Oct 8, 2002 By Melissa Glisan 4 min read

CUMBERLAND TWP. – Supervisors took heat from residents on a range of subjects including former secretary-treasurer Arlene Zetti, rainwater, missing guns and cows at Monday’s regular meeting. Resident Jim Holmes rebuked supervisors for the way the board went about firing Zetti. He claimed that the supervisors violated her civil rights by not having a public hearing on the issues involved and for not providing her legal council at her termination.

Holmes also said that given the allegations made by the supervisors at earlier meetings that Zetti shredded or discarded mail addressed to the supervisors without proper consent that the board should have reported her actions to postal investigators for prosecution.

He noted that if the board saw fit to fire her for violating the federal postal laws that an investigation should have been launched into her alleged misconduct. In lieu of that, he asked she be reinstated.

After an executive session on the personnel issues raised by Holmes, the supervisors voted to hire Debbie Rush of Carmichaels as secretary treasurer for a probationary period as outlined by township regulations.

The board made no comment regarding Holmes’ request for a federal investigation.

Zetti, who was present at the meeting, only asked that supervisors hire an auditor to do a redline review of the books to protect her interests as well as those of the township and the new secretary.

Solicitor Dennis Makel said that such an audit isn’t necessary under the law, but that many municipalities conduct them when changing treasurers midyear.

On the subject of rainwater, Franklin Gray asked supervisors to “cease and desist” the direction of surface water from the Grabowski plan of lots onto his property.

Thirty years ago, the township reached an understanding with Gray in order to pipe storm water across his property. However, he maintains that the amount of water being conveyed has increased in violation of the agreement.

“I was told by planning in Waynesburg that this should have been taken care of before the first house was put in. It was not taken care of by the township at that time. Now the county says it is too expensive to correct,” Gray said.

Makel agreed that the law provides for situations if the municipality diverts water, but that he was unsure about answers in this scenario.

Supervisor Jim Sokol argued that Gray gave permission for the extra water, a claim Gray hotly denied. Grat said Sokol merely told him that an increased amount of water would be piped across his property.

Moving onto the subject of the case of the three missing township handguns from two years ago, resident Jim Vavrek asked why no one was held accountable for breaking the law if the state police recovered two of the fire arms and returned them to the township.

He also asked if the township was planning on pursuing civil action to recoup the expense of the third gun.

Makel explained that the investigation was ultimately turned over to the state police for pursuit and subsequent action. He said that he didn’t know anything about how the investigation was handled. However, he did note that he would discuss a civil suit with the supervisors.

Under the subject of cows, resident Lloyd Carter demanded to know why the board of supervisors is ignoring a court order from a Greene County judge directing the township to pay Carter the remaining money from the sale of his quarter horse and cows in 1999.

He said that at the time of the legal action, the township attested that there were liens against his animals, liens he said that never existed.

Makel noted that the money from the sale was directed to cover the costs of the legal actions as allowed under the judge’s ruling.