Now former Clinton Twp. Chairman Mark Lopatofsky is the latest public official to resign from his role as proposals for data center campuses proliferate throughout the region.
"I'm submitting my resignation to the board due to the fact that my wife … has had Parkinson's for seven years,” he said. “And I take this home.”
The crowd applauded. Lopatofsky was upset.
The move came as residents questioned his connections to the borough's engineering firm.
“I'm tired of this. I don't need it. I am resigning, and I'm sorry,” he continued. “Find somebody else … the name calling is crazy … this is not the Clinton Twp. I know.”
Relationships with elected officials and others have been tense in the township since Linde Corporation introduced plans to construct a 20-building data center campus on land the company owns off Route 247 and Flat Rock Road..
The construction company, which focuses on infrastructure projects, is based in Pittston. Linde plans to build the campus on 682 acres of land in the Wayne County township, near the border of both Susquehanna and Lackawanna counties.
Clinton Twp. and residents from the surrounding area want to know more about the campus and how it will impact their lives and community. They started Save Browndale Mountain and other groups to fight the development.
Government turnover in region
In Archbald, Lackawanna County, nearly the entire makeup of borough council has changed since November. There are six data center campus proposals in the borough, the most of any municipality in Pennsylvania.
A longtime supervisor in Clifton Twp., also in Lackawanna County, was voted out of his seat last year in favor of a candidate more skeptical of a large-scale data center campus proposal for the township.
Lopatofsky got up from his seat, spoke with his son and some other residents and then drove away from the meeting before it was finished.
Fields of data centers
Linde’s plans on the township’s website show that each building will be 118,000 square feet, which is around the size of two NFL football fields. There will be generator yards at each building, two customer substations, two natural gas generation facilities and a water treatment facility.
The plans also say that Pennsylvania American Water will be the campus’ water provider, the Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority will provide sewer services, PPL Electric Utilities, power; and UGI Utilities, gas.
Lapotofsky’s ties to Kiley questioned
Before Lapotofsky’s resignation, supervisors hired Barry Isett & Associates Inc. to serve as the township’s engineer specifically for the data center project. However, residents questioned Lapotofsky’s relationship with Kiley Associates, the borough’s engineering firm.
Resident Chris Fick asked if Lapotofsky disclosed that he has a relationship with Kiley.
"I didn't disclose it to the public,” he said.
Lapotofsky said that he told the township’s solicitor that his son is an owner of the firm, then apologized for not telling the public.
Fick then asked the two representatives from Kiley at the meeting if they have any current projects with Linde. They said not currently.
But both engineering firms are expected to have some involvement as the project advances, based on remarks by supervisor Brian Non.
Resident Linda Zefran spoke. She said she wrote grants to connect Browndale with Forest City by sidewalk.
"Kylie Associates was our engineer on that project, and I found Kylie Engineering because Linde Corporation recommended that that's who I get for the sidewalk project,” she said. “They had told me that Kylie did a lot of work for them in the past.”
More meetings ahead
The meeting ended with the remaining supervisors, Non and Brad Bates, accepting Lapotofsky’s resignation. They plan to schedule an emergency meeting within the next week to appoint a resident to the seat.
Other upcoming meetings and hearings scheduled, include:
Clinton Twp. does not have zoning, instead they have a Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO). The township is also amending the SALDO, which was last updated in 2008, to include data centers. A public hearing for that amendment will be held on July 30 at 7 p.m. at the township municipal building, 1799 White Oak Drive, Forest City.
“They [Linde] have to present and tell us exactly what they're doing,” interim-solicitor Ron Bugaj said after the meeting. “People can ask questions like, how how high are the buildings and what's in the buildings? How many people? Where are you going to park? All those questions can be asked at this hearing.”
- Hearings to consider the preliminary land development plan submitted by Linde Corporation will be held on Monday, Aug. 3, and Monday, Aug. 17, at 6:30 p.m., township municipal building.
- Supervisors will also vote on rules and regulations to follow at meetings at a regular meeting on Aug. 4 at 7 p.m., at the township building. Those changes are available on the township’s website and include limiting public comment to 3 minutes.
