Lebanon County’s solicitor has raised concerns about the enforcement powers of the park ranger at Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick in West Cornwall Township.
Considered a part-time position with no set hours, the exact duties of the park ranger are unclear since the position does not come with a job description, according to a county official and park manager, Jedd Erdman, who told LebTown on Friday that he was unable to locate any official information on record about the ranger’s role.
In addition to being the park ranger, Dr. David Eichler, whose father, Frank Eichler, was a former park board member and its founding chairman, is also the allocator for the park’s trust fund, according to the deed that created the Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick Trust in 2014. LebTown obtained that document, among others for this story, through a Right-to-Know request filed with Lebanon County.
As allocator, Dr. Eichler has a unique role for the trust, including the exclusive privilege to direct how restricted funds gifted from the trust to the park corporation should be used. For his services, the deed of trust states that Eichler should receive in payment 10% of the required amount distributed to the park corporation, which in recent years has worked out to a few thousand dollars annually. These payments are not connected to Eichler’s role as park ranger. According to the deed of trust, Eichler will have the privilege of holding this position until he either resigns, turns 80, or is declared incapacitated by a judge.
Eichler is also one of two board members who remain from the original six-member, court-appointed board, the other being Tom Harlan. Eichler’s position as allocator is not connected to either his status as park ranger or him being on the board.
County solicitor Matt Bugli’s review of a county ordinance and Pennsylvania County Codes led to the issuance of a letter on Feb. 27 to the park board recommending a cessation of enforcement activities by the park ranger.
On Thursday, March 21, the park board announced – without taking a formal vote – that the park ranger would follow Bugli’s recommendation.
A reason for this recommendation, as described in Bugli’s two-page letter, was to reduce the county’s liability since the ranger does not have authorization to enforce the park’s rules and regulations as established in Lebanon County Ordinance #32.
“Having any individual undertake enforcement of park rules without proper authorization from the county’s governing body exposes the county to potential liability,” wrote Bugli.
Following the board’s announcement, LebTown enquired after the meeting about the status of a county-issued weapon possessed by the park ranger since 2017.
On Friday afternoon, Lebanon County administrator Jamie Wolgemuth told LebTown that Bugli sent Eichler an email requesting he return the county-owned weapon to the sheriff’s department. That gun is set to be returned Monday to county officials.
These actions are a direct result of a request by Wolgemuth of Bugli to examine, among other things, a list of county policies and procedures to ensure compliance in those areas.
Wolgemuth told LebTown that this particular request was one of a number on a list he provided to Bugli following the county’s hiring of a new full-time attorney at the start of 2024. (The solicitor position previously was only a part-time role for the county.) LebTown asked Wolgemuth for examples of other items on the list, but he declined, stating attorney/client privilege.
Wolgemuth said the park was included on the list given concerns that have been raised about a variety of issues at the park. The 1,105-acre park contains over 15 trails and has an environmental center and an observation tower that is a popular destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.
“As part of my new responsibilities, one of the first items of business that I undertook was to review relevant documentation pertaining to Governor Dick Memorial Park,” writes Bugli near the beginning of his letter.
After a review of the county ordinance and Section 2511 of the Pennsylvania County Code, which concerns the appointment for a county to employ individuals for the purpose of enforcing rules of county-owned properties, Bugli realized there is no authorization in Lebanon County’s ordinance for the enforcement of the park’s rules.
Bugli writes: “It has come to my attention that enforcement activities in the park have been undertaken by Mr. David Eichler. From my professional judgment as County Solicitor, this is concerning, considering that the Board of County Commissioners has never expressly granted Mr. Eichler, or any individual for that matter, the specific authority to enforce the rules and regulations of the Clarence Schock Memorial Park, in accordance with Section 2511 of the County Code.”
Bugli provides in his letter the exact language of Section 2511 of the County Code, which states authorization for the enforcement of rules and regulations must come from the County Commissioners.
However, in creating County Ordinance #32 on May 18, 2006, the County Commissioners did not vote to grant authority to anyone to enforce the rules contained within that ordinance, Bugli also says in his letter.
“Ordinance Number 32 enumerates a list of rules for the purpose of maintaining order within the park. Upon review of Ordinance Number 32, the document itself is void of any language expressly granting authority to a person or persons to specifically enforce the rules contained therein.”
Bugli continues by writing that these ordinances are typically enforced by a local municipality’s police force or the Pennsylvania State Police.
Since the park is located in West Cornwall Township, which is covered by Cornwall Borough Police Department, that agency has arrest authority within the park, according to Wolgemuth. (Cornwall Borough Police Chief Brett Hopkins is cc’d on Bugli’s letter.)
Bugli also informs the park board that Eichler had signed two documents in 2018 titled “Policy: Firearms Carried by Ranger” and “Standard Operating Procedure – Use of Force” and that those documents identified him as park ranger.
The attorney cites that these documents “are internal in nature and do not rise to the level required in Section 2511 of the County Code to properly convey enforcement authority to an individual or individuals on specific behalf of the County.”
According to an article published in the Lebanon Daily News on Dec. 29, 2017, Eichler had been granted permission in an unanimous vote of the County Commissioners on Dec. 21 to be provided a county-issued firearm.
That vote occurred after Eichler had asked the park’s board of directors earlier that year to pursue procuring him a weapon. While Eichler could request the park board to pursue his request, the final decision for approval fell to County Commissioners since the park is operated by a board of directors with the county serving as park trustee.
At that December 2017 County Commissioner meeting, then-county Sheriff Bruce Klingler said Eichler was working by himself in “one of the most secluded areas of Lebanon County, and that he confronts hunters who are armed with both rifles and shotguns in the surrounding game commission areas,” according to LDN coverage at the time.
The LDN article quoted Harlan as saying that Eichler approached the board of directors about carrying a gun in early 2017 because of concerns about “the present state of mind of some people.” The article also noted that “because the ranger does not have arrest power, he would have to attempt to detain someone until police arrived.”
The article also states Eichler had obtained Act 235 lethal weapons training through his part-time position with the “Fish and Game Commission” (actually the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission).
Bugli states in the letter that while Eichler does have credentials with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission as a deputy waterways conservation officer, which grant certain enforcement powers to enforce criminal laws, those are limited “to the times in which a waterways conservation officer is on duty with the Fish and Boat Commission. Without express consent of the Board of the County Commissioners, however, these credentials do not authorize him to enforce rules and regulations of Governor Dick Park, as outlined in Ordinance No. 32, while on county time.”
Bugli concludes his letter by recommending that “all enforcement actions by Mr. Eichler immediately cease” and that the County Commissioners and Governor Dick’s board of directors should “engage in discussions regarding whether enforcement actions are necessary and if so, can specifically authorize individuals to undertake that responsibility.”
During a public meeting of the park’s board of directors last Thursday, board chairman Ray Bender read Bugli’s letter, noting afterward that “the board, as a county entity, is forced to comply with the opinion of the county solicitor.”
Responding to the portion of the letter requiring further discussion between the park board and county officials, the board’s part in what happens next “is a personnel matter that would be handled in an executive session until such time that an action is taken,” said Bender.
Bender then said the board would entertain no other public discussion on the letter in a public forum, but he did note that they were “following the direction of the county solicitor.” Before adjourning the public meeting after conducting other business, Bender announced the board would go into executive session, which lasted about 10 to 15 minutes, with no further business being conducted after it ended.
No board member other than Bender made a public comment about Bugli’s letter during the meeting.
LebTown asked Bender after the executive session if Eichler had surrendered the county’s firearm since the park ranger has no enforcement authority.
Bender told LebTown that Eichler still had the weapon, then amended that statement to say that he did at the time the letter was received. As of Friday morning, however, Eichler was still in possession of the firearm but by Friday afternoon LebTown had learned that Eichler would return it Monday to the county sheriff’s office.
“Once it became evident that they (the park board) weren’t going to do anything immediately and since they accepted the letter and Ray had already communicated with Dave, Matt sent a letter to Dr. Eichler this morning via email,” said Wolgemuth. “We’d rather have the gun, if it is not going to be needed, we’d rather have it in our possession rather than be out there in the community.”
Wolgemuth added that requesting its return is not a knock on Eichler’s ability to keep it secure, but that county officials “would rather have it here.”
LebTown asked Bender and county officials whether a list of job duties exists for the park ranger position since Eichler remains employed on a part-time basis with the county. The park ranger is being paid $19.76 per hour in 2024, according to timesheets shared with LebTown through a Right-to-Know request. That document shows that Eichler works a varying number of hours per week. To date in 2024, Eichler has averaged 6 hours per week.
Lebanon County officials never created an official job description for the park ranger since the position already existed when the county became a park trustee in 1998, according to Wolgemuth, who added job descriptions are crafted when the county creates a new job.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one,” said Bender, who added that the position already existed when he came on the board one year before the environmental center was constructed in the early 2000s. Bender said Eichler assists the park manager with park maintenance as needed.
Clarence Schock, who made his fortune in oil, purchased the acreage now known as Governor Dick between 1934 and 1940. According to a history provided at parkatgovernordick.org, he began making the land available to the public as early as 1936. Schock donated the property to Mount Joy School District, now Donegal School District, in 1953. He died in 1955.
The school district turned over the park’s stewardship in 1997 to the Clarence Schock Trust, a philanthropic organization founded by Schock’s SICO company. Lebanon County Commissioners were added as part of the trustee board a year later and, in 2016, Lebanon County became the sole trustee of the park.
So, what is the future status of the part-time park ranger position at Clarence Schock Memorial Park?
That’s a question to be decided by the park’s board of directors and either approved or vetoed by the county commissioners who have hiring/firing authority over all county employees. The position could be eliminated, reworked or the board could request the county provide the ranger enforcement powers.
One possible outcome as noted by Wolgemuth is the renaming/repurposing of the role of park ranger.
Wolgemuth told LebTown Friday afternoon that he’s heard the term “park ambassador” being mentioned, adding any recommendation will come from the park board first and acted upon by County Commissioners.
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