City Council Opts for Do-Over on Council Vacancy

LOCK HAVEN — Faced with an 11th hour legal threat from city critic Stephen Poorman, Lock Haven City Council moved Monday night to re-open the process to fill a vacant council seat.

Following the Monday meeting Mayor Rick Vilello told The Record council had been prepared to approve Machell Scott as its choice to fill a council vacancy, her choice made in executive session following a council meeting March 6.

Legal counsel with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association subsequently said the Sunshine Law requires that such discussions must be done at a public meeting.

Even with that, Vilello said, council until Monday was ready to okay their earlier closed-door choice of Scott from among four candidates.

But that changed earlier Monday when Poorman had hand-delivered a “courtesy notice of intent to file writ of mandamus.”

Poorman’s letter said if the selection process was not addressed at the Monday meeting, he would not file his legal complaint but would retain a lawyer with his understanding that, if successful, and the city violated the Sunshine act, it may be responsible for his legal fees.

He termed it “inconceivable” that council would discuss or appoint a replacement council member in executive session without public input.

At the public session Monday night Vilello acknowledged the Poorman letter and said the city did not follow proper procedures in conducting its closed door interviews with the council applicants. “To correct what we did two weeks ago,” the mayor said, council will ask for new letters of interest from any city residents, due by April 3, with the plan to publicly interview the candidates at the April 7 meeting and make a selection at that time.

Vilello said even though the city will be over the 30 day period to fill a vacancy, he has been in touch with Clinton County President Judge Craig Miller and the court “will not step in” as the city “will try again next month.”