West Lebanon Township appoints Jeffrey Clarke to board of commissioners

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The West Lebanon Township Board of Commissioners appointed Jeffrey Clarke to the board Monday following the resignation of board president John Gurganus, who in a letter to commissioners said he is focusing on his health and personal matters.

All were in favor save for Commissioner Phylis Dryden, who said she was concerned about Clarke’s connection to Speedwell Fire Company, with three with connections to the department already on the board. Dryden had first nominated Rick Pflueger to the position, but her motion failed for lack of a second, with Commissioner Michelle Testerman noting that Pflueger is not on the ballot.

“My concern is that he would vote with Michelle every time,” said Dryden of Clarke, which was later met with pushback from Testerman.

“I just want to point out that I had never, ever imagined when I became involved with the fire company, that volunteer service to come to an emergency aid of our community — with our guys doing insurmountable time and energy on their own time and at the cost, sometimes of themselves, to better this community — that we are met with so much opposition,” said Testerman. “The comment that you made, Phylis, just absolutely blows me out of the water.”

Dryden responded that her husband was a volunteer firefighter, adding, “My concern really had to do with you, and the way that you try to influence other people to your point of view.”

As things heated up, township treasurer Julie Clouse called the two commissioners out for “airing [their] personal disagreements,” adding that conflict between Dryden and Testerman occurs in meetings “all the time.”

The board will reorganize, selecting a new president, on May 5.

Commissioners also unanimously agreed to select Weidle Sanitation as the township’s trash and recycling provider for the next year, with a general rate of $84 per quarter and a military and senior rate of $78 per quarter.

This comes after the board rejected all bids last month, as bids were for a three-year term and residents voiced concern that the township would be unable to change providers if they had issues with service.

Townships are legally required to select the low bidder unless they have reasonable concerns. In this case, the technical low bidder — Waste and Time Disposal — both did not specifically mention recycling in their bid ($75 per quarter general and $65 per quarter military) and included a four 13-gallon bag limit, charging $4 per extra bag.

On the other hand, Weidle Sanitation’s bid included recycling and four 35-gallon bags, which Commissioner Michelle Testerman said would effectively cost less than Waste and Time Disposal’s bid for most families.

In other news, commissioners:

• Unanimously agreed to adopt an ordinance providing new regulations of noise and fireworks within the township, to align with the language used by North Lebanon and North Cornwall townships, which provide West Lebanon’s policing, as well as an ordinance establishing penalties.

Read More: West Lebanon Township advertises update to disorderly conduct ordinance

• Unanimously approved the minutes of their March 3 meeting and several reports.
• Unanimously approved a resolution recognizing April as “Pennsylvania 811 Safe Digging Month.”
• Agreed to begin to take steps to vacate Scott Alley by request of Carmen Rodriguez, for responsibility and ownership to be determined and shared by property owners along the alley.

West Lebanon Township meets the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. These meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.

Editor’s note: This article was updated after publication to correct the spelling of Rick Pflueger’s name and Jeffrey Clarke’s name. This article was also updated to correct a quote by Phylis Dryden.