Butler Township Commissioners enter confidentiality agreement with PAWC
BUTLER TWP — Township commissioners voted Monday to enter a confidentiality agreement with Pennsylvania American Water Company, meaning certain discussions about the potential sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority will remain under wraps.
Township solicitor Rebecca Black said this means that offers made by PAWC in the purchase of the Butler Area Sewer Authority will be kept between the commissioners, the sewer authority and PAWC.
“This agreement is for when information comes from Pennsylvania American Water with an offer, that’s it,” she said. “If the township is going to be in a position to consent or object to or oppose the potential agreement, they have to be aware of what the specifics are with that agreement and be educated.”
On Dec. 14, BASA’s board of directors approved an agreement, giving PAWC 60 days to estimate the value of its sewer system and assets and submit it to the board for consideration of a potential sale.
Duane McKee, executive director of BASA, said Tuesday that discussions of a potential sale to PAWC are between the board members and leaders of the city and Butler Township.
Butler Township has two representatives on the BASA board, and Butler has three. McKee said his role is simply providing necessary information to PAWC when requested.
“Within that confidentiality agreement, there is a list of items they want to see from us,” McKee said. “They want to see the information that is provided and the only way to see that is if they are on the same agreement.”
Black said the township commissioners may be filled in by BASA on the status of the negotiations.
“This agreement is solely related to an offer, negotiations that happen relative to an offer or evaluation of the system itself,” she said. “Anything that would be part of coming up with an offer to purchase the system ... and it would be coming directly from PAWC.”
McKee said the employees of the authority are subject to the decisions of BASA’s owners. If it is purchased by PAWC, their fate is uncertain, McKee said.
“We don't know specifically,” he said of the future of BASA. “Ultimately, the decision to sell or disband the authority falls on the founding fathers.”
According to Black, the confidentiality of the township terminates 60 days after a sale is negotiated or stops. She said information about the sale could still come from PAWC or BASA, but the township will not release any further information.
“If there is no negotiation, the potential sale is dead, there is no further negotiation, the deal is over, then yes, I would say that is termination,” Black said. “We are simply saying by this agreement, ‘If you tell us a secret, we’ll keep your secret,’ by the terms of this agreement.”
