The proposed counter-offer settlement from Lawrence Township to the Clearfield Municipal Authority is one step closer to approval after Tuesday night’s township meeting.
Solicitor William Shaw Jr. submitted the approved settlement between the two parties in the amount of $200,000, all stemming from the Authority seeking release of sewar surcharge funds. The original amount the authority was seeking was in the amount of $360,000, according to township supervisor Scott Way. The agreement between the two parties comes in the form of three payments, the first being $100,000 to be sent immediately, with another $50,000 sent in six months (March of 2025), and a final $50,000 payment to be sent six months thereafter (September of 2025).
However, supervisor Jeremy Ruffner questioned Shaw about the settlement amount, specifically where it was going and if the Municipal Authority was going to continue to charge township residents on the surcharge.
“The surcharge was put in place to overcome the Penn-Vest loans, and the local loan. The local loan has been paid off, and when the two Penn-Vest loans are paid off, the Township’s commitment to this project has been fulfilled,” Ruffner said before asking Shaw, “Will the Municipal Authority be stopping the surcharge?
“The surcharge was put in place to fund the projects, and when the loans are paid off, there’s no debt anymore, as is the township’s part of the project. So, shouldn’t the township’s residents stopped being charged that surcharge? So, if we’re going to pay that $200,000, shouldn’t it be applied to the principle of those Penn-Vest loans to get us closer to the end of that service?”
Shaw, after clarification that the questions were posed to him, told Ruffner, Way, and Randy Powell that he agreed in theory with what Ruffner was suggesting, however he was not certain that the township had the authority to say where the settlement payments would go.
The supervisors ultimately approved the agreement along with submitting the first payment. Ruffner then motioned to write to the Municipal Authority asking if the township residents would still be paying for the surcharge, even if it was months down the line.”
That motion was made and passed.
The next scheduled meeting for the township supervisors will be on September 17, start time of 4:30 p.m. All meetings are live-streamed on the township’s Facebook page.