At a special meeting Thursday, Muncy Township Board of Supervisors appointed a solicitor, replacing a Williamsport law firm with another legal service.

The board also appointed a new zoning officer/floodplain administrator/building codes officer. In that action, Supervisors Terri Lauchle, chair, and Denise Artley, vice chair, first ratified Code Inspections Inc. and Victor Marquardt, zoning officer, contract termination.

Lauchle affirmed that Joe Lyons of Codes Assessment Professionals would be zoning officer/floodplain administrator/building codes officer. Supervisor Heath Ohnmeiss abstained in that vote.

Attorney Timothy A. Schoonover with Babst Calland, was hired to be solicitor in a vote by Lauchle and Artley. Ohnmeiss was a no vote, citing his concern he was not brought in on any discussion two days before the meeting on who would be solicitor in a timely manner.

It was confirmed at the meeting that Perciballi & Williams will no longer provide township solicitor service.

Schoonover, originally from Troy in Bradford County, said after the vote to the Sun-Gazette that his role as solicitor will be to provide “legal advice.”

He said during the meeting that his hourly rate is $325 per hour and his office was in State College, travel time included.

As for Schoonover’s fee, he specified to the chair and vice chair that this rate is higher than most municipal rates and acknowledged concern if it made sense to hire him when there could be less expensive options.

“I serve at the majority of this board’s request, so if they request me to be here, I will be here,” Schoonover said.

It could be that his participation moving forward is done virtually.

“We’ve already had that discussion,” he said of the remote meeting coverage.

Before the vote to hire Schoonover, the counselor, who cited 30 years practicing law, said he sensed there was “strife” in the room.

Schoonover said he served as solicitor of second class and rural Haines Township in Centre County for 20 some years.

Babst Calland is headquartered in Pittsburgh with many offices in other locations.

After the vote, he said one of his goals now that he is the board solicitor is to essentially get up to speed on developments presently in the township such as the proposed Bass Pro, forwarded by the developer, FamVest and other commercial developments.

FamVest, developer of The District, including the proposed Bass Pro, through Stevens and Lee, their legal counsel from King of Prussia, filed a civil writ of mandamus lawsuit in Lycoming County Court against defendants Muncy Township and Muncy Township Board of Supervisors over what is claimed in the suit is the township and board’s legal obligation to execute the approved Bass Pro subdivision plan and return it for recordation as required by law.

“What I understand, in a very limited sense, is … at least one of the issues is development pressure within the township,” Schoonover said.

“Part of what I was questioned by the supervisors with was the experience I have with zoning and with development,” he said. “Experience that my firm has with those issues.”

The firm has a public sector group in which attorneys focus on municipal law, he said.

“I’m part of that public sector group,” he said, adding he does other things.

The Pittsburgh and Harrisburg attorneys in that public sector group — “that’s all they do is municipal law,” he remarked.

Schoonover cited his extensive zoning experience, his spending a lot of time in Lycoming County and having done a lot of legal work related to natural gas and currently solar developments.