Ligonier Township resident Scott Gongaware’s recent reappointment as a citizen member of the Ligonier Valley Police Commission was invalid, according to Westmoreland County Judge Harry Smail Jr.
Smail on Monday barred Gongaware from participating in Tuesday’s meeting of the regional police commission as the judge granted a preliminary injunction on the issue sought by the township supervisors.
Smail said a Dec. 12 commission vote to appoint Gongaware was improper because his initial term on the police oversight panel didn’t expire until Dec. 31.
At Tuesday’s commission meeting, Smail said, Gongaware “may present himself on his own volition or by recommendation of any member of the commission to be appointed by vote as the citizen member.”
In a civil suit filed on behalf of the supervisors, township Solicitor Dan Hudock also argued that Gongaware improperly voted for his own reappointment.
At the Dec. 12 meeting, the two Ligonier Borough elected officials who serve on the five-member police commission —Mayor Butch Bellas and council President Matthew Smith — joined Gongaware in voting for Gongaware’s reappointment. Opposing the appointment were two township supervisors: Dan Resenic, who is a regular member of the commission, and Scott Matson, an alternate member who was filling in for the absent Stephanie Verna.
In a Dec. 4 letter, Hudock advised the commission of the township’s objection in advance of an early vote on the citizen member appointment — occurring before the commission itself was reorganized for the new year and before the supervisors had a chance to recommend an applicant for the seat.
At the township supervisors’ Jan. 6 reorganization meeting, Resenic and Matson joined with Erik Ross, outvoting Verna and fellow Supervisor John Beaufort, to replace Verna with Ross as a commission member, and to recommend Bob McDowell as the citizen member of the police panel.
“They were claiming the township should have the ability to make a recommendation,” said police commission solicitor Mark Sorice. “We felt we wanted to appoint Scott Gongaware. Nobody had any complaint prior to now about his service or devotion to the commission.”
“I don’t think these positions should be held in perpetuity,” Resenic said of his preference for McDowell, an officer with the Darlington Volunteer Fire Department, over Gongaware to serve the next two-year term as the township citizen member of the police commission.
“Bob McDowell has served in the fire department for at least 35 or 40 years, and he has an understanding of emergency management,” Resenic said. “I just thought it would be good to have somebody like that for a change.”
Sorice acknowledged McDowell’ s extensive background in the fire service. “I think he’s a good person,” Sorice said, but added, “We need someone who can handle more of the budgetary and financial concerns.”
That person, Sorice said, had been Verna, who is skilled in bookkeeping. “She’s been a godsend in keeping our budget the way it has been managed.”
Ross said he will bring to the commission his experience in business management and serving for three decades as a local firefighter.
Ross has an active lawsuit against the Ligonier Valley Police Department, the force that he would help to oversee, and three of its officers. It’s a situation that many opponents have objected to as a conflict of interest.
Ross said he was advised by his personal attorney that, to avoid a conflict of interest as a police commission member, he need only refrain from voting on or taking part in discussion of any matters related to his lawsuit.
In his suit, Ross is seeking unspecified compensatory damages and coverage of his legal fees, claiming the police misused the criminal justice system in an effort to discredit his actions and tarnish his reputation in the community.
The police cited Ross with a summary harassment offense in October 2023, during Fort Ligonier Days, following Ross’ run-in with the three officers as they rode along Main Street in an all-terrain vehicle. The officers contended there was a physical and verbal altercation, but the charge was dismissed when Ross appealed to Westmoreland County Court.
In its suit against the police commission, the township asked to recover its legal fees — a matter upon which Smail deferred judgment, pending either motions by the parties’ attorneys or potential settlement of the dispute through binding arbitration.
Beaufort has pointed out that, because the township is responsible for covering 70% of the regional police expenses, it could end up shouldering the majority of the legal fees in the case, no matter which side ends up winning the dispute over legalities.