Three individuals, Elwood Taylor, Al Leach, and Tyrone Robinson, have sued the Township concerning the building of its municipal complex located at 2290 Gilbertsville Rd—the Township’s second choice for the site. The Township’s first choice, Evans Rd (Smola), is currently in litigation. The three plaintiffs are each running for Township Commissioner in the upcoming November election and have sued the Township in what is clearly a politically motivated stunt aimed at gaining attention with a complete disregard of Township legal costs.
The Township purchased the Gilbertsville Rd property in March of 2024 with the intent to guard against overdevelopment and to use it as a potential building site for the municipal complex while the primary site the Board selected, the Evans Rd tract, is on appeal concerning its use in PA Commonwealth Court. Because timing was critical, and the primary site was, and still is, in litigation, the Township elected to solicit bids for the construction of the municipal complex on the Gilbertsville Rd alternate site in November of 2024. In June of 2025, the Township accepted the bids and signed the contracts after receiving substantially lower prices than the Township expected.
As stated, there are three people who brought the suit: Taylor, Leach, and Robinson. Taylor has been running for commissioner since before the turn of the century and has never relinquished his commissioner seat unless beaten in an election—he has lost twice now. After stating he was on a long “sabbatical” (he was beaten in 2019 to put him on this sabbatical—the same year he flipped parties), he announced he was running again this year as one of the three Democratic Party nominees. There was no competition for the three Democratic commissioner positions in the primary this year.
This is the second time he has sued the Township since 2018. The previous time was when he refused to comply with a Township resolution that does not allow commissioners to serve on internal committees or on boards that receive Township funding. He was a member and chairman of the planning commission and would not give it up, so he sued. The Township discharged the planning commission, eliminating his seat.
Leach is a former school board member, a former candidate for state representative, and a party flipper as is Taylor. He came to several Township board meetings last year using public comment time to campaign. After Commissioner Don Read called him out on malicious postings he supported about a sitting commissioner, he stopped speaking. Leach lost the state representative campaign without carrying his own Township—Upper Pottsgrove.
This is Robinson’s third time running for commissioner; he lost the previous two times. At the June Board meeting, Robinson continued to cry out disregarding the chair’s warnings and was finally told to leave. He has been using the public comment piece of the Board meeting to campaign as the other two have done.
For years, the Township has worked diligently—investing significant time and public funds—in increasing its financial strength. The Township is now in a position to provide a long-term, 30-year solution for the aging Police and Administration buildings, replacing the costly and unsustainable old structures. As mentioned, the Township was fortunate to receive very favorable bids for Gilbertsville Rd; this has allowed it to move forward without borrowing and without increasing taxes, a primary goal of the Board.
The Township began working on the Gilbertsville Rd option over a year ago in anticipation of possible municipal site use. The intent to build on this site, if needed, has been open and transparent throughout the process. The plaintiffs’ claim that Gilbertsville Rd property is “permanently preserved” is ridiculous. Once the Board determined that the Gilbertsville Rd site was in the best interest of the Township, it used general fund dollars to pay for the alternate site—an action reviewed by the Townships solicitor and auditor. It is quite telling that, instead of filing a suit in November of last year, the three plaintiffs waited until after the Township approved the contracts to file their suit. Additionally, whatever funding source is used in land purchases, the majority of the Board has maintained it is well within the confines of the Open Space Act. Furthermore, there is no such term as “permanently preserved” in the Open Space Act.
Commissioner and Board President commented, “If these three individuals were in earnest, why didn’t they file in March of 2024 when the decision to purchase the ground was made and its potential uses were outlined, or in November of 2024, when it was actually put out for bids? Doing that, it would seem, would not correspond to their agenda.”
Board Vice President Hank Llewellyn said, “It’s deeply hypocritical: some of the same individuals who routinely criticize the township’s legal expenses are now backing a lawsuit that will only drive those costs higher. Even more concerning is the behavior of those who seem to take pleasure in setbacks for the township and its residents—often using anonymous accounts to stir division from the shadows.”
He went on to say, “Let’s be clear: this lawsuit will burden taxpayers no matter the outcome. For anyone in—or seeking—public office, supporting it signals poor judgment and misplaced priorities.”
Commissioner Read said, “This lawsuit poses a serious risk to the well-being of our Township and its residents. The financial consequences could reach into the millions of dollars—costs that would ultimately fall on the taxpayers. Contracts are signed. The three plaintiffs are seeking to exploit for political purposes a long-planned and much-needed public project, one that addresses a critical infrastructure problem that has challenged multiple Boards of Commissioners for decades.”
Read continued, “The township remains committed to acting in the best interest of its citizens, and we will not allow politically driven tactics to derail progress.”