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Study panel hits a wall
The commission chairman can’t convene a quorum.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Work has stalled and appears to be sputtering out for a commission that was empaneled to decide whether to recommend a new form of government for Lawrence County.
The Lawrence County Government Study Commission has not met since October. It was working on a new home-rule charter to recommend to voters in the November election.
It also was preparing to recommend a council-manager form of government instead of the three-member board of commissioners who govern now.
Some panel members believe that change would make it easier to hold someone accountable for theft of taxpayers’ money.
The county was unable to remove former Treasurer Gary Felasco from office because he was elected, even after he came under investigation in 2004 for stealing $170,000. Felasco was treasurer from 2003 until his conviction in August 2006.
David Kennaday, panel chairman, said last week he has been unable to schedule a meeting because he cannot get confirmation from a majority of members that they can attend.
Without that quorum, the commission can’t take any official action.
Voters in the November 2007 election approved the commission and its members, and it began meeting in January 2008.
The commission has been bogged down by infighting, with some members believing a study on change is needed and others saying they don’t see the need for it.
The panel appears to be evenly split. It almost voted itself out of existence last summer, with a majority voting to halt the study.
One of that majority, Dwayne Evans, later changed his mind, saying he didn’t realize the vote was to stop the study completely, just the form of government the panel was studying at the time.
The panel took another vote, and the commission was back in business.
But member Richard Audino, who’d made the original motion to stop the study, took the six panel members who voted later to continue it to Lawrence County Common Pleas court.
The court did not grant Audino an injunction to halt the meetings, but he has the right to continue with a complaint that the panel violated Robert’s Rules of Order. He has not filed that complaint but still could, he said Friday.
In October, the panel lost one of its 11 members. John Russo resigned to take a position on New Castle City Council.
Without Russo, Evans said, it’s harder to get a quorum. “We could never vote. When Russo stepped down, we could never get a vote to get another member.”
Kennaday said he e-mails members for input on when to schedule a meeting. Some answer the e-mails, he said, but others don’t.
Evans said that he would attend more meetings. “That’s what I was voted in to do.”
Member John DeSanti said his personal situation has changed in the last six months, and it’s harder for him to attend meetings.
“But in my opinion, the commission is dead,” he said. “We’re at an impasse, and the people who don’t want to see any change won’t go to meetings.”
He said that he would agree to attend another meeting, as long as it involved all 10 members to discuss where the panel is headed.
Evans said he believes Kennaday has gotten “a raw deal.”
“I don’t think it’s right. It’s a shame.”
Evans said he had not formed an opinion on whether change should be recommended. “I was still studying on what form is best.”
He added that newer officeholders, such as county Treasurer Richard Rapone and county Controller Dave Gettings, should have the chance to prove themselves.
Evans said he tried to consider the wishes of the community.
“I’m going in there with a mind-set, to hear what the community is saying and articulate it the best that I can,” he said.
Audino said he has “an absolutely different opinion” from the crux of the meetings, disagreeing that a new form of government is needed.
He said he has no intention of going to any more meetings.
“They want a new meeting to fill the position of Russo so they can have six votes,” he said.
He said four other commission members have told him they will not go to more meetings.
The commission, which had been approved to meet for 18 months, has no more funding. Kennaday said that unless he can get a quorum, he cannot get a budget approved and submitted to the county.
Other panel members could not be reached to comment.
starmack@vindy.com