Politics

Bernstine: Ellwood City Electric Legislation Clears Major Hurtle

HARRISBURG – Taking the first major step toward protecting local residents from skyrocketing electric bills, the state House of Representatives today approved legislation, authored by Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence), to bring additional oversight to the business and spending practices of Ellwood City Borough’s electric company. “Today’s vote was a big win for Ellwood City residents,” Bernstine said. “We are one step closer to stopping the egregious behaviors of Ellwood City electric through legislative oversight.” House Bill 2030 would require more uniform and reasonable rate structures to be adopted by the borough-run electric company. Specifically, the bill would require the Borough…


House Bill 2030 Passes, Ellwood Council Hires Lobbyist to Oppose

Yesterday, House Bill 2030, which modifies the Ellwood City borough electric department, passed in a 106-89 vote. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-10, New Beaver, will now pass to the state senate. The bill will prevent the borough from transferring funds from the electric department to the General Fund and includes additional provisions for consumer protection. The bill’s language limits its impact to boroughs providing electric to more than one county. Out of the 35 boroughs in Pennsylvania that supply electric, only Ellwood City is located in more than one county. “We are asking the borough of Ellwood…


Ellwood City School Board April Meeting Brief

Festival Parking Lot Issue Resolved The board passed a motion resolving an ongoing parking issue with the festival committee. District organizations, such as the football boosters, have historically used festival car parking as a fundraising method. However, a new district policy concerning licensing/subcontracting and confusion over which organizations the festival would award the parking lots to resulted in a delay in the board granting the lots to the festival committee. The motion granted the festival committee use of the district’s parking lots in Ewing Park, provided school organizations have first choice to use the lots. The motion also temporarily suspended…


Council- Volleyball Lights Raise Question of Park Hours

At Monday’s Ellwood City Borough council agenda meeting, council member George Celli questioned a motion to purchase an LED lightning package for the volleyball court in Ewing Park at a cost of $9,068.98. Celli felt it was unwise to install lights for one court without considering the costs of installing lights for other amenities, such as the tennis court and skateboard park. In addition, he felt lights would nullify the “dawn to dusk” hours of the park. Council member Jim Barry felt all the courts should have lights, on the grounds that money was available from the Marcelus Shale Fund…


Councilman Suggests Resolution to Protest House Bill 1405

At Monday’s Ellwood City Borough Council agenda meeting, council member George Celli proposed a resolution to oppose PA House Bills 1405 and 2030. Both bills would set new regulations on the borough’s electric department, including restricting council’s ability to shift electric fund revenue to the general fund. If council passed Celli’s resolution, it would indicate council’s opposition to the legislation but have no legal impact. Council added the resolution to the agenda but no other members spoke for or against it. The bills are sponsored by State Rep. Aaron Berstein, (R-10), and both include language that would limit the borough’s…


Ellwood City Borough Council March Meeting Brief

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Borough Council meeting held on Monday, March 19: Visitors: Numerous visitors urged council to reconsider charging organizations event costs to recoup borough expenses. One visitor requested that council hire a borough manager capable of effective grant writing and said the costs of most events could be covered by grants. He also praised Council President Judi Dici for acting as interim manager on “pittance” money. Former council president Connie MacDonald criticized council for throwing away $171,900 on an aborted new electric building. He had previously attacked council for this decision and…


Council: No Events to Be Charged and Cost Estimates Greatly Reduced

During its meeting on Monday, council voted to allow all requested events in 2018 at no charge. In edition, the estimated borough costs for events provided last week was recalculated at significantly lower rates. In February, council announced the Ellwood City Relay for Life would be charged $550 to recoup borough expenses and that all other borough events would be required to pay borough expenses. At the agenda meeting on March 12, over 50 visitors urged council to reconsider and have the borough absorb event costs. At the regular meeting on Monday, held in the auditorium to accommodates over 60…


Chamber of Commerce, Other Organizations Urge Council to Reconsider Charging Events

The Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce took issue with council’s decision to charge nonprofits recoup fees for events held in the borough. At Monday’s Ellwood City Borough Council agenda meeting, chamber President Ray Santillo urged council to reconsider. Santillo argued that events such as Relay for Life and the Concert Series promote a healthy local economy and urged council to compromise and solve problems amicably while marketing the community positively. He also pointed out that chamber members pay dues, and the chamber helps with funding events, such as providing electric panels for the downtown car cruise. Santillo praised the quantity…


Visitor Requests Council to Resign for Alleged Violation of Freedom of Speech

At the Ellwood City Borough Council agenda meeting, Dawn Santagata requested that the entire council resign due to alleged violations of the First Amendment’s right to freedom of speech. In a prepared statement, Santagata asserted her freedom of speech was violated when her comments were deleted from a Facebook page titled Ellwood City Council – Rob Brough and Lisa Guerrera. The two council members use the page to post information on council topics. Santaga cited a 2017 court case, Davison vs. Loudon County Board of Supervisors, in which a federal court determined a public official couldn’t delete dissenting viewpoints from…


Ellwood Resident Criticizes Borough for Failure to Comply with Right to Know Law

At Monday’s Ellwood City Borough Council meeting, visitor Dave McQuade criticized council for a slow response to his Right to Know Requests, for its decision to charge events recoup fees and for statements made on social media. McQuade filed two requests on the weekend of March 2 and said the borough had yet to respond. By state law, an agency has five business days to respond in writing.  The first request was for the current procedures for holding events in the borough. The second request was for the police contract. The requests were in response to council’s decision in February to…