Tuesday night's special Coaldale Borough Council meeting started off with public concern over a possible cell tower and ended abruptly with accusations and the termination of the current secretary.

The council started the meeting with an executive session to discuss personnel.When they reconvened, Councilman Francis Hutta made a motion to not extend the contract of secretary Elizabeth Hosler, followed by a motion to look for a new secretary. This motion was seconded by Councilman Mike Doerr. The motion passed 4 to 2, with Councilwoman Angela Krapf abstaining from the vote.Hosler's employment will end next week.Hutta said the council needs a way to "control interference in the office," adding, "There are no time clocks, nothing to check into."He further explained, "The number one priority is trust, you need to have trust," Hutta said."How can we have trust when people do things illegally?" responded Councilwoman Brenda Hosler, who is Elizabeth Hosler's mother.Council President Thomas Keerans became visibly irritated by this comment, accusing council members Hosler and Harry Hontz, "You two started all of this with the sexual harassment allegations against the mayor."Allegations madeOn Feb. 23, Keerans contacted the Schuylkill County District Attorney's Office to report a possible case of harassment by then newly elected mayor Joel Johnson. The victim was alleged to be secretary Hosler.According to Keerans, the incident took place "sometime after Feb. 10, between the hours of noon and 3:30 p.m." He offered no further information or evidence.Schuylkill County Detective Joseph Lipsett then interviewed Hosler, who said she "didn't know anything about the allegations."She went on to explain the new mayor had visited the office and called several times, asking questions. At one point, he had personnel files with him and wanted her to get him information from the treasurer's office files. She told him she couldn't do that.She also told the detective, "I can't even say he's annoying me. I don't know how or when this all started, but there are no problems here."Lipsett then deemed the allegations as unfounded.Other issuesHosler then asked Keerans, "Why would you hire a secretary without advertising?"When Keerans said he did advertise, Hosler said, "We are a group to work together for the town."She then turned her attention to a new subject. "What happened to the sewer maintenance fee? It has to go back." she said.Discussion then turned back to the mayor and what the job actually entails. "Mayor's job is to be a tie breaker and run police. He works for us," Hosler said.A motion made was for a new 2016 police vehicle, at an estimated cost of $35,000, to be bought from New Holland Ford. Since the solicitor was not present at the meeting, the purchase was tabled until a resolution is passed.Johnson tried to make a motion to appoint a new part-time police officer. However, a mayor cannot make a motion, as this is the council members' responsibility.When asked why he did not discuss this with the police commission or the head officer, Johnson said the head officer was on vacation at the time he received the application.It was at this point in the meeting that things took a turn."This underhanded stuff can't be going on," Hosler said.The discussion then became heated, leading Keerans to bang his gavel several times to restore order.The meeting ended abruptly shortly after that.