{"id":252993,"date":"2026-07-27T15:53:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T15:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/252993\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T15:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T15:53:17","slug":"mount-penn-water-authority-borough-continue-talks-despite-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/252993\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Penn water authority, borough continue talks despite lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite an ongoing lawsuit, the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority says negotiations with the borough over the future of the community\u2019s water system are not over.<\/p>\n

The two sides have spent months negotiating a proposal that would transfer ownership of the water system to the borough while allowing the authority to continue operating it under a lease.<\/p>\n

The authority supplies water to about 3,700 customers in Mount Penn and St. Lawrence, and Exeter and Lower Alsace townships, with roughly two-thirds of its customers living outside of Mount Penn.<\/p>\n

Negotiations stalled after the authority board rejected a motion July 8 to move forward with the proposed conveyance and lease-back arrangement. The borough later filed suit seeking to dissolve the authority and assume ownership of its assets.<\/p>\n

Authority Chairman Joseph Boyle said rumors that negotiations have ended are incorrect, noting the authority board unanimously voted July 22 to continue discussions with the borough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still willing to negotiate,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always been willing to negotiate. Our goal has been to reach an agreement that protects the water system, complies with the law and benefits the ratepayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mount Penn water authority, borough reopen talks on leaseback proposals<\/a><\/p>\n

He said the July 22 vote was intended to make clear that the authority has not abandoned negotiations despite the pending litigation.<\/p>\n

Borough Manager Hunter Ahrens said the borough also remains willing to negotiate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always been willing to talk,\u201d Ahrens said. \u201cOur preference has always been to resolve this cooperatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahrens said borough officials believed agreement on the basic structure of the transaction had been reached during a June 29 negotiating session and were surprised when the authority later indicated additional issues remained unresolved.<\/p>\n

A negotiated settlement remains the borough\u2019s preferred outcome, he said.<\/p>\n

The borough\u2019s objectives, Ahrens said, are to create a unified public works department by integrating borough and authority operations, establish permanent safeguards against any future sale of the water system to a private company and create a sustainable lease-revenue stream to help stabilize borough finances. He said those goals can best be achieved through a negotiated agreement rather than prolonged litigation.<\/p>\n

\"HunterHunter Ahrens, Mount Penn Borough Manager (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Boyle said the authority shares the borough\u2019s goal of keeping the water system in public hands but believes there are better ways to achieve it.<\/p>\n

The authority has proposed exploring a joint authority that would include Mount Penn, Lower Alsace Township and St. Lawrence, he said, arguing that shared ownership would make a future sale to a private company even less likely.<\/p>\n

Boyle also questioned using lease revenue generated from the authority\u2019s ratepayers, most of whom live outside the borough, to help fund borough operations. Those funds should remain focused on maintaining the water system and meeting future infrastructure and regulatory needs, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a fiduciary responsibility,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cOur obligation is to the entire system and to every ratepayer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement released Friday, the authority pointed to the board\u2019s unanimous July 22 vote authorizing continued negotiations and said reports that it has not cooperated with the borough are inaccurate.<\/p>\n

Both sides acknowledged the dispute could have significant financial implications.<\/p>\n

\"MountMount Penn Borough Water Authority is building a water tank on Spook Lane. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

If the authority were dissolved without an agreement, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, or PENNVEST, could require immediate repayment of the authority\u2019s low-interest loan for a new water storage tank under construction on Spook Lane.<\/p>\n

Borough officials estimate replacing that financing with conventional borrowing could cost ratepayers nearly $900,000 in additional interest.<\/p>\n

Ahrens said borough officials have been in contact with PENNVEST, whose loan servicing committee ultimately will decide whether to allow the existing loan to continue, modify its terms or require immediate repayment if the authority is dissolved. The borough is preparing for each possibility, he said, and has asked the court to require the authority to cooperate in transferring the loan if a negotiated agreement cannot be reached.<\/p>\n

He said the borough hopes a negotiated settlement will preserve the low-interest financing while allowing the project to move forward.<\/p>\n

\"JosephJoseph Boyle, chairman of the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority (MICHELLE LYNCH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Both sides also said they expect the Crystal Lake restoration project at Carsonia Park to move forward regardless of the outcome of the dispute.<\/p>\n

Ahrens said he believes any necessary arrangements for the existing grant funding can be made if ownership of the water system changes.<\/p>\n

Boyle said preserving the authority\u2019s financial reserves is essential not only for completing projects such as Crystal Lake but also for maintaining the water system and meeting future regulatory requirements.<\/p>\n

Despite the pending lawsuit, Boyle and Ahrens said they remain hopeful the dispute can ultimately be resolved through negotiation rather than litigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not looking for a fight,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cIf we can reach an agreement that\u2019s legal and protects the water system and the people we serve, that\u2019s what we\u2019d rather do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite an ongoing lawsuit, the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority says negotiations with the borough over the future…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,1411,182,8512,29643,139,28,128,130,129,22305,706],"class_list":["post-252993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-exeter-township","tag-local-news","tag-lower-alsace-township","tag-mt-penn","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-st-lawrence","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}