The Lower Milford Township Supervisors met Feb. 20 for the regularly scheduled meeting where Supervisor Chair John Quigley made a statement regarding the actions of Supervisor Ellen Koplin following events that occurred at the Feb. 6 workshop meeting.

On Feb. 11, Koplin sent an email directing Township Manager Zach Cooperman to download footage from the surveillance cameras to then be sent to the state police from the Feb. 6 meeting. Quigley said Cooperman questioned this and forwarded the request to Quigley. In the email, it is stated Supervisor Donna Wright and Solicitor Mark Cappuccio gave their approvals for this decision as well.

Quigley questioned the two aforementioned parties, with both giving unclear answers of their involvement. Both did not seem to have all the information on the subject, with Wright stating she gave Koplin a quick response through text on the matter.

Quigly told the two supervisors they may have violated the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act. Quigley explained and presented documentation showing Koplin contacted Wright on the matter, which becomes a quorum. If so, this means the decision was made without assembly.

“The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S. SS 701-716, requires agencies to deliberate and take official action on agency business in an open and public meeting,” according to www.openrecords.pa.gov.

Koplin said it was for the safety of the municipality and the employees. She continued that under the Right to Know Act, she wanted to obtain the identity of the gentleman who handed out a mysterious flyer at the last meeting.

The flyer raised issues of concern about the new treasurer and bookeeper for Lower Milford Township.

The debate, which quickly turned into a lot of yelling and arguing, went back and forth with no give on either side.

Quigley argued that if no crime has been committed, they shouldn’t be sending videos of meeting attendees to the PA State Police for identification, specifically without full consultation on the matter.

Koplin countered the attendee passed out a slanderous flyer and then quickly fled the meeting. She was concerned about the safety of the township employee targeted on the flyer.

Wright suggested they should begin to create a security procedure because there is zero policy in place on the matter and the process can be misleading and difficult.

After many suggestions from Solicitor Mark Cappuccio and Wright, a motion was made to move on. With many questions unanswered, the supervisors will look to tackle them at a future meeting.

In other business, a conflict of interest was raised regarding Cooperman’s relationship to Quigley.

The direct question was whether the manager was appointed because he was a relative of a supervisor.

Quigley explained Cooperman was, in fact, his nephew. However, Quigley quickly clarified the misconception.

“Zach is a graduate from the Penn State Smeal College of Business ... His resume was selected by the two former supervisors as well,” Quigley said.

He further explained he did not vote, nor influence a decision when selecting the position. There was no opposition from anyone on the board, which gave the township resident some relief in the matter.

In lighter news, Wright made a plea to the township residents for more participation at the Clean Up Day scheduled for April 25.

She stated there has been less and less attendance and that in the beginning, many residents showed up, which made a tremendous difference in clean up efforts.

In old business, Quigley questioned why files and information on Koplin’s old work computer were accessed while Cooperman was on break during this past month. Koplin was the former township manager for almost three decades.

Quigley was concerned about Koplin’s draft of employee responsibilities and raised concern about someone changing the information or tasks. An inquiry was made and action will be taken to find out more information.

It was decided a short meeting should be assigned, if needed, between the fire company and the township. Koplin said she did not see the need to have specific meetings with the fire company and asked for them to appear at the regular meetings to give a report.

Quigley argued this point with the support of the fire company representatives. He said having a liaison for the township and the fire company has been beneficial in the past, to which the representatives agreed. It allowed for a better stream of communication, as it can be difficult to get volunteer representatives to consistently go to a board meeting.

Quigley asked the fire company representative to go back and get the opinion of the company for what they would like.

Following this, a complaint was made by a resident about the graffiti on signs and bridges in the township. He happily volunteered his services to clean the signs and graffiti.

Koplin said for the turnpike and overpass, he should contact the state authorities. Though, he will also need to coordinate with Cooperman to do this. Cappuccio asked the volunteer to make sure to coordinate with the road crew and thanked him for offering his services.

In new business, the township zoning officer was recognized as the open records officer for the township.

Next, treasurer Stacey Smith was appointed to the historical commission for the township. The historical commission makes decisions, when needed, on what buildings and land should be saved in the township.

Following this appointment, a motion was made for finding a new laborer for the township, as a previous employee was promoted. The laborer position will be posted on Indeed.com for anyone willing to apply.

The final agenda item was regarding the selling and acquisition of township vehicles. Cooperman wanted permission to post certain dilapidated and unused vehicles and machinery for sale. However, it was stated by Koplin before any such listings should be posted, Cooperman needs to find the exact values and present them.

This was tabled, so Cooperman can get the values of the vehicles. They must have the values before the vehicles are advertised if they are more than $2,000.

The next regular supervisors’ meeting is scheduled for March 19. The meeting will take place 6:30 p.m. at the Lower Milford Township building, 7607 Chestnut Hill Church Road, Coopersburg.