioners paved the way for McCauley to serve as a consultant to the county as DEP begins air monitoring in the area next week. The compromise all but quelled the tempest that dominated the previous meeting, when dozens in attendance were advocating for McCauley’s firm, CHANGE, to conduct an air study independent of DEP.

Mr. McCauley will work as a consultant to help us understand the samplings,” Henry explained.

He will decipher all of the information into lay terms for us,” Commissioner Ron Williams concurred.

Tunkhannock business owner Eileen Barziloski thanked the commissioners for the decision, noting, “Tim is a scientist who knows what we need. I think this is the first right step that we’ve taken in a while.”

Barziloski was one of many local residents to take up the fight against the proposed silica facility and, subsequently, the call for an independent baseline air quality study prior to its imminent construction. Satisfied with the compromise, she stated. “I want to work together going forward.”

That would be awesome,” Henry replied.

McCauley’s services come with an initial $7,500 price tag, compared to approximately $150,000 for CHANGE to conduct both the air monitoring and the analysis. Henry had expressed concerns that the larger amount, if multiplied for additional tests that would likely be requested by other municipalities, would prove too costly for the county.

DEP, he related, will now lead the study, and the agency will retain possession of the results rather than CHANGE. “They (DEP) are doing it for the state,” Henry explained.

Audrey Gozdiskowski, perhaps the most vocal of all of the advocates, was still feeling the sting from the previous meeting and said that she resented having been “viciously attacked and called a liar.”

In response to suggestions that were voiced by citizens on Dec. 30 concerning the potential use of impact fee funds to pay for an air study, Gozdiskowski said that she had read that Wyoming County had received more than $1-million in Act 13 money. Solicitor Bill Gaylord rejected her figures as accumulative, rather than annual, and indicated that she was using the numbers out of context.

Gozdiskowski said that she felt assured by the newly approved plan to the extent that, if McCauley were to find something wrong, he would know how to acquire grants for additional testing. Henry and Williams agreed that there are grants available but did not elaborate on how they are procured.

No other citizens offered any commentary nor asked questions about the air quality study.

Another issue that has languished on the back burner since summer was wrapped up between the commissioners and the owners of the Bunker Hill Veterinary Hospital in Factoryville. Co-owner Michele Zajac said at the previous meeting that she has been trying for months to negotiate a new lease agreement with the county, which rents a portion of the lower floor of her building for the offices of District Magistrate David Plumber. The rent had not changed in nearly a decade, and the landlord wants a modest increase.

Henry verbally agreed on Dec. 30 to accommodate her request but the paperwork was apparently bogged down by the holiday and a change in solicitors. Zajac said that she had just received the county’s version of the lease as prepared by new Solicitor Paul Litwin, but she had questions about some of the modified language.

I think we need to sit down and talk about this. We have some proposed changes and additions,” Zajac remarked, adding, “This has gone on for months.”

I agree,” said Henry. “We need to take care of it and move forward.”

Litwin explained that he had reverted to a traditional commercial lease that would simplify the agreement and work better for both parties. Zajac and Bunker Hill office manager Bill Dobitsch stayed after the meeting was adjourned and sat down with the solicitor and commissioners. In a matter of minutes, questions and concerns on both sides had been addressed. Zajac gained a better understanding of the new lease from Litwin, and Henry apologized to her for the inconvenience and thanked her for her patience.

The magistrate’s office lease was one of three key items on Litwin’s agenda as he addressed the board at his first meeting. First, he offered to recuse himself from offering legal advice during an impending tax appeal by Seven Loaves Soup Kitchen, as he also sits on the Seven Loaves board. The commissioners didn’t foresee any problems with the matter but agreed that another attorney could be brought in if it were deemed necessary.

Litwin also sought approval to represent the county in case of any conflict between Tunkhannock Borough, County EMA, and the Tunkhannock Borough Authority concerning reparations to the former site of the B&R Distributor building, which was demolished more than a year ago. “The contractor did not do a good job,” Litwin said in reference to a depression that is prone to filling with rain runoff. “I think that the solution is to regrade it.”

Litwin does not anticipate any problems with the restoration of the lot by the contractor, which he maintained is being performed at no cost to the county. Since the land is shared by several entities, however, he wanted to make the commissioners aware of the situation and make it a matter of record.

Redevelopment Authority Executive Director John Jennings and Grant Coordinator Lisa Hahn were in attendance for a renewal of the county’s Fair Housing Policy and to garner approval for a shuffling of CDBG grants that Jennings referred to as a “budget modification.” Funds totaling $55,108 that had been earmarked to other parts of the county in 2013 and 2014 were re-allocated to the Nicholson Housing Project to help pay for infrastructure in 14 townhouses to be built for purchase by low- to medium-income residents. The property has already been purchased, and the land is being prepared for construction.

2 Comments

  1. Acummatively, Wyoming County has received almost $3 million in Act 13 impact fees from wells since 2011. They received over $1 million for active wells in 2013. That is an annual figure. Anyone know what was said exactly and why Gaylord thinks the over $1 million figure was used out of context? This is publicly available data that is easily verifiable. Is all nearly $3 million sitting in a reserve fund like the initial $800k they received for 2011 or has the county been spending it? If they’ve been spending it, what are they spending it on?

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