Bucks court orders halt on Lower Makefield sewer sale

A Bucks County judge has ordered a temporary halt to Lower Makefield’s planned sewer system sale following a legal petition from a township resident to delay the auction.

Bucks County Court of Commons Pleas Judge Robert J. Mellon on Wednesday ordered the stay until allegations against the township could be heard in court.

The civil lawsuit filed Tuesday by resident Jeffery Hall-Gale against supervisor Chair Fredric Weiss and township Manager Kurt Ferguson sought to delay the sale by at least 90 days to ensure township supervisors “work with interested neighboring municipalities, consider all possible options in public and allow for public review of all such options.”

Supervisors were scheduled to vote Wednesday on bids by PA American Water and Aqua America Pennsylvania ranging between $35 million to $56 million for the system that serves 11,800 customers.

Before the court order, Weiss said supervisors likely were going to table the issue and that he would hand over responsibilities as chair to Vice Chair Daniel Grenier for the duration of the meeting due to the pending litigation. Grenier has said he will recuse himself from the vote because of his work as an engineer in the water and sewer field.

“Until we get that cleared up, the prudent thing to do would be to delay,” Weiss said Wednesday afternoon.

Recently, Weiss’ residency has come into question after public records revealed he and his wife purchased a home in Florida after selling their township home in January.

When reached by phone Wednesday, Weiss confirmed that he purchased a second home in Florida but that his main residence is a townhouse that he is renting in the township.

He said he has no plans to leave Lower Makefield because he has a disabled child in Morrisville and others in Levittown, but bought the home in Florida so he can visit another child in that state.

“I don’t want my residency status to influence the discussion, so until that’s cleared up — which I know it will be soon ... I will still participate in the meeting but I will not be chair,” he said. “... I vote in Pennsylvania, I pay taxes in Lower Makefield, so by all possible standards I reside in Pennsylvania.”

Weiss said the matter is being investigated by police.

When reached Wednesday, Lower Makefield police Chief Ken Coluzzi said the department is investigating property records and a report will be made public soon.

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said the matter will be investigated after an inquiry into the issue was made to his office Wednesday.

Solicitor David Truelove said during Wednesday’s meeting that the township on Tuesday received “information supporting the allegations related to Dr. Weiss’ claim in validity of residence” and likely will make a determination by early next week.

In the suit, Hall-Gale argues supervisors broke the state’s Sunshine Act and infringed residents’ First Amendment rights by hosting virtual meetings on the sale late into weekday nights while keeping neighboring municipalities out of the discussion. A Republican, Hall-Gale ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Democrat-controlled board in 2019.

At issue is a June 17 virtual meeting, where bid information on the sale was released but public participation was sparse due to the length of the hearing.

"... Holding public comment at midnight on a worknight in the midst of a pandemic causes grave First Amendment concerns as only approximately 3 people called into public comment in a Township of approximately 32,761,“ the lawsuit read. ”This is an item of great concern to citizens of Lower Makefield as this meeting involved the public discussion of sewer sale bids.“

The suit also claims supervisors broke sunshine laws by voting in an executive session in April to exclude a concession lease option for the system.

In the suit, Hall-Gale argues supervisors need to take more time to review a large report from the township’s sewer engineer that was released last week while consulting with neighboring municipalities.

The sale could affect some surrounding towns that send sewage to the Morrisville Municipal Authority, which serves about 40,000 residents including all of Yardley and Morrisville, 70% of Lower Makefield and parts of Falls.

Each will be obligated to make payments to fund the MMA’s plan to replace its aging treatment plant in Morrisville with a new facility about three miles down the Delaware River in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls.

In response to the potential sale, Yardley council voted unanimously during a special meeting Tuesday to formally request Lower Makefield supervisors table Wednesday’s vote.

“Such a transaction would almost certainly be the largest in Lower Makefield's history and would undoubtedly have a profound impact upon ratepayers in Yardley Borough,” according to a request sent to supervisors. “Such a decision should not be made until all long-term options have been thoroughly vetted and explored.”

Yardley officials said they want to discuss a long-term plan with Lower Makefield, Morrisville and Falls officials “that best serves all ratepayers,” including the possibility of forming a joint authority. Council members said Tuesday that they were led to believe talks with township officials would begin once bids were received.

“We have always believed that although Lower Makefield and Yardley Borough are two separate municipalities, we are one community,” the request read. “In this spirit, we hope to work with you as partners and continue our relationship as friendly neighbors.”

Earlier this week, Weiss said that surrounding municipalities and the MMA never offered to form a joint authority with the township in the last two years while it examined selling the system.

Meeting minutes show the formation of an authority was last discussed during a June 27, 2017, MMA meeting.

Along with a 2015 agreement between the municipalities and the MMA, Lower Makefield and Yardley signed a sewer transportation agreement in 2015 that allows the township to send some of its waste through the borough before it reaches the treatment plant in Morrisville.

Bria said Wednesday that about two-thirds of the daily sewage flow through Yardley comes from the northern portion of Lower Makefield.

However, nothing in the agreement would prevent the township from selling its system as the new buyer would take responsibly to adhere to the agreement, Yardley Borough Sewer Authority officials said during Tuesday’s meeting.

Along with the American Water and Aqua offers, the township received two bids from Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority ranging from $1 to $35 million. However, only votes on the American Water and Aqua bids were listed on Wednesday’s agenda.

The eight separate bids from the two utilities and authority include a multitude of options for the township, including rate freezes and handing over a $50 million obligation it owns the MMA for the new plant.

Along with the price of the bids, the township has to weigh which offers will be the most beneficial for residents since each comes with varying rate increases, officials said.

If it approves the sale, Lower Makefield could use proceeds of the sale to pay down $17.8 million in debt with interest owned from the township-owned golf course while boosting its Moody’s bond rating that was downgraded in 2019.

Meeting access

To access Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. Lower Makefield supervisors meeting, visit https://bit.ly/2BLsmKX.