NEW CASTLE Council members won't discuss views

Two councilmen won't be able to vote on the conditional-use request because they didn't participate in a public hearing.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Anyone wanting to know city council's decision on closing Reis Street and granting a conditional-use permit to the New Castle School District will just have to wait.
Council members said Tuesday that they don't want to talk about their decision until a formal vote is taken Thursday.
Both decisions will determine whether the New Castle School District can continue with its plans to build a campus-style school in the city's north hill section.
The district needs a conditional-use permit to build a new education wing in an area now zoned for residential use. That wing will eventually connect to a new arts wing in the area now known as Reis Street.
Wanted to know: Councilman Mark Elisco pressed other council members at Tuesday's caucus meeting to reveal how they plan to vote on the conditional use permit later this week.
"When you are at a caucus, I don't understand what is wrong with talking about your decision," he said.
But other council members disagreed.
Councilwoman Patricia May said she plans to make her decision and reasons clear on Thursday during the council comment period.
Council President Robert Bullano said he also doesn't plan to talk about his decision until Thursday's meeting. Councilman Stephen Vitale didn't comment on Elisco's request.
Executive session: City Solicitor James Manolis said those three council members did discuss the request at an executive session after the March 6 public hearing and he has prepared a finding of facts document based on that discussion. That document will be released Thursday after a vote is taken, he said.
Manolis refused to release the document Tuesday, saying it was only a draft.
Elisco and Councilman Rick DeBlasio won't vote on the conditional-use request at Thursday's meeting.
Manolis said both were present at the March 6 hearing, but could not formally participate because they were waiting for a Pennsylvania Ethics Commission ruling. Both have ties to the school district -- Elisco is an assistant principal and DeBlasio's wife is a principal.
The ethics commission ruling came down earlier this week and stated neither councilman had a conflict of interest because there was no potential for financial gain.
Manolis said, however, they still could not vote because they were not formal participants in the hearing. Both councilmen will be able to vote on the district's request to close Reis Street because that did not require a public hearing.
Manolis said any decision to grant the district a conditional-use permit will be contingent on approving the closing of Reis Street and the state's final approval of all plans for the new school.
If one of those matters is not approved, then all will be void, he said.
"We don't want to close a city street if there isn't going to be a new school built," he said.