A contentious Parryville Borough Council meeting at Borough Hall Monday, ended with the resignation of Council President Jason Kurek-Smith.

He resigned abruptly following heated exchanges about parking problems tied to the newly opened Seven Sirens Brewing – RiverWalk.

During the public comment section, residents voiced significant concerns regarding the parking congestion attributed to the brewery.

In an attempt to mitigate the problem, Riverwalk owner Jordan Serulneck had published a map on Facebook on July 17, identifying public parking spaces in Parryville and urging patrons to utilize them, while also marking areas where parking is prohibited.

Despite this effort, many residents felt it was insufficient and pressed the borough for further action.

Anticipating these concerns, Kurek-Smith had already included RiverWalk parking as an agenda item, which was publicly announced on the Parryville Facebook page.

Addressing the residents via Facebook, he stated, “We can enforce parking on the wrong side of the road. We cannot enforce public parking on Main Street or Centre Street. There is no difference if they are visiting a neighbor for a party or if they are visiting a tax paying, revenue generating business with the community.”

Kurek-Smith had planned to advocate for a traffic study to explore potential solutions during the agenda portion of the meeting.

He explained that current ordinances do not restrict parking in public spaces, and even if they did, “We don’t have a police department to enforce them.”

His primary concern, shared by Fire Chief Mike Kunkle, was the ability of the Parryville Fire Company to navigate Main Street.

Kunkle emphasized that parking on the wrong side of the street “seriously impedes” emergency vehicles, citing clearances of only “about 4 inches on one side and 2 on the other” for fire trucks when vehicles are parked on both sides of Main Street.

The discussion escalated as residents debated issues ranging from handicap parking to the enforcement of non-existent ordinances.

The situation took a volatile turn when resident Rodney Strohl began shouting, swearing, and aggressively approaching the board members.

Strohl hurled obscenities and insults at Kurek-Smith, calling him “arrogant,” and insulting his late father Donald, a long-serving board member, and his mother, Phyllis, who was present at the meeting.

Strohl’s neighbor Suzanne Oncheck, followed him yelling that Kurek-Smith “doesn’t do anything for Parryville.”

Solutions?

After their outburst and subsequent storming out, other residents attempted to steer the conversation back to finding solutions to the parking problem.

Resident Anthony Penna, who lives near RiverWalk, proposed considering options such as stickered parking, two-hour weekend parking, and consulting with other small towns that successfully manage similar business-related parking challenges.

Penna acknowledged that “enforcement will be an issue” but believed it “would be a step in the right direction.”

Borough Solicitor Robert Frycklund and Borough Administrator Nicole Beckett encouraged residents to form a citizens’ action committee to develop and propose new ordinances for the borough’s consideration.

Frycklund advised residents to “collectively retain an attorney” to guide them, clarifying that he represents the borough’s interests and that the borough might also form its own committee to address the issue. He stressed that ordinance creation is a time-consuming process and that “calmly communicating” would serve everyone’s best interest.

Resignation

To regain control of the meeting, Beckett offered to collect contact information from concerned citizens to establish a focus group, while the rest of the council took a brief recess. It was during this break that Jason Kurek-Smith resigned, making it effective July 31 “to allow time to transfer power.”

In a post-meeting interview, Kurek-Smith clarified that his resignation was not a result of the parking dispute, stating, “I anticipated that, and that’s fine.”

Instead, he asserted that he would “not tolerate verbal abuse from residents” or the disrespectful treatment of his father’s memory or his mother.

He mentioned that other borough council members are contemplating resignation, a situation that could leave the Borough without leadership to address the parking challenges and organize the upcoming 150th anniversary of Parryville, which he described as “an important time for Parryville.”

While the current state of the Parryville Borough Council is uncertain, Pennsylvania law provides clear procedures for filling vacancies to ensure continued governance. Should the council fail to fill its own vacancies, a statutory ‘vacancy board’ is empowered to act, and ultimately, the Court of Common Pleas can intervene to appoint members.