Residents Pack Lock Haven City Council Meeting
By Emily Wright
LOCK HAVEN – The Lock Haven City Council chambers saw a turnout for Monday night’s regular council meeting that packed the room to capacity. Residents and community members who arrived at council chambers for the meeting well before its 7 o’clock call to order were left with standing room only, and when the crowd began to overflow into the seated space, all tables and chairs had to be pushed forward to accommodate the number of attendees.
This comes after two previous city council meetings where residents with strong feelings voiced their thoughts in regard to the council’s approval of a request to install Easter crosses at Triangle Park in addition to flying a Christian flag beneath the American flag. The approval sparked concern amongst community members and the Clinton County Pride Alliance who disagreed with the decision.
The agenda for Monday night’s meeting followed the usual procedure, beginning with comments from residents and city taxpayers. Bill Stankiewicz opened this portion of the meeting to clarify misconceptions about the use request he had submitted for permission to erect three crosses at Triangle Park, with insurance provided by the Swissdale United Methodist Church. The request also included a prayer vigil led by Lay Pastor Richard Wallace during Holy Week and a Sunrise Service on Easter morning. Stankiewicz stated that he had made a separate request for the Christian flag to be flown under the American flag during the month of April in acknowledgment of Faith Month, and stressed that Richard Wallace and the Swissdale Church were not to be included or associated with that request. Despite being advised that a separate request for the flag was unnecessary, both requests were combined and subsequently approved 4-2 by city council. Stankiewicz clarified that his intention was not to tie Richard Wallace or the Swissdale Church to the Christian flag request, but solely for the liability insurance associated with the crosses’ installation.
Rita O’Brien, a resident of Castanea addressed the council regarding a water main break in her front yard that occurred during the summer of 2022. She commended Anthony Stopper and Hunter Stover of Lock Haven Public Works for their assistance and also expressed dissatisfaction with the restoration work. Rita mentioned that there was a second water main break in her yard and underscored city council’s failure to fix a stone ditch across the street from her residence. She claims that she’s been dealing with the aftermath of the flooding for nearly two years and requested the assistance of a professional landscaper to rectify the issues.
Lock Haven resident Gio Montarsi raised concerns about water that is flooding his yard, which also affected his late neighbor and is now mostly impacting his garage, which houses his business. Gio mentioned correspondence he’s had with Tony Stopper and City Manager Greg Wilson, specifically an email exchange that included video footage of water as it was flooding into his yard. He emphasized that he wants the city to address the flooding issue promptly, and expressed his willingness to pay additional taxes for necessary improvements. Gio acknowledged the challenges the city currently faces but stressed the importance of maintaining the appearance of his property and pushed for some course of action that will resolve the flooding issue.
The meeting moved forward with the first item up for discussion: “Consideration to Amend or Rescind the adopted motion of Feb. 26, 2024, for the Installation of Easter Crosses in Triangle Park and to hang the Christian flag on the Triangle Park flagpole for the month of April.” This comes as a result of discussions that took place during the city council meeting on March 4. During that meeting, Dr. Brinker read a prepared statement that referenced case law involving a similar situation that took place in Boston. In that case, a flag request was not approved by the city, resulting in a lawsuit. In light of the statements Brinker made, councilmember Barbara Masorti made a motion to contact City Solicitor Justin Houser to reevaluate the policy for flag flying in a city park. Masorti’s motion was seconded by council member Conklin and carried unanimously.
During Monday night’s council meeting, council members debated whether the request to fly the Christian flag at Triangle Park should be separate from the request to place crosses at the park. After much deliberation, council members determined that an executive session with City Solicitor Justin Houser, who was present, was necessary.
The executive session lasted nearly 30 minutes before council members returned and continued their discussion. A roll call vote was taken, and the motion to amend or rescind the February 26 decision to allow the crosses and Christian flag at Triangle Park did not carry. Council members Brannan, Conklin, and Masorti voted in favor of amending or rescinding the previously adopted motion, and council members Alexander, Brinker, Stevenson, and Mayor Long voted against making changes.
Up next on the agenda was the consideration of Resolution No. 2024-08: “Governing the Flying of Flags on the Flagpole in Triangle Park”. This resolution was brought forth by City Manager Greg Wilson, as he had met with Solicitor Houser after the March 4 council meeting to reevaluate the policy for flying flags at Triangle Park.
This resolution states, in part, that City Council seeks to regulate which flags are displayed because they see it as “an expression of Council’s own speech”, and they have determined that the flags flown should commemorate events or causes that are authorized, permitted, or recognized by the U.S. courts, military, federal law, and Commonwealth University-Lock Haven. Secondary flags permitted to be flown beneath the American flag during certain months are specified, such as the Black History Month flag in February, the Women’s History Month flag in March, and the Pride Flag in June, to name a few. It further states that the council reserves the right to add or change the flags at any time. In total, there are seven secondary flags specified in the resolution.
Dr. Brinker and Mayor Joel Long expressed that they did not expect to receive the drafted resolution. “I wasn’t expecting a resolution, I was expecting legal options and that we would then draft our resolution in front of the public because that’s what we asked to be done,” Brinker said. Mayor Joel Long mentioned that he was also under the impression that council members would be given legal options to discuss, but since they had been given the resolution, he encouraged the council to move forward. “We are where we are, we have a resolution in front of us, and if you don’t like it, you can vote ‘no’,” he said.
After a lengthy discussion and much debate, on a motion made by Councilmember Conklin, seconded by Councilmember Masorti, the motion to adopt the resolution did not pass, with Councilmembers Brannan, Conklin, and Masorti voting in favor of adopting the resolution, and Councilmembers Alexander, Brinker, Stevenson, and Mayor Long voting in opposition.
Councilman Stevenson made a motion to amend specific verbiage used in the resolution so that it reflects city council’s option to approve a secondary flag. He also asked for a change in the resolution to only fly the American flag and the POW/MIA flag to eliminate the possibility of future discourse. “My motion would be to accept no more flags for a second flag; only fly the American flag and fly the POW/MIA flag,” Stevenson said. After some discussion amongst council members, Stevenson’s motion to amend the verbiage other than the American flag and the POW/MIA flag carried. Solicitor Houser confirmed that he would meet with City Manager Wilson to “come up with something for consideration along those lines.”
The next meeting of the Lock Haven City Council will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 1, 2024, at City Hall. To watch the meeting via livestream, visit the City’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@cityoflockhavenpa1348.
