Clarence Schock Memorial Park board appointment process questioned

The Clarence Schock Park at Governor Dick Board of Directors forwards two names to Lebanon County Commissioners each year as their recommendations for approval for appointment or reappointment to three-year terms on the board. 

That action was common practice. Until this year.

Only one name – Josh Killian – was provided to commissioners for reappointment on June 26. The other board seat, which has been occupied by Dave Eichler since the board was created nearly 25 years ago, was not sent to commissioners.

County commissioners unanimously approved reappointing Killian to the park board at their July 3 meeting. Killian had been appointed to fill the remaining term of board member Tom Harlan, who passed away. Harlan’s and Eichler’s seats were up for election this year. 

The non-recommendation of Eichler for potential reappointment means his position was terminated as of July 3. Eichler received a letter dated July 3 from commissioners thanking him for his service and informing him that his time with the board had ended.

Eichler told LebTown there was no discussion at the June park board meeting about reappointments. He said he missed the May meeting but noted there was no evidence in the meeting minutes that a decision had been made about the open seats.

Neither the May nor June minutes note any official actions being taken by directors for the two seats.

Since the board receives state funding, its yearly fiscal calendar is concurrent with the commonwealth’s, meaning it runs from July 1 through June 30. The same is true with board appointments or reappointments, which typically occur around the start of the state’s new fiscal year. 

The park consists of about 1,100 acres in southern Lebanon County near Mount Gretna.

Board member Doug Becker, who chaired the June meeting in place of chairman Raymond Bender, did not respond to requests for comment by phone and email as of publication.  

“I was reappointed back in ’22 and it never came up in ’25. It was intentional and conspiratory, but it’s the way that county government works,” Eichler said. “It wasn’t on the agenda, and it didn’t come up.”

Bender declined to say during a telephone interview if board positions were discussed at the May executive session. When asked what was given as the purpose of the executive session, Bender said he couldn’t recall and would have to check his notes.

Park manager Jedd Erdman, who records the board’s meeting minutes, told LebTown the purpose of the executive session was to discuss personnel matters. 

If volunteer park board positions were discussed in an executive session, it would be a violation of the state’s Sunshine Law, according to an attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. 

The Sunshine Law, or Open Meetings Law, mandates that most meetings of state and local government agencies be open to the public in order to promote transparency and accountability by ensuring that the public can witness the decision-making process. Official actions and deliberations on agency business must occur at public meetings, allowing for public attendance, participation, and comment.

Melissa Bevan Melewsky, media counsel for the NewsMedia Association, said in an email that she believes that appointment and reappointment discussions should occur at a public session to allow public input into the process. 

“I would argue the issue of reappointment should be a topic of discussion amongst a quorum and listed on the agenda as such so that the other board members and the public have some input into whether a board member seeks reappointment,” wrote Melewsky. “Ultimately, these are public service positions and the public should have a voice in the appointment process.”

Lebanon County solicitor Matt Bugli in a follow-up email after a telephone discussion said the fact that the park board is providing a recommendation to commissioners makes this a unique situation.

“Commissioners have the ability to accept or reject that recommendation and the decision is ultimately up to them.  The ‘official action’ leading to the end result (appointments of board members) was taken by the Board of Commissioners during a public meeting. That is an important fact that comes into consideration as well in this situation,” wrote Bugli, who is also the Right-to-Know officer for Lebanon County.

Melewsky told LebTown that the action of forwarding recommendations to another entity that has the final say, in this case the county commissioners, should still require a public vote by the lower body (Governor Dick board) since they are taking an action by deciding whose names will go to commissioners.

Bugli later said his review of case law revealed there is not a concrete interpretation of executive sessions involving board positions and whether gathering for that purpose violates the Sunshine Law.

He did, however, provide a definition for the county and how it interprets the difference between compensated county personnel versus volunteer positions.  

“How we interpret personnel, when we have personnel discussions is, employees – full-time, part-time and negotiations with unions. It gets a little bit murky when you are dealing with a board member. I know that in my time as a township solicitor that when there would be a vacancy, we would hold interviews in a public setting, during the public board meeting,” Bugli said. “Commissioner (Mike) Kuhn indicated to me that that was very much the case at the school board level when he was on the Lebanon school board. That was in the school code, set by the school district.”

Bender told LebTown that Eichler, besides being a board member, was also getting paid to do occasional work at the park, a fact that was confirmed by Erdman. 

However, Eichler’s volunteer service as a board member is different from being a compensated county employee.

An article titled “Misconceptions about the Sunshine Law abound, Part 3” on the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association’s website states: “Also, the (Sunshine) Act does not apply when an agency meets to discuss the appointment of someone to fill a vacancy in an elective office. When, for example, a township board of supervisors meets to discuss the selection of someone to fill a mid-term vacancy on the board, it may not hold an executive session under the ‘personnel exception.’”

Bugli told LebTown that his advice to all county boards is to err on the side of caution concerning transparency when conducting board business. 

It was announced on July 15 that the board is accepting resumes from anyone interested in filling Eichler’s seat. It’s unclear how long that process will take.

LebTown asked Bender if he would take a public vote for the person whose name will be sent to commissioners as a recommendation to replace Eichler. 

Bender said he will not hold a public vote with the board before forwarding that person’s name to commissioners. He cited potential embarrassment to that person and to commissioners if commissioners reject the park board’s recommendation.

Commissioners told LebTown previously that they have empowered its various advisory boards to recommend who will serve on them. When names are received, the individuals are almost nearly – if not always – approved by commissioners since the boards know who is the best candidate to serve on them. In other words, commissioners primarily endorse recommendations made to them.

County administrator Jamie Wolgemuth told LebTown it is common for commissioners to approve the individuals whose names are provided to them for board seats.

Kuhn, who is the county’s official liaison to the park board, said it’s unclear if a discussion concerning board positions must occur publicly, but he plans to make changes moving forward. He noted that board members serve at the pleasure of the commissioners.  

“We (Bugli and I) both agree, whether they do … the interview process in public or private, the next step is announcing it at a public meeting. There is no good reason why they shouldn’t do that,” he said. “Ray wasn’t checking with the solicitor before he acted. … I can assure you we are going to fix it. I just want to get it right moving forward.”

Ryan Fretz, president of Friends of Governor Dick, was elated with Kuhn’s comment concerning greater transparency. He said one of the criticisms of his group towards the park board in the past has been a lack of transparency – particularly with how individuals are named to the board.

Read More: Friends share views concerning Governor Dick Park during walk event with Mike Kuhn 

Fretz cited improved relations recently between his group and the park board and said this decision is another step in the right direction concerning how the park’s business is conducted at public meetings.

Fretz told LebTown that at the July 17 meeting Kuhn announced that county officials are looking into what the requirements are in regard to the Sunshine Law.

“They talked about the topic, you know, like, ‘Hey, we gotta dot the I’s and cross the T’s.’ But they were thinking, I guess they kicked it to the solicitor to see, ‘Hey, are we in violation here?’” Fretz said. “They’re going to do everything that’s in the best interest to be transparent to the public.”