SUNBURY - Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi was hoping to have a quiet meeting Wednesday night.
The first evening county meeting of the year, which attracted approximately 50 people, featured more name calling and accusations, the approval of a motion on a split vote to have the Inspector General's Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) investigate the alleged mismanagement of a state grant, opposition to Clausi's proposal to build a new county prison in the Brush Valley area of Coal Township and concerns by Commissioner Richard Shoch over county resources used to make a Right-To-Know request from the City of Shamokin for health care benefits information pertaining to council members and the mayor.
Commissioners Clausi, Shoch and Stephen Bridy, who participated by telephone from North Carolina, where he is on county business visiting several corporations in an effort to attract industry, breezed through the regular agenda before debate arose during the new business portion of the meeting.
On a 2-1 vote with Shoch in opposition, a motion was passed to have the inspector general's office conduct an investigation into the alleged mismanagement of a Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) grant that requires the county to possibly pay back $215,000 for failing to provide proper documentation to determine client eligibility. The motion also calls for the county not to pay any money to HUD until the probe is completed.
A similar motion had been removed from the meeting agenda Tuesday by Clausi.
'Mudslinging'
After having chief clerk Gary Steffen read the motion, Clausi said he was tired of fighting over the issue and wants to find out if the county did anything wrong with the grant. Shoch, who also wants the FBI to conduct an investigation, objected and tried to explain to Clausi that paying back the money was a contractual issue.
That's when the fighting began.
"There you go into mudslinging," Clausi told Shoch. "You've infected this office for the past year. You're a troublemaker and instigator. Enough is enough. We must move forward."
Clausi also accused Shoch, who serves as Point Township solicitor, of being friends with the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), being one of the highest paid solicitors in the country for a township with 3,000 people, and making false accusations against him.
Hard drive
Clausi claimed he has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the missing hard drive issue.
He said former information technology director David Fisher, who resigned, admitted in a deposition taken by an attorney last week in Williamsport that he copied all the information from Clausi's hard drive onto a new hard drive so no information was ever deleted.
He said, "These insinuations must end," Clausi said.
Bridy also accused Shoch of twisting the truth around in the media while stating that nothing secret is "going on behind closed doors."
Clausi accused Shoch of encouraging Dave F. Kaleta, of Shamokin, who has sued the county for an alleged Sunshine Law violation, and others to attend Wednesday's meeting to cause trouble.
Shoch replied, "I don't make accusations. I contacted about 10 to 15 people to come to the meeting. It's not making trouble to have an informed electorate. I don't know why you are taking it (HPRP grant investigation) so personal."
After Clausi compared Shoch to someone who fires accusations at people that never hit their target, Shoch referred to Clausi as the "Wizard of Oz" who is all fire, smoke and loud, but is really only a "little man hiding behind a curtain."
Similar barbs were exchanged between both commissioners when Shoch said he was concerned why county resources were used to make a Right-To-Know request from the City of Shamokin for health care benefits information, which the city denied, claiming providing the data would constitute a HIPAA violation.
"Why is that a legitimate county issue?" Shoch asked.
Clausi said he made the request as a county commissioner because he had a "duty and obligation" to do so.
The commissioners did agree with Bridy's recommendation to reinstitute an "Employee of the Month" award to recognize the hard work and dedication of county workers.
In response to the HPRP grant investigation, Controller Tony Phillips defended county employees by stating that the county received over $11 million of federal grants alone in 2012 and that HUD funding only represented one percent of that amount.
"If the county did fail to comply with regulations in certain grants, we must work with the granting agencies to make things right," Phillips said. "With this being said, we do not want to let this one issue define the county's abilities to operate efficient and effective programs."
Phillips pointed out that his office doesn't audit or monitor grant compliance.
Public comments
Nicole Faraguna, of Herndon, and Jere Snyder, of Shamokin Township, members of the Brush Valley Preservation Association, objected to Clausi's proposal to build a new county prison near SCI-Coal Township above Tharptown because the land already has the proper infrastructure in place.
Snyder cited environmental concerns. He said Brush Valley is no place for a prison.
Faraguna referred to Brush Valley as a "hidden jewel" and "pristine watershed."
Both recommended turning the property into a state park or forest for the betterment of the area.
On the prison issue, Shoch said, "I think we need to start planning for a new one, but it's not something to jump head-long into. I think the overall discussion needs to be about how to handle corrections in the county. We need to decrease the prison population and recidivism. Prisoners aren't changing or being rehabilitated. We don't need a large, expensive facility because we are going to take on a lot of debt with the 911 system upgrades."
Kaleta's wife, Kathi, accused Clausi of calling her husband a "low-life" and "scum bag" after the initial meeting of the AOAA Authority.
"You act like a saint and claim you have respect for human life," but it's your way or no way," she told the commissioner.