Did Swarthmore Try and Hide Controversial Vote?
By Bob Small
On the Friday before the Oct. 6 meeting of Swarthmore Borough Council, I checked the agenda on the borough’s website.
It wasn’t in the usual place so I dropped an email to one of the Borough Council members who is usually very helpful.
Swarthmore Borough is closed on Fridays,having attained the four-day work week.
Most of the rest of this narrative is based on various emails that flew back and forth from Friday on.
David Boonin, who is always on his post, forwarded his response. The Borough Manager, Sean Halbom, stated he “couldn’t make it work” after an hour. Then again, he was reported to be in Spain at the time.
The practical effect was that, until Administrative Assistant Elise O’Rourke arrived on Monday, the agenda was not in a place where the average person would know to look for it.
According to New Public Meeting Requirements Under the Sunshine Act,
“Effective August 29, 2021, government agencies covered under the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, must make meeting agendas available to the public 24 hours in advance of public meetings.”
Neil Young, a GOP Candidate for Swarthmore Borough Council discovered the following from records obtained from Pennsylvania’s Right-to-know act
Council conducted an executive session to discuss intervening in the private real estate market by raising nearly $1M in debt to purchase 630 Yale.
- An April 2025 email between Jill Gaeski, Jana Garland and Kristen Seymore in which Gaeski wrote: “I am helping Bill Cumby figure out how to introduce this (630 Yale Plan) to the community. The zoning relief needed is minimal”.
- An April 30, 2025 email between Gaeski and Bill Cumby Jr,. in which Gaeski stated “I shared the (630 Yale) drawings with Bill Webb, Bob Scott, and a few council members. The reactions were all positive.”
- A further May 1, 2025 email between Cumby Jr. and Gaeski stating “The (630 Yale) plan is right in line with the zoning changes we are trying to make… Time is key as we will soon decide what to add to the new non-conforming use ordinance for this zone.”
- Further text messages between a council member and Jill Gaeski reveal Cumby visiting her home to share plans and his excitement. The council members then agreed they should “get this through before 2025” and the plan “only needed setback allowances. “
In the end, the vote is postponed until Tuesday, Oct 13.
