Why won't they talk
to me?
BY J.W. GATES
Bar talk is probably the least reliable
information that anyone involved in what we do at the MLR could want to use. However,
every now and then, even a blind rat finds an acorn. That seems to be what I have come
upon.
Following the gathering where all the big shots were at Keystone Powdered Metals the
other day I stopped into a local pub just to get cigarettes. A person that I have known
for some time was at the bar and invited me to sit and chat for awhile. I didn’t have
a lot to do so I joined this person.
They explained that they had just attended the buffet luncheon that accompanied the
grand opening of the Lewis Run Plant. The conversation stayed centered around the new
facility and my acquaintance asked me what I thought about the ten year moratorium on
taxes for the new facility?
I really didn’t have an opinion on that issue. It was an old one, and really, I
have no problem helping someone get started if they bring in new jobs. He pointed out that
my friend, the commissioner, had a problem with it and asked why I would feel differently?
To that, I explained, as usual, his position had been misrepresented.
"What was it, then?" they asked.
"Simple," I explained. "He voted to give them a five year tax break. He
was all for it. What he objected to was the fact that Ray McMahon promised them ten years
and didn’t bother consulting with anyone. That is what he objected to and it made
sense to me. Who elected Ray McMahon to represent us?"
"I knew that," they answered. "I just wanted to ask you what you thought
about the School District and the City of Bradford giving the same kind of arrangement to
the refinery?"
"You mean the American Refining Group. ARG?" I asked.
"Yes," they answered.
"It’s the first I’ve heard of it," I said.
Immediately I was challenged.
"Come on! The commissioner has to know about it. They were at the meeting where
the deal was made to exonerate them all of their taxes for the next ten years so they can
buy a new machine to make the plant more efficient. What’s more, the new piece of
equipment will ultimately cost jobs. Here we are, giving them tax breaks to do away with
jobs."
I wasn’t about to argue with them over this because I had heard nothing about it.
Instead, I phoned the commissioner on his cell phone. When he answered, I asked him what
he knew about giving ARG a ten year tax abatement.
"Nothing," he said. "It’s the first I’ve heard anything about
it. I didn’t go to the meeting. Jay Paul Kahle and Dave Evans went. We felt that
because we were the assessment board, it would be improper not to do this at a public
meeting."
"Can you check it out?" I asked him.
"Sure," he said. "If I were you I would call the city and the school
district, and even Ray McMahon. If anyone is giving something away, McMahon will be
involved. You can just about bet on that."
"Okay," I said.
I called City Hall first. I properly identified myself as John Gates from The
Mountain Laurel Review. The mayor, I was told, was in a meeting and the person
answering the phone did not expect the mayor to be free the rest of the day.
I called the School District and asked for Cheri O’Mara. Once more when I
identified myself and who I was with, I was told that the Superintendent was not yet back
from lunch. Heck, it was 3:35 p.m. and I had seen her come in to the DOWNBEAT just
before noon that day when I was out with Geoff getting ads for the magazine. How long of a
lunch does she get? Evidently, as long as she wants.
Anyway, the scary thing was how close the DOWNBEAT was to Raymour and Flanigan
Furniture and it bothered the dickens out of me that she might be off buying more
furniture for the School District so the furniture would match the new buildings.
"God!" I thought. "She’s already spent over a half a million
dollars. Is there no stopping this woman?"
With the kindergarten teacher still out to lunch, I decided to ask for Kathy Kelly.
She, I was told, was not available either. Cheri must have taken her along to write the
checks for the new furniture. What a thought!
Finally, I called Ray McMahon.
You guessed it. He was unavailable, as was Dave Lunden, or anyone who might have any
idea of the answer to my question. "What a world!" I gasped.
I called the chief back. He put me off.
"You have to research this one on your own. I wasn’t at the meeting and
anything I say would be second hand."
"But chief," I pleaded with him. "No one will talk to me."
"Come on, Gateser," he chided me. "Act like a newspaper man! Get out
there and DIG for that story. If you have a line on one, go for it. What would Mike Royko
do?" he asked me.
"Probably go have a drink," I thought to myself.
I knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. I tracked my acquaintance down and
pressed as if I already had the information.
"This is already a done deal," I was told. "The City of Bradford and the
Bradford Area School District have agreed to give ARG a total cut in taxes for the next
ten years."
"How can they do that without ever having a public meeting?" I asked.
"Haven’t they heard about the Sunshine Act?" I said.
They laughed at the mention of the Sunshine Act.
"Fred Gallup ignores the Sunshine Act. He will challenge you to sue him if you
threaten him with the Sunshine Act. Look at what he did to Doug Barhight. He doesn’t
care about the Sunshine Act. And Mark Hollenbeck, heck, you know Mark, he can’t even
spell Sunshine Act let alone read it."
While I realized that in all probability Mark Hollenbeck could spell Sunshine Act, and
I expected that he, being a lawyer, might be able to read it, I did get the impression
that the Sunshine Act was not a major concern to either the City of Bradford or the
Bradford Area School District.
"And I suppose that Ray McMahon is behind all of this?" I asked.
"You’ve got it," I was told.
Now, keep in mind, for me to disclose the gender of this person, or how they came to be
in possession of this information, would definitely give away their identity. However,
even the chief considered this person a reliable informant.
The following day, the chief, Commissioner Harold Beck, came to me and confirmed what I
had heard. He confirmed that he had heard this also from another reliable source.
"I cannot say how long, and I cannot say how much, but there definitely is some
deal already made between the City of Bradford and the Bradford Area School District and
ARG to give them some kind of tax break. Ray McMahon is the man who is making it all
happen."
"Is this new machine going to cost us jobs?" I asked.
"I don’t know," he answered.
"They did ask Dave Evans to cut the assessment of the refinery and the property.
From what I understand, he has refused. He believes that he has made an accurate and fair
assessment."
"How much money are we talking about?" I asked.
"Between the City and the School District, over $100,000 or more. The county has
$18,000 on the line I am told."
"Well?" I asked him.
"What?" he asked me back.
"Are you for giving them a tax break?"
"Hell no!" he roared. "The taxes on the property dropped from when Witco
owned it. Most of Bradford did for that matter. The base is larger because we found so
much that was never there. I can’t imagine the City or the School District giving up
revenues like this.
"Why?" he continued. "They don’t have to. ARG has been given
everything as it is. Now we have to give them a tax free status. That’s what I was
against when they started having their secret negotiation sessions. This always seems to
happen. If they can’t afford to pay taxes, who is going to clean the place up if and
when they eventually go broke?
"I don’t see how they can discriminate against all the rest of the taxpayers.
Why can’t Howard Johnson’s qualify for tax free status? How about JJ’s or
City Beers? How about you and me?" he asked.
Get ready, Bradford. A wall of silence surrounds this one. Only Commissioner Beck was
open enough to speak to us about it. Do you agree that ARG should get tax free and special
treatment by the City of Bradford and the Bradford Area School District? Do you believe
that Cheri O’Mara should take one hour lunches like the rest of us? Should we take
away her credit cards so she can’t buy more furniture? E-mail us at editor@mlrmag.com and tell us what you think about
this. If they won’t talk to me, maybe you will.
This is your intrepid reporter signing off.
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