ADAMS TWP — Municipal Water Authority of Adams Township Board member Larry Kaufman made statements referencing mass shootings during an executive session of the board May 24, board members said.

At a Tuesday meeting of the authority, board members discussed how to handle the removal of Kaufman from the board.

Kaufman was present in his seat at Tuesday’s meeting. Authority solicitor Tom King and board members Ron Shemela, Darryl Brandon and Bill Pettigrew discussed whether the township supervisors who voted Monday to remove Kaufman had the authority to remove him from his position.

Shemela previously said that on May 24, Kaufman had “engaged in certain conduct which is contrary to the health, safety and welfare of the board members and indeed the community.”

Adams Township supervisor and Municipal Water Authority board member Darryl Brandon identified the conduct Kaufman engaged in as a “threat,” and said that such a threat could be a prosecutable offense.

“It’s serious, and everyone here took it seriously,” Brandon said. “It’s not over. There was, in essence, a threat. We’re talking about legal action, and I’m talking about safety, I’m talking about making sure that things are handled.”

When asked for comment, Kaufman said that at the time of the May 24 meeting, he had been concerned about the impact that an increase in water prices or selling the water and sewer authorities could have on customers, and that the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting had just happened. He described what he said as “an opinion as far as what was happening in the world.”

“Dr. Pettigrew was saying about the operation of township dealing with the sewer authority and the water authority, and that’s whenever they had just had that shooting down in Texas. And I said, “Ah, another mass shooting.” That’s basically all I said,” Kaufman said Tuesday. “That was my opinion, and I don’t think they realized what effect this is going to have on customers.”

Shemela would not comment on the specifics of Kaufman’s statement, but said the board had brought the matter up to the Adams Township police.

“We went to the police to see if what he said was a violation that he could be prosecuted with, and it is,” Shemela said. “That’s the way we left it.”

Kaufman remained in his seat during the meeting but agreed not to vote on any motions Tuesday night.