Monessen police presence at meeting blasted as ‘intimidation’
By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO
ebennett@yourmvi.com
Three Monessen police officers, along with City Administrator John Harhai and Councilman Gil Coles, attended Tuesday night’s Redevelopment Authority Board meeting, raising questions of intimidation from some board members.
The unusual police presence was a request made by way of Mayor Matt Shorraw, according to Councilwoman Lois Thomas, who spoke with Monessen Chief of Police Jim Smith after the meeting concluded.
“He said the mayor told him to do that,” said Thomas, who serves as the liaison from council for the meetings. “I said, ‘Why now?’ We’ve never had any of you at the meetings before, and there’s nothing going on at these meetings just like we didn’t need them at the council meeting.”
Appearances by Harhai and Coles came as a “surprise” to board member Ron Mozer and Chairman and former Mayor Lou Mavrakis.
Harhai and Coles do not function as members of the board and have not attended meetings in the past, according to Mozer, Mavrakis and Councilman Anthony Orzechowski, who served on the board for several years before being elected to council. Orzechowski did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.
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