CENTER TWP — The chairman for the township’s board of supervisors lost his title Wednesday night after he allegedly approved the sale of 2 tons of salt to a private business without board approval.

Board members voted 4-0 at their regular monthly meeting to remove Andrew Erie as chairman, claiming he acted alone in approving the sale of the salt to Scott’s Landscaping, located along Route 8, for $200.

“There’s a five-member board here,” Supervisor Ed Latuska said. “We were all elected. We all make decisions together, not unilaterally.”

Mark Lauer, the township’s public works director, made the sale in February alongside a 4.5-ton sale to the Butler Area Sewer Authority after he said Erie gave him approval.

The sale to BASA for a little less than $300 was ratified Wednesday because it was part of a pre-existing partnership between local municipalities.

But the approved sale to the private company was a red flag to the board.

“According to the second class township code, no personal property of the township shall be sold or dispensed without approval from the board of supervisors,” said Supervisor Ken Frenchak, who nominated Erie for chairman in January. “None of the supervisors were aware of this.”

Erie, who was elected to his third term on the board in November, denied authorizing the sale, saying he thought it had already been approved by the board.

Erie was absent from the board’s regular monthly meeting Feb. 12 due to an illness. He said he spent nine days in the hospital before returning to the township building Feb. 18.

He said the next morning he was approached by Lauer, who asked him if he could make the sale.

“I thought the board, at Wednesday’s meeting, had already approved to sell it because Mark had already sold 4.5 tons to BASA,” Erie said. “I didn’t give anything away or give permission to sell anything without permission from the board. I thought he already had permission from the board.”

Erie said he asked Lauer if the township had enough salt, then told him to make the sale.

Latuska said Erie should have known better than to authorize the sale.

“If Mr. Erie was not sure whether we could sell, he could’ve asked any one of us, he could’ve read the minutes of the meeting, or he could have called our solicitor,” Latuska said. “He didn’t do any of those things.”

Lauer said interest in the sale came from a conversation with Tim Scott, the owner of the business.

Lauer said Scott was having difficulty finding available salt and inquired about buying some from the township, which had more than 1,000 tons remaining in stock.

Lauer said he told Scott he didn’t think he would be able to make the sale, but that he would look into it.

He said he contacted a representative with the state Department of Transportation regarding the legality of the sale and the representative from PennDOT recommended not to sell the salt under any circumstance.

Lauer said when he asked Erie about the sale, he informed him of the PennDOT opinion.

When Lauer submitted the invoice to be processed through the township, the sale was news to the other board members.

Latuska said it was not the first time Erie went above the board concerning township property.

Erie gave a catch basin to the township’s athletic association a few years ago when it was constructing its little league baseball field.

Erie said he later reimbursed the township the $450 it was worth.

“We would’ve given it to them,” Frenchak said. “That’s not the point. The point is the mechanics in how it is done.”

Latuska said the decision to remove Erie as chairman was needed.

“While I sympathize with Andy’s illness, and it’s quite possible it clouded his judgment, the fact is Andy approved the sale of township property to a private business when he knew he couldn’t,” he said.

Each of the four other supervisors approved the motion for removal from the position of chairman. Erie abstained from the vote.

Supervisor Philip Wulff said the decision to replace Erie was difficult.

“We’ve got to look out for the good of the township,” he said. “We’ve got to move forward here and do what’s best for everybody.”

Supervisor Alan Smallwood, who was elected to his first term in November, took over as acting chairman following the motion, as he serves as the board’s vice chairman.

Smallwood nominated Latuska to be the next chairman. The board voted 4-1 on the nomination, with Erie voting against it.

Latuska said there would be better communication between the supervisors and the township employees going forward.

Latuska also delegated different responsibilities to each of the board members to better divide responsibility across the board.

Frenchak will handle public meetings, Latuska and Smallwood will manage public works, Wulff will be a liaison with the fire department, and Erie will handle daily office business.

The salt sold to Scott Landscaping has already been used and the township plans to accept the $200 payment.