Oct 16, 2014 3 min read

An executive session and special voting meeting held by Cecil Township supervisors Thursday was continued until 6 p.m. Nov. 3, before the board’s regular meeting.

Supervisors met in executive session for 45 minutes Thursday morning before announcing to the approximately 40 people in attendance that the meeting would be continued and that no action would be taken.

Supervisors declined to comment following the meeting, which was advertised to discuss professional staff.

However, on Wednesday, Supervisor Cindy Fisher wrote on her Cecil Township supervisor Facebook page she believed the meeting was called because some supervisors planned to ask the board to fire solicitor John Smith and to block payment to the zoning hearing board’s solicitor in regard to the appeal the zoning hearing board filed Oct. 10 with the state Commonwealth Court over the proposed MarkWest natural gas compressor station on Route 980.

The zoning board is asking the entire Commonwealth Court to hear arguments in the case. If that is denied, the board could take matters to state Supreme Court, pending approval.

Supervisors on Oct. 6 voted 3-2 against appealing a state Commonwealth Court judge’s recent ruling that the township’s zoning hearing board erred when it denied the Marcellus Shale company’s application for a compressor station in March 2011. Smith had offered to handle that case pro bono.

Township resident Jason Krut, who serves on the planning commission, said he attended the meeting because he had heard action might be taken regarding the solicitor and the zoning hearing board.

“I have no problem that they didn’t come to a conclusion today. That means there’s more to discuss,” said Krut. “This isn’t something to resolve in a 45-minute discussion. It’s good not to rush the decision. They need to talk this out and need to make sure they make the right decision.”

But other residents took exception to Fisher’s posting, and resident Darlene Barni asked for a vote of no confidence for Fisher following the meeting, saying she “overstepped her bounds.”

Fisher, who has voiced concern about the potential impact the compressor station will have on public health and safety, local roads and traffic and residential property values, said she will not step down.

Barni also said she thinks Smith was out of line when he told supervisors before their vote on the compressor station appeal the zoning hearing board could appeal the ruling.

“There are people here who want the compressor station to get the natural gas to the processing plant and to make us energy efficient and independent and bring our military home … however, they want to stop something that is very vital to our community,” said Barni.