Removal of Cecil memorial stone spurs Sunshine Act lawsuit
Cecil Township supervisors are being sued by the daughter of a deceased candidate for township supervisor after the township on Tuesday removed his memorial stone in Cecil Park without a public vote.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Washington County Court on behalf of Jennifer Andreis Moninger by attorney Jesse White, names individual supervisors Thomas Casciola, Elizabeth Cowden and Eric Sivavec as well as the entire board as defendants in a suit accusing them of violating the state Sunshine Act by illegally meeting and deliberating in private. The compaint also claims the board is reneging on a 4-0 March vote to allow a memorial for Gary Andreis Sr. to be placed in the park.
The suit also asks the court to issue an injunction ordering the stone to be put back in the park until the legality of the meetings is determined.
The sandstone with Andreis’s likeness was removed Tuesday after Moninger sought formal clarification Monday from township officials as to why they planned to remove it.
The suit said “it was implied that either Janice Gibbs or Judy Bowser, the women who complained (about the memorial), tripped on the rock, but said claim is of dubious veracity and has not been substantiated by any evidence of any kind.”
The suit claims that Casciola, Cowden and Sivavec agreed to have the stone removed despite no record of meeting, voting or offering public comment for the stone’s removal and that no agenda item or meeting minutes reflect any evidence that any meetings or deliberations occurred. White argues the defendants violated several provisions of Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act in the process and that Moninger is entitled to attorney fees and costs for the legal fight. The suit seeks a jury trial and is also asking for up to $1,000 in fines.
White said he plans to present the injuction request to Judge Michael Lucas on Monday.