Casey representing Gawrylik in MABS sale; says acquisition will harm Shenandoah
Clerk of Courts alleges election law violation, harm from rate increases
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – Donna Gawrylik speaks during a telephonic public hearing regarding the sale of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah on March 21, 2023. While the hearing was conducted by teleconference, about 11 people gathered at the Shenandoah Senior Citizens Center to follow the hearing together.
SHENANDOAH – Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts Maria Casey is now representing protestant Donna Gawrylik, challenging the sale of Shenandoah’s water authority.
In a brief filed Tuesday with the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, Casey said the sale of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah (MABS) to Aqua Pennsylvania would harm Shenandoah residents via “definite rate increases.”
Casey also contends that Shenandoah Borough Council violated Pennsylvania Election Code in refusing to accept a petition to stay the Aqua sale.
In the legal filing, Casey, citing testimony at an evidentiary hearing in late March, said Leo Pietkiewicz, a borough council meeting, told regulators that borough residents were not informed of their right to sign a petition within ten days of the enactment of the ordinance approving the sale.
Casey said Election Code allows the sale of a water company to be subject of a referendum.
“A second important argument addressed by Joseph Boris of Shenandoah before the Public Portion with this Court is the devastating effect that a sale to Aqua would have on Borough of Shenandoah residents,” Casey said in the filing. “Mr. Boris testified to rate increases of at least 15.9 percent per customer as well as the current upgrades to the existing infrastructure, thereby making a sale unnecessary.”
She requested that the sale either be denied or placed on the ballot for a referendum.
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