Emotions ran hotter than the weather last week as an overflow crowd of Schuylkill County residents took advantage of an evening meeting to tell commissioners exactly what was on their minds.

They spoke loud and clear about data centers, a troublesome landfill, a proposed detention center for undocumented immigrants, county finances and the need for better information on the county website.

Allotted three minutes each, the residents, many wearing buttons reading “Tremont says no!” and “ICE out!”, spoke for a total of about one-and-a-half hours.

Two sheriff’s deputies stood on alert as thunderous applause followed almost every speaker.

Chris Melusky, Norwegian Township, questioned the health of the county’s unassigned fund account. He’s concerned that officials are routinely siphoning the account to make ends meet.

Last week, he presented figures he believes show the fund’s withdrawal history since 2022.

On Wednesday, county Finance Director Glenn Geissinger said the county is in excellent fiscal shape, and that the fund is healthy. He explained the budget is complex, and that the unassigned fund balance includes contingency expenditures.

Every item is accounted for at the end of the year, he said.

Melusky also wants more details in the weekly treasurer’s report, and for the county website to include updated information about personnel, finances and who serves on various boards and authorities.

Detailed treasurer’s reports should be “posted consistently and in a timely manner so the public can review them,” he said.

“Transparency is not simply posting information online. Transparency means providing enough information for the public to understand the decision being made on their behalf. Residents of Schuylkill County deserve clear financial reporting, meaningful discussion before votes are taken, and access to information that allows them to hold their government accountable,” Melusky said.

More about immigration

Lara Wiscount, Tremont, again asked commissioners to sign a resolution opposing the proposed 7,500-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center near her small town. Tremont has neither the water supply nor the sewage infrastructure to support the center in Tremont Township, which would also have 2,500 employees.

The resolution was given to the commissioners on March 18; it remains unsigned.

Joe Wiscount, also of Tremont, said the “sheer volume of water and sewage demands generated by a facility of this size has not been adequately planned for. The impact on our local capacity would be devastating.”

Landfill

Retired District Judge David Plachko, St. Clair, is a vocal opponent of the 252-acre Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site (BRADS) landfill, along Burma Road in Blythe Township.

The landfill, for demolition and construction waste, has recently applied to the state Department of Environmental Protection to double its intake to 3,000 tons. The landfill emits noxious fumes that burn residents’ eyes and throats.

“Have you ever been hit with hydrogen sulfide? It’s horrible. It’s like getting hit with tear gas or pepper spray,” he said.

Commissioners Chairman Larry L. Padora has often said commissioners have opposed the landfill from the start. They’ve sent a letter opposing the increase and asking the state to order BRADS to stop trucking corrosive leachate through town.

Plachko and others want stronger action, and for the county to formally object to the permit modification so that their opposition will become part of the official record.

Taxes

On the subject of taxes, Padora said he’s working with some other counties and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania to get the state to allow counties to impose a sales tax.

A 1.2% sales tax would generate about $15 million a year, allowing the county to avoid property tax increases, he said.

Residents also pleaded with commissioners to do whatever they can to stop the construction of data centers in the county.

Padora said he’s invited a representative from the company building a data center in Kline Township to attend a public meeting, perhaps as soon as June 17, to talk about the projects and allay fears.

He also said he’s working to arrange a roundtable discussion with Penn State Schuylkill and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce to answer residents’ questions and address concerns about data centers.

Padora has frequently said that data centers, “when done right” would be built on unused coal lands away from residential areas and farms, and would generate enough needed tax revenue to allow the county to avoid property tax increases.

He said newer technology means new data centers don’t use as much groundwater as they once did.

Roseann Weinrich of Ashland, a retired Tamaqua Area School District science teacher, was skeptical.

“We’re going to get Jed Clampett’s jalopy here, not the Lamborghini,” she said.