15 LOWER PAXTON TOWNSHIP VACANCY BOARD SPECIAL MEETING Minutes oft the Vacancy Board meeting held on March 20, 2025 Introduction of the Function and Role of the Vacancy Board and Its Members Mr. Gotshall introduced the purpose ofthe meeting, noting that it's a rare occurrence in the Township. On February 11, 2025, the Board of Supervisors accepted the resignation of Robin Lindsey from its membership. Beginning a statutorily prescribed 30-day timeline to appoint a successor pursuant to the Second-Class Township Code. The 30-day time frame, which expired on March 13, 2025, without a finalized successor being seated, has been replaced with a new 15-day timeline, which expires on March 28, 2025. During this period, the Vacancy Board must appoint a successor to the Board of Supervisors vacancy. Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Second-Class Township Code Article 4, Section 407C quote: "The Vacancy Board shall consist of the Board of Supervisors and one registered elector of the Township who shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors at the Board's first meeting each calendar year. The appointed elector shall act as the Chairperson of the Vacancy Board.' I Mr. Gotshall introduced the Supervisors present: Pamela Thompson, Allen McCormack, and Paul W. Navarro, as well as the annually appointed Vacancy Chair, Daniel Mosel. He noted that Mr. Mosel was recently unanimously reappointed to this position by the entire Board of Supervisors during their January 6, 2025, reorganization meeting. Also present is Attorney Tucker Hull, who represents the Township as Solicitor to the Zoning Hearing Board and other temporary project-specific legal work. Mr. Hull has made himself available to assist this Board in answering any legal questions that may arise. 1 16 Mr. Gotshall noted that beginning February 12, 2025, and ending February 21, 2025, the Township advertised for and received a total of 14 applications for the vacancy, which were received this evening. The Board of Supervisors previously provided all applications as they were received, and the members had ample opportunity to independently interview all candidates. The Vacancy Board Chair also subsequently and similarly provided all applications received. He reiterated that it is a rare occurrence in the Township, buried deep in the Second-Class Township Code. He invited Mr. Mosel to the dias to gather the proceeding into order. A meeting of the Lower Paxton Township Board ofSupervisors was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Chair Mosel on the above date at the Lower Paxton Township Municipal Center, 425 Prince Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The supervisors present, in addition to Mr. Mosel, were Paul W. Navarro, Pamela Thompson, and Allen J. McCormack. Also in attendance were Bradley Gotshall, Township Manager, and Tucker Hull, Solicitor, who were available to answer questions. Pledge of Allegiance Mr. McCormack led the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment There was none. Supervisor Comments Mr. McCormack commented on the op-ad printed in Penn Live, noting that Supervisor Thompson made several claims in that op-ad that he believes are inappropriate and incorrect. He said that he liked Supervisor Thompson and tried to get along with her, and she has tried to get along with him. They've been very cordial, but you stated, quote: 2 17 "This is business as usual of the predominately white male Republican Board. He said there are three members of this Board, an African American woman, a gentleman of] Hispanic descent, and him, he's the white guy, and he can't do anything about that. He's a man, and he's white, and his mom and dad were happy when he was born that way. At the last meeting ofthe Supervisors, they discussed replacing Supervisor Robin Lindsey. He spoke to all 14 applicants, interviewed them individually, and conducted the interviews privately. In an executive session, they discussed this. He and Mr. Navarro stated that they had reached a decision on a certain candidate who happened to be a female. At the same time, Ms. Thompson had selected a candidate who happened to be a white male. While complaining about the predominantly white male Republican Board, she also was supporting a white male Republican, while the white male Republicans were supporting a female. Mr. McCormack said he thinks Ms. Thompson's comment was just a bit out of line. He continued, adding that Ms. Thompson said when the Board meets on Thursday, the Republican Supervisors will have already made their choice outside of public scrutiny. He stated, for the record, that he did not meet with Supervisor Navarro, Supervisor Thompson, or the Vacancy Board Chairman, Mr. Mosel, to talk about any candidate for this position. He believes that most people know where his vote stood at the last meeting because they went through the process and seated someone. Thanks to an abundance of caution, despite the Solicitor's advice, a young lady was sitting. Then, they asked her not to be seated as a Supervisor. They worked diligently to find a date that everyone could attend, and several different dates and times were suggested. However, this was the only time deemed appropriate by one member of the Board, and they acceded to their wishes. Unfortunately, the candidate they voted for at the last meeting is out of town on business, which is a shame because he doesn't plan to change his vote. 3 18 Mr. McCormack noted that she is the best qualified, despite people telling him in private that they don't need another lawyer and don't need anyone with her financial background; he thinks they do. He said the op-ad was SO firm on transparency and making sure that the residents ofLower Paxton Township knew everything that was going on. He's excited and happy to see everyone present; he works for them, has 55,000 bosses, and wouldn't have it any other way. When he volunteered for this job, he recognized that his responsibility was to the residents, not to anyone who sits on the Board, and that's what he's here to do. There are several significant real problems facing the Board ofSupervisors, and hopefully, they can move forward after this meeting. Mr. McCormack stated that he has a voicemail message that Ms. Thompson left on March 10, 2025, at 12:02 p.m., a couple of days before the deadline for the Supervisors to come to an agreement on a candidate. He said that Supervisor Thompson recommended they drive out ofs state to meet with Mr. Navarro in a private meeting. He had to inform her that holding a three- supervisor meeting without advertising would be a violation oft the Sunshine Act. In the spirit of Supervisor Thompson insisting that they have complete transparency of this meeting and any other meeting, he just wants to call out the fact that it was Supervisor Thompson who asked him to violate his oath of office and violate the Sunshine Act to go out of town to meet with two other Supervisors to discuss something that should have been done transparently in a public meeting. He said it's hard when someone is kind and solicitous to you behind closed doors, and then they say that you're part oft the old boys club. You're an old white guy who doesn't have the interest of the community at heart, none of which is true, folks. Anyone who knows him will say that he's a straight arrow and doesn' thave another agenda, just to do what is right for the Township. 4 19 Ms. Thompson addressed the suggestion to drive to Maryland, noting that the Solicitor told the Supervisors numerous times they could sit and discuss, not vote on anything. Still, they can sit and deliberate. She was trying to do something that was convenient for Mr. Navarro as he was working out of state. See the attached comments read into the record. Mr. Navarro stated that no one gave him marching orders; no one gave him orders. He said that, in his opinion, Laura Kurtz was and still is the best candidate for this position, and her resume speaks for itself. He said the fact that Ms. Thompson has gone out ofher way to try and discredit and disrespect her and this Board is appalling and shocking. He and other people in the community have noticed that Ms. Thompson is willing to lie, cheat, harass people, and politically intimidate people. He said Ms. Thompson told people on the Board and staff they needed to cut communication with Ms. Kurtz, and she continued to text Ms. Kurtz. He stated that Ms. Thompson had texted Ms. Kurtz, questioning her education and abilities, which he found to be inappropriate. He said that Ms. Thompson wrote these pieces and said things in public because nobody had said anything, and he had been very quiet, but not anymore. He said that Ms. Thompson has sent emails to people, and they have to watch over their shoulders and defend themselves because of everything she does; she's trying to catch them in something. He received the same email message and said, "No," and ifh he doesn't respond to the messages, she gets upset. He doesn't know what's happening, but he has a theory since Ms. Thompson puts out theories that aren't based on fact. He has a theory that Ms. Thompson came on this Board, and she's getting exactly what she wanted; she's pushing every single Board member out SO she can have unfettered power and control over this Board and Township. Anytime any chairperson has tried to dial her back in, she has gone down this path of destruction and political intimidation and he is done taking it, and it's not going to happen anymore. 5 20 Mr. Navarro warned Ms. Thompson that ifthey continue down this path, no work can get done, and she'll get exactly what she wants, which is a board she can control. He said that Ms. Thompson wanted to take the elevator from the ground floor to Chairperson a year ago. That's what he believes, and he thinks other people will attest to that. He thinks this situation has crossed over into harassment. The texts, calls, and emails they receive all day and night are overwhelming, and he doesn't have time for it. So, his non-response is a boundary, but it's also a sign that he doesn't have time. Mr. McCormack added that in Supervisor Thompson's remarks, she stated that the Chairman of the Lower Paxton Township Republican Party is issuing orders to the Board of Supervisors, and he and Mr. Navarro reject that entirely. He stated that the Chairman of the Republican Party is in the room, and it's their job to identify good Republicans and interview them for potential candidacies at election time. So, what Ms. Thompson views as completely inappropriate is just another Tuesday to them; it's what they do, and no one has told them what to do. Action to Fill a Vacancy on the Board ofSupervisors Mr. McCormack motioned to nominate Laura Kurtz, a local attorney with a finance background who is from both education and experience and, in his opinion, the best candidate for the job. Mr. Navarro seconded the motion. Chairman Mosel called for a roll call vote: Mr. Navarro voted aye, Mr. McCormack voted aye, Ms. Thompson voted nay, and Chairman Mosel voted aye, 3:1 vote approving the appointment ofLaur B. Kurtz. Ms. Thompson added that she has not questioned Attorney Kurtz's educational qualifications, what she said and insisted on is that they have had two Supervisors resign and 21 % years of experience has walked out the door. 6 Ms. Thompson said the candidate she nominated, Timothy Pramik, was trying to regain some oft the experience they didn't have. In addition, Attorney Morgan Madden, who sits next to her, has the same kind of experience that Attorney Kurtz has, SO she was trying her best, with her lone vote, to bring some of that experience that was lost when they lost Norman Zoumas and Robin Lindsey. Adjournment Ms. Thompson motioned to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. McCormack seconded the motion. Mr. Navarro called for a voice vote, and the meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Approved by, Ahullek K Wbara My. M A Shellie Smith, Yuhanna Njeint Recording Secretary Secretary 7 Pamela Thompson, Supervisor Lower Paxton Township Board of Supervisors 3/20/2025 Comments regarding the Vote to appoint Laura Kurtz The process to choose an Interim Supervisor to fill a vacant seat is outlined in the Commonwealth of PA Second Class Township Code Section 407. It says that the vacancy board will be triggered if the BOS refuses, fails, neglects or is unable to fill a vacancy. I tried to work with Paul and Allen to work out filling the Lindsey spot. I asked them twice at the last Board meeting to meet with me to hammer this selection out. They said no. What I did not realize is that they had been given their marching orders to appoint Laura Kurtz by the Lower Paxton Republican Party. No where in Section 407 does it give leave, for anyone other than the BOS to work through appointment. Ifwe can't then the vacancy board is triggered. We had time to work through this before the vacancy board was triggered. was asked to meet with the vacancy board but asked why because we had time to work through this appointment. We ran out of time as apparently was designed and here we sit with Dan Mosel, the Vacancy Board Chair. I suspect former Supervisor Chris Judd was SO stressed by the entire extra code process he experienced a health crisis. I am sorry about that. I will not cede my elected duties to anyone else. It was the 3 current supervisor's duty to wrestle with who to appoint. I was unaware until this week that the Lower Paxton Republican Party was interviewing applicants for BOS. And that 1 of their criteria was how much the person could bring to the LP Republican Party to get their support. In this climate it is necessary for me to say this. I have nothing personal against Laura Kurtz. I do not know her. However, she has shared with me that "she would not want to do anything that was against the rules". Though no one heard it but me, I am challenging her here to honor the letter of the law spelled out in Section 407 and not break the Rules, by allowing the LP GOP to interfere, interview and intervene, in a process which is solely the Purview of BOS. Why because we are the ELECTED OFFICIALS. Certain members of the BOS cannot be permitted to cede their duties and responsibilities to unelected individuals. Despite my best attempt to ensure some level of fairness, my voice simply does not carry weight against the people who are behind the scenes holding the marionette strings and interviewing applicants to BOS. How are they even getting the names of these people and their phone numbers? Ihave been blamed for causing this meeting to be moved from Wed March 19th at 1230 to NOW. I was thinking about our promise to be transparent with our constituents and thought more people would be able to attend at this time. As this is our regular meeting time. I had no idea just how far the lack of transparency went. I had to make a special request to have this meeting recorded. Please keep showing up and let your voices be heard. I cast my NAY vote.