Countercharges levied in Monongahela Township battle
The solicitor for Monongahela Township in Greene County is refuting allegations made in a civil suit filed against the chairman of the supervisors, saying the case is politically motivated.
Attorney Kevin O’Malley said the civil case filed by Bobbi Jo Neighbors of Greensboro against Supervisor William Monahan, the township and the board of supervisors is directly related to her father’s bid to return to the board of supervisors in the upcoming primary election. Her father, Jim Rumble, had been a township supervisor and is currently seeking a seat as supervisor.
“This complaint is loaded with misrepresentations,” O’Malley said.
One complaint in Neighbor’s suit contends that Monahan repeatedly contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to complain about an alleged illegal junk yard on her father’s property.
“The representation is in here of Mr. Monahan and the supervisors orchestrating a DEP violation against her father. He was sanctioned in January 2012 for illegal waste dumping on his property,” O’Malley said. “The notice of violation was issued January 2012, when Mr. Monahan had just become a supervisor and Mr. Rumble was still on the board. These are strong allegations with nothing to back them up.”
O’Malley said the suit also alleges that Monahan changed the time of the meeting to make it inconvenient for the public to attend. Meanwhile, O’Malley said, the meeting time was changed from evenings to afternoons during Rumble’s term in office due to weather concerns in 2011.
O’Malley said Neighbors’ right to speak at a public meeting has never been stifled. He also refuted a malicious prosecution charge Neighbors has filed against Monahan stemming from an incident last year when police were called to remove Neighbors after a meeting. O’Malley said she was asked to leave after a meeting when she was observed allegedly tape-recording a conversation with another township supervisor.
O’Malley said the township’s meeting minutes are posted on the township website for anyone to see at any time.