Citing social media comments and a councilman’s wife’s reaction to a Facebook post as evidence of bias, attorneys for Wildcat Ridge now want every Archbald council member removed from the decision-making process for the data center campus.

Less than a month after filing six motions seeking the recusals of all but one borough council member, lawyers representing the data center campus proposed in Archbald filed a seventh motion Aug. 31 calling for Vice President Joseph Altier III to recuse himself. The motions argue that none of Archbald’s council members is able to fairly assess Brooklyn-based Cornell Realty Management LLC’s conditional use application for a 574-plus-acre campus above Business Route 6 and extending up Wildcat Road in Eynon and Sturges. All seven officials should remove themselves from participating in future proceedings, the motions argue.

Even the appearance of partiality requires council members to recuse themselves, and failure to do so despite the appearance of impropriety has led courts to render decisions null and void, according to the Aug. 31 motion from attorneys Lucas Liben and Kim M. Watterson of Reed Smith LLP in Pittsburgh.

Council will hold its ninth hearing on the data center campus at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Valley View High School auditorium, 1 Columbus Drive, Archbald.

Council will ultimately decide whether to approve Cornell Realty’s application for 14 two-story data centers, each 80 feet tall with a 202,340-square-foot footprint. Any decision will likely face appeals in county court.

Wildcat Ridge’s motions, if successful, could prevent council from having a quorum of at least four members, potentially paralyzing the borough’s ability to render a decision within state-mandated timelines. Failing to hold a hearing within 45 days of the last proceeding results in deemed approval, allowing a project to move forward without council’s consent. Archbald is currently navigating a deemed approval challenge from the developer of the 18-building Project Scott data center campus between Eynon Jermyn Road and Business Route 6.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan, a vocal data center opponent who testified against Wildcat Ridge in January, worried that the motions will have a chilling effect on every elected official in the county who has to deal with data centers.

“They have the money, they have the lawyers, and if local government stands in their way, they’re going to remove the local government from the equation,” Gaughan said. “It’s like something out of a mafia-style movie, but I don’t think people should be scared because that will only go so far, and I expect that there will be no judge in this country that will have these elected officials recuse themselves from doing their job. This is just a tactic to try to chill their speech, and I don’t think that anybody should fall for their tactics.”

There are 51 data centers proposed in Archbald across six projects, with another developer considering at least two more data centers in the Valley View Business Park. A data center developer also proposes an Essential Energy LLC natural gas power plant on Eynon Jermyn Road.

The motions

Wildcat Ridge’s attorneys filed the initial motions Aug. 4, requesting that council President Louis Rapoch and council members Larry Marchetti, Madonna Munley, Lisa Osborne, Erin Owen and Larry West remove themselves from future proceedings. Altier was left out until Aug. 31. Rapoch and Owen are the only elected council members. The other five were appointed in 2026 following resignations.

The motions rely on the same arguments and legal principles, including referencing the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, due process under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and case law, but they cite different actions by each council member as evidence of bias.

Wildcat Ridge’s attorneys point to Altier’s interview with borough council when he applied for a vacant seat, as well as his and wife’s activity on Facebook, and contentions that he has “impermissibly taken independent research beyond evidence admitted at the hearing on the application.”

On Jan. 20, while interviewing council candidates during a special meeting, Owen asked Altier about the pros and cons of data centers proposed on Eynon Jermyn Road. Altier responded that he does not want them at all, but if they are coming, he does not want them in residential areas or schools, according to the motion. Other candidates who were interviewed “did not express personal animosity to data centers and instead stated their beliefs about both positive and negative effects,” Liben and Watterson wrote.

Wildcat Ridge’s lawyers note that Altier has been a member of the “Stop Data Centers in Archbald Group” since at least November.

The motion cites a resident’s Facebook comment in an Aug. 5 thread discussing a news article about the recusals. The resident wrote, “Why ask 6 out of 7 to recuse? Why not joe? I’ll tell ya why, its an attempt to cause infighting among residents. They see us unite and the solution is to create questions ie why not joe? Rumors will start and then arguing and then we are weaker. Don’t fall for it. No one needs to recuse.”

A second commenter defended Altier, writing, “Joe has publicly come out against the Data Centers since day one ! So don’t let this community be fooled of anything different!! Joe is fighting day in and out to stop this nightmare!” The motion points out that Altier’s wife reacted to the comment with a heart, and although Altier replied to other comments on the post, he did not disavow that he was against data centers nor make an effort to express his impartiality, according to the motion.

Finally, the data center attorneys quote a comment lauding Altier, with a poster writing, “There is nobody who has devoted more time to researching, understanding, and educating himself on hyperscale data centers and the impacts they could have on our community than Joe. He has done so at great personal sacrifice, taking time away from both his business and his family because he believes this issue matters. If the goal is to divide and conquer, it’s not going to work. Joe has earned my respect and gratitude for the countless hours he has invested on behalf of all of us.”

Altier replied, “thank you Sir. I appreciate your support.” The recusal motion cites that comment to argue Altier conducted research beyond evidence presented at the hearing.

What’s next?

It was unclear Tuesday how council will proceed with Wednesday’s hearing in light of Wildcat Ridge’s motions.

Altier and borough Solicitor Jay O’Connor declined to comment due to litigation. Wildcat Ridge did not respond to an emailed request for comment by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Should council recognize the motions, there are other potential outcomes. The developer’s challenge could invoke Pennsylvania’s rule of necessity, which allows council to decide on the application even if conflicts exist among the majority of its members.

The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code — the legal framework for municipal zoning — also provides for a “hearing officer,” allowing the governing body to appoint any member or an independent attorney to the role for conditional use proceedings.

Gaughan called the developer’s actions corporate arrogance, contending, “When your response to scrutiny is to try to remove every person doing the scrutinizing, you’re making the public’s case for skepticism better than anyone ever could.”

“I think the people of the county need to understand how extraordinary this is,” he said. “This developer has been given, hearing after hearing, the opportunity to present lawyers and expert witnesses, cross-examine opponents, and make its case. That’s due process — due process doesn’t mean you get to remove every elected official who might disagree with you.”