ZELIENOPLE — Western Butler County Authority addressed its pending charter renewal Thursday, June 8, at an authority board meeting.

“It’s probably the most important issue that the authority is dealing with right now,” solicitor Matt Racunas said.

Manager Autumn Crawford said under the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Act authorities are typically chartered for a period of 50 years.

“December of 2023, Western Butler County Authority will reach the end of its 50-year charter,” Crawford said.

To renew the charter, Crawford said the incorporated municipalities must vote on and adopt a resolution to extend the charter for another 50 years.

“We can do a period less than that, but the first three municipalities to adopt have all identified a 50-year extension,” Crawford said.

WBCA serves Jackson and Lancaster townships as well as Harmony and Zelienople. Of the municipalities, Zelienople remains the only one not to adopt a resolution to extend the charter.

Racunas said he recently met with the borough’s special counsel for the proceedings over an issue regarding the municipalities’ voting process.

“I let him know that the terms that he has proposed, regarding the voting process being changed, that I could not recommend that to my client,” Racunas said. “That it is against our bylaws, it is against the Authorities Act — it’s just not something that, from a legal standpoint, I can recommend.”

While he said he has not heard anything since the meeting, Crawford said the charter would be an item on the agenda at Zelienople’s meeting Monday.

Board member Marietta Reeb, also a council member for Zelienople, said she had no comment.

“We’ve agreed to everything else that they want, and so this is really the final point,” Racunas said. “And I’m hoping that (special counsel) will get them to understand and agree that renewing is really the best thing for all parties involved.”

The board also discussed its ongoing effort to construct a new administrative building nearby their main office on Market Street.

“We’re outgrowing this facility,” Crawford said. “And for construction staging and the overall plant and site design, the first step is that we need to construct a new administrative building and garage to accommodate the staffing.”

The planned site for the new building is directly across the street from the facility.

“We are purchasing property from Zelienople Mini Storage, the back portion of their parcel, to accommodate that facility,” Crawford said.

The site has already been graded and Racunas said closing on the property “should happen hopefully in the next week or so.”