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OK for Haverford Township project sets off Facebook fight

It is the biggest municipal project ever in Haverford Township, and in a town with a history of contentious politics, it already has broken new ground - in acrimony.

A Haverford Township project set off a Facebook fight between Jack Stollsteimer (right), the township's Democratic Party chairman and a former assistant U.S. attorney, and Republican Commissioner Jeff Heilmann (left), among others.
A Haverford Township project set off a Facebook fight between Jack Stollsteimer (right), the township's Democratic Party chairman and a former assistant U.S. attorney, and Republican Commissioner Jeff Heilmann (left), among others.Read moreFacebook

It is the biggest municipal project ever in Haverford Township, and in a town with a history of contentious politics, it already has broken new ground - in acrimony.

A $23.5 million plan approved last week calls for constructing a new municipal building and police station and renovating or rebuilding the library.

Officials in the Delaware County township say it is long overdue.

But the project, which is expected to increase real estate taxes by more than 5 percent, or about $55 per household, has also been a source of heated debate. After the vote this month, the chairman of Haverford's Democratic Party accused the commissioners of making "backroom deals."

The accusation, posted on Facebook, set off a spirited social-media exchange between the Democratic chairman and a Republican township commissioner.

Commissioners in both parties voted on the plan that passed, and several of them interviewed last week called the process fair and open. The accusations touched a nerve in Haverford, where party squabbling has flared in the past.

"We did have that 20 years ago, and it ruined this township," said Mario Oliva, chairman of the Board of Commissioners. "And we've done a lot to fix that and move this township in the right direction."

A new building for the township administration and police station at the corner of Manoa and Darby Roads will replace two aging structures. The current police station, which was used as a stable in the early 20th century, has a spiral staircase and lacks accessibility for the disabled.

Haverford's municipal building, also built in the early 20th century, has become too small and outdated. A plan to combine the police and municipal offices into one building was proposed as early as the 1960s, Oliva said, and it could no longer be put off.

"There is a tax implication to this, but we felt it was something we just needed to do to move the township forward," Oliva said.

The library, in a former bank building, is also out of date and in need of repair.

The commissioners discussed the project for several months at 10 public meetings, and considered seven options for renovating or rebuilding the three buildings.

At a meeting this month, the commissioners voted on a variation of one option, adding $500,000 for immediate repairs to the library. The rest of the $5.5 million committed to the library will go toward later renovating or rebuilding it.

Although the nine-member board is controlled by Republicans, both of the Democratic commissioners voted with the majority. Three Republicans voted for a less expensive version of the project.

After the vote, Jack Stollsteimer, the township's Democratic Party chairman and a former assistant U.S. attorney, spoke out with a Facebook post.

"These sorts of backroom deals without regard for the public's input is a hallmark of Haverford Township's dysfunctional political culture that has to change," Stollsteimer posted to his Facebook page a few days after the commissioners' vote.

Responses began flooding in, including from Republican Commissioner Jeff Heilmann, who said he was offended that anyone would call the commissioners corrupt.

Stollsteimer responded on Facebook that he was not accusing the commissioners of corruption, to which Heilmann wrote: "Screw you Jack."

Stollsteimer replied: "Commissioner - you need therapy."

Stollsteimer did not return messages last week about the Facebook posts.

Commissioner Daniel Siegel, a Democrat, wrote on Facebook that he disagreed with Stollsteimer's comments. The other Democratic commissioner, Larry Holmes, did not weigh in on social media but said last week that the comments from his party chairman were uninformed and incorrect.

"Jeff takes this stuff very seriously," Holmes said of Heilmann's response to the Democratic chairman. "Jeff is very invested in all of these deals. And if you read the exchanges, I don't excuse any language."

Heilmann said he did not regret the language he used against Stollsteimer.

"I take the sunshine laws very seriously," he said. "Somebody like him should really watch the words he's throwing around."

Commissioners interviewed last week said the township's political climate had changed for the better in recent years.

Holmes was elected a decade ago when he ran on a platform to change the way the township conducts its business.

"There was not a lot of public input," he said of past Boards of Commissioners. "A lot of decisions were kind of foregone conclusions. I don't think people felt like they had any say in the process."

The project is expected to be complete in about three years.

"It was a very emotional issue and one that can really escalate feelings and emotions," said Republican Commissioner Steve D'Emilio, who did not vote with the majority of the board on the facilities project. "But backroom deal? No."