Cecil park memorial removed amid controversy
The disputed memorial to Gary Andreis Sr., shown Monday, was removed from Cecil Township Park Tuesday afternoon.
The memorial to Gary Andreis Sr. had been removed by Tuesday afternoon.
CECIL – A memorial stone in remembrance of Gary Andreis Sr. placed in Cecil Park was removed Tuesday despite a 4-0 vote by Cecil Township supervisors in March to allow its placement. There was no public vote taken before its removal.
Andreis died at age 58 in August 2015 after capturing the highest percentage of votes on the Democratic ticket for supervisor in the primary election. The sandstone memorial with his likeness and a tree were placed in the park, but amid complaints that it allegedly was a safety hazard or was selectively approved, its placement was challenged without a public meeting, according to Andreis’ daughter, Jennifer Andreis Moninger.
“It was paid with $1,100 in donations at his funeral. Now (the board of supervisors and township officials) are ripping out my dad’s memory after it was publicly acknowledged, and now they don’t want to acknowledge this,” Moninger said, “It’s just a disgrace. They didn’t even call me to tell me they were removing it. And I don’t know where it is. I’m so embarrassed by all of this.”
A call to Cecil Township offices Tuesday afternoon was met with a recording saying the line was disconnected. The location of the memorial was unknown.
Supervisor Cindy Fisher and Moninger said a private meeting was requested by Janice Gibbs and Judy Bowser, who complained to Supervisors Tom Casciola, Eric Sivavec and Elizabeth Cowden that the memorial was a safety hazard and represented preferential treatment. Neither Gibbs nor Bowser responded to Facebook messages seeking comment Tuesday. Casciola, chairman of the board of supervisors, initially said he wasn’t “going to get involved in that,” but clarified his comments by saying “there’s a policy in place for planting trees and stones and benches at the park. The policy has always been a tree or a bench. I understand there has been some miscommunication or misunderstanding. There was a vote to allow a tree and a stone. We’ve had requests for years, and we’ve never allowed a cemetery monument, or that type of feature in the park.”
Despite Casciola’s comments, an email obtained by the Observer-Reporter shows township parks and recreation board chairwoman Shirley Burns contacted “all Parks Board members, Township Manager and Public Works Director,” citing the specifications of the memorial that was approved.
“The attached memorial was what Jenn had forwarded to the Parks Board and the board approved. Mrs. Moninger did all the proper steps of getting the memorial approved. It is very disheartening that she gets the proper approval only to be told a few months later that (it) has to be removed,” said the email.
Sivavec and Cowden both declined to comment Tuesday. Supervisor Frank Egizio could not be reached for comment. Manager Don Gennuso declined to comment, citing possible legal action by attorney Jesse White, who wrote a letter on behalf of Moninger to Cecil officials. In the letter, White said Cecil supervisors skirted state law. White said “no official action was taken to warrant the removal of the memorial stone, and this closed-door decision by Supervisors Casciola, Cowden and Sivavec is extremely troubling for its complete disregard for the concept of government transparency as well as blatant disregard for (the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act).”
“Be advised should the stone be moved or materially altered in any way, my clients intend to immediately take legal action against the Township and the supervisors individually for their wanton and reckless disregard for established state law and their own precedent,” the letter said. When reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, White said he intended to file a legal complaint detailing violations of Pennsylvania Sunshine law.
The letter also thanked supervisors Fisher and Egizio for “their political and moral leadership in opposing the removal of the stone and refusing to bow to the garish, ostentatious and vocal minority which seems to have a stranglehold on political discourse in Cecil Township.”
“My problem isn’t with the memorial,” Fisher said. “It’s the fact that none of this happened in front of anyone. If we’re going to vote to put something in, there should be a vote to do something if it’s to be removed.”