North Huntingdon officials hold closed-door session; discuss strategic plan

North Huntingdon Township commissioners held a closed-door meeting Wednesday with the leaders of various government departments, a gathering which one commissioner described as an “in-house retreat.”

Attorney Bruce Dice, North Huntingdon’s solicitor, had advised township officials the meeting could be closed to the public because it is educational in purpose and no official action would be taken, Jeff Silka, township manager, said prior to the meeting.

Dice could not be reached for comment prior to the meeting.

The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act requires that public agencies like the board of commissioners, hold public meetings when there is a quorum — a majority of members — at a pre-arranged meeting to take official action, or have a discussion to take official action.

An “educational” or training session attended by a quorum of township elected officials “isn’t an exemption from the (Pennsylvania) Sunshine Act,” said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, a Harrisburg-based trade group. It is incumbent on the township to justify excluding the public and cite relevant law, Melewsky added.

Commissioner Brian Blasko, who won election to a four-year term in 2017, said the meeting was essentially an “in-house retreat” in which all the department heads would be available so the commissioners and staff “would get on the same page.” Holding the “retreat” at the township building would save money over going to an outside location, Blasko said.

The session gives township officials the chance to discuss a strategic plan and a five-year plan, “to see how we can move forward and make progress,” Blasko said.

Commissioner Viginia Stump, who was elected to the seven-member board in November, said the meeting was designed to provide information about the township government for the new commissioners. Stump joined Eric Gasse, Jason Atwood and Ronald Zona in winning seats on the board in the November 2019 election.

“It’s classified as a training session,” Stump said.

Under the Sunshine Act, those training sessions held for elected officials are known as “conferences.” But, it is important to note that deliberation of agency business is expressly prohibited during a conference, Melewsky said.

“The public is in the same position, left to wonder why they were excluded and whether that exclusion was appropriate,” Melewsky said. The township should provide information about the meeting to avoid the appearance of impropriety and to justify the public’s exclusion, she added.

The session was to include a discussion of the township ordinances and the need to update them, Stump said.

Discussing potential ordinance changes would be deliberation of agency business, Melewsky said, and if it involves a quorum of the commissioners, it must occur at a public meeting.

“This kind of discussion amongst a quorum of commissioners would not be appropriate in a non-public setting,” Melewsky said.