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CLINTON TOWNSHIP, PA — The Clinton Township Board of Supervisors voted on Wednesday, July 22 to choose Ken Coles as an interim supervisor, filling the vacancy in its ranks. 

Coles has previously served on the township's board of supervisors. He is replacing Mark Lopatofsky, who resigned last week after the public raised questions about the potential conflicts of interest between him, the developer of a major data center project and the engineering firm the township hired to review the project. 

Linde Corp has proposed to build a 682-acre data center in Clinton Township. The township hired Kiley Associates to review Linde's application; Lopatofsky's son is an owner of Kiley Engineering. 

The same night, the supervisors also voted to hire a firm to audit the township upon Lopatofsky's departure. According to the supervisors, Lopatofsky requested they take that measure. 

Lopatofsky and township solicitor Ron Bugaj have maintained that there was no conflict of interest in the hiring of Kiley. 

"You might call it nepotism, because he got somebody involved that his son works with. I don't believe that it was a conflict, and I told him that, and I told the township supervisors that," said Bugaj. 

A member of the public in attendance, Wendelin Brown, asked if the solicitors have inquired as to the remedy for the conflict of interest. 

Supervisor Brian Non said that, by his reckoning, because there wasn't a conflict anymore (given Lopatofsky's resignation), there wasn't an issue. 

Brown said that a remedy would be to void the contract, and thereby void any actions taken in relation to that contract. That could include the recommendation to accept for review the plans from Linde Corp for the data center project, she said. 

The planning commission's acceptance for review of the plans started a 90-day clock, giving the township until September 28 to make a decision on the project. Brown said that, were Kiley's decisions to be voided, that clock could be reset. 

Bugaj said that if a supervisor did something that was a conflict, that could be addressed through the courts. 

"Yes, absolutely," said Brown.

"If you want to do that, you certainly could do that," said Bugaj. 

"It was a courtesy to present it here first," said Brown. 

Editor's note: A name has been corrected as of 12:30 p.m., October 19.