LOWER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — The new edition of Lower Saucon Township Council last week made its first rulings of the year, including the approval of a $98,237.26 payout to the Hellertown Area Library to cover services to township residents during 2022.
The panel also voted 3-1, with Councilman Jason Banonis opposed, to delegate new township solicitor Mark Freed — of Curtin & Heefner firm of Yardley, Bucks County — to take a look at current litigation on the table and present a review to the new council.
Former township solicitor B. Lincoln Treadwell Jr. had served the township for more than two decades. Banonis voted “no” to changing attorneys.
The library service ball has been tossed back and forth a number of times over the past few years.
The new council majority said it sees the move as just the beginning of mending the relationship with the neighboring community.
Limited access
Lower Saucon residents currently can pay for a library card for use at HAL, with limited services compared with Hellertown residents.
However, there’s no official “home” library agreement between the two municipalities as of Jan. 1, 2023, following HAL removing Lower Saucon from its service area.
In the meantime, the township has offered residents a reimbursement program to pay back part of those individual and family costs for library cards.
Library officials have said township residents are welcome to check out anything from the library collection — including books, CDs, music, video games, magazines, newspapers and puzzles. They're also allowed to use the computers on site and may even take advantage of the children's programming.
However, they can't access interlibrary loans or use the Cloud Library.
The HAL Board of Directors did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this report.
'Legal loopholes'
Banonis said he wasn’t aware of any contract requiring the township to pay for the services.
He and Councilman Thomas Carocci have argued that the courts have determined HAL is an agency of Hellertown, and the library must turn over emails and more regarding the library's finances at the request of private citizens.
“I think it’s utterly unconscionable that people on this council would advocate rewarding mismanagement, malfeasance and corruption,” Banonis said.
“I think it’s utterly unconscionable that people on this council would advocate rewarding mismanagement, malfeasance and corruption."Lower Saucon Twp. councilman Jason Banonis
Council President Priscilla deLeon at one point called for a recess as she and Banonis spoke over one another. The meeting resumed shortly after.
“I feel that Lower Saucon Township took something and did not pay for it,” Opthof-Cordaro said. “[The] township does not steal, we do not take services and not pay for them, and we don’t try to look for legal loopholes to avoid payment and laugh in their face.”
A brief look back
Hellertown in 2021 proposed a library agreement to Lower Saucon that was slated for five years and valued about $500,000.
Lower Saucon officials ended up rejecting that in 2022 and instead offered a $50,000 donation to HAL to cover some services — which was rejected — and threatened to sue if the township was removed from the library’s service area.
Other attempts at an agreement have failed.
“[The] township does not steal, we do not take services and not pay for them, and we don’t try to look for legal loopholes to avoid payment and laugh in their face.”Lower Saucon Twp. councilwoman Victoria Opthof-Cordaro
One included a September 2023 proposal from Lower Saucon to put $250,000 into the library over two years to cover services for the township.
It also called for seat appointments on the library board, financial outlook requirements to be provided by HAL and the borough letting the township buy the Saucon Valley Compost Center property at 2011 Springtown Hill Road, among other things.
The offer was sent directly to the borough but was only copied to the library. Hellertown officials said they couldn't act directly on behalf of the library since it's its own 501(c)(3).
Hellertown borough leadership called the offer a "political ploy" sent just before an election.
The two communities at one point jointly operated the compost center.
Lower Saucon stills holds that money, the suit reads.
