Tempers flare as Shenandoah Sewer Authority meeting is cut short
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The Shenandoah Sewer Plant on August 8, 2025.
SHENANDOAH – Wednesday’s Shenandoah Municipal Sewer Authority meeting ended without action taken as tempers flared over the state of the sewer plant and the borough itself.
The authority had a full slate of items, including an update on issues at the sewer plant, billing in West Mahanoy Township, an issue at Ridgeview, and more. The board never moved past the public comment portion of the meeting.
“Does anybody work down there,” Donna Gawrylik, sewer authority member, said after listing numerous complaints from a recent visit to the plant near William Penn. “None of them know what they’re doing down there, and we’re paying them.”
She spent much of Wednesday’s regular meeting denigrating the plant’s workers over the condition of the plant.
Her complaints stemmed from a meeting between the borough, the sewer authority, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Borough Manager Mike Cadau, while conceding the plant is in rough shape, defended the workers at the plant.
“They said they asked [for upgrades] and no one ever followed through with it,” Cadau said. “The plant is definitely in need of a lot of tender love and care.”
“It’s not as simple trying to run a sewage treatment plant,” Cadau added. “It is very difficult, and experience does help out over a period of time.”
The borough has been eyeing the plant’s replacement since 2018 with a $5,474,000 grant and $12,532,000 loan from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service.
That project went out for bid last year. The low bids were awarded last month at a cost of $32.8 Million to Performance Construction Co. for the construction of the plant and $4.465 Million to North End Electric for the electrical work, according to meeting minutes. This was at the request of the USDA while the borough continues to seek additional funding.
The plant has been ailing for years but remains operational, though without a primary clarifier.
“This is an insult and a disgrace to this borough,” Gawrylik said, continuing the complaints.
“I think you’re right, but we’ve got to put a lot of the blame where the blame needs to go,” Cadau added. “This didn’t happen overnight. This is years of abuse, years of whatever they were doing.”
Andrew Szczyglak, board member, suggested getting a monthly report from the plant operator and said they need to decide whether they’re going to refurbish or replace the plant.
Gawyrlik continued to deride the workers for about half an hour, to the annoyance of Cadau.
“They had values and morals,” Gawrylik said of prior workers. “They had it clean, they had it done. Today, I don’t know what it is.”
The meeting ended with a rant by Cadau.
“What I’m sick and tired of is how we are going to beat the s–t out of everybody who is trying to do the right thing here,” Cadau said. “We’re all trying to do the right thing, including the [plant] operators. They are trying to do the right thing.”
“If we’re going to beat up the guys, what’s going to happen is we’re going to pay $5,000 more because we’re going to lose them,” Cadau added. “We’re going to lose them. And if that’s what you want to do, hire someone to run the plant because I’m not going to do it.”
“We’re not focusing the time, effort, and attention on the real problem. The problem is that it’s been ran into the ground for years and we’re sitting here and we’re talking about blaming the workers for what they did over the last year when over the last five years, there’s certificates up on the damn wall for people who aren’t even there, we have a consultant there who hasn’t done s–t,” Cadau continued. “We can’t blame the workers for everything, Donna. We can’t blame them for everything.”
Cadau and Gawrylik engaged in a brief shouting match before Cadau left and Bob Shumski, sewer authority chair, adjorned the meeting.
“When you all leave, guess who has to handle this s–t for the next few days? Me,” Cadau said. “I don’t need to be here. I work for the borough, I do not work for the sewer plant.”
“Good, that’s your choice,” Gawrylik said.
“My choice is have a little bit of class and go after people that really had a problem,” Cadau said. “This was completely irrelevant and wrong what you did.”
“No it wasn’t,” Gawrylik said. “It was wrong what was done at that plant.”
“Go and cry,” she added as Cadau left council chambers. “No, it was not wrong. The people have to know what’s going on.”
Micquelynn Kapuschinsky contributed to this report.
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