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Thursday, September 3, 1987, p. 3.

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COUP plans for Upper Delaware Council despite disruptions

By TOM RUE


NARROWSBURG -- At an August 27th meeting punctuated by verbal assaults which led to the police being called, the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP) discussed revisions to its draft by-laws for the Upper Delaware Council.

Originally submitted to COUP in May, the by-laws were changed to include stringent limitations on when the proposed could may exclude the public by going into executive session. The new wording is modeled after the New York State Open Meetings Law.

The revisions are considered important because river planning groups in the past have been criticized for holding closed meetings. One such session was organized in April 1986 by the Upper Delaware Citizens Council, when officials from 14 of the riverfront towns met in Lake Huntington with Congressman Joseph McDade but kept the press and public excluded.

The new rules mandate that the council "will conduct its business in aa open manner to enable the public to be fully aware of Council activities and able to observe its performance and attend and listen to the deliberations and decisions of the Council."

COUP chair Phil Fitzpatrick also directed consultant Chuck Hoffman, who authored the provisions, to add language guaranteeing public access to council records. Hoffman agreed that specific requirements for "open meetings," as well as clear procedures for public access to council files, was a good idea.

Shortly after the Upper Delaware River Management Plan is approved by the Secretary of the Interior, the council will be incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in Pennsylvania, Hoffman stated at the meeting. Copies of a draft "memorandum of understanding" between the council and the National Park Service (NPS), describing the council's functions and authorizing federal funding, were circulated.

And Hoffman noted that he had spoken to several insurance carriers regarding liability insurance for council members. "It will be obtainable and it is affordable within the budget parameters," he said.

During the meeting NPS opponent Don Rupp of Barryville asserted that the courts will hold local officials personally liable for their roles in drafting and administering the management plan. He was accompanied by about ten people, two of whom brought dogs with them, who opened filing cabinets and handled the contents of desktops in an outer office.

Rupp was warned several times by Fitzpatrick to cease what he termed disorderly behavior, and finally ordered him to leave. When Rupp declined, a Sullivan County Sheriffs Deputy was summoned and remained for the rest of the meeting. No arrests were made.

During the public comment period, Noel van Swol of Long Eddy informed COUP of a plan by Fremont Supervisor Walter Sipple to construct a hydroelectric dam on Hankins Creek. comparing it to the controversial hydro plan in Shohola which COUP opposed. van Swol then claimed that his mother wants to undertake a similar effort to dam Basket Creek, and asked whether COUP or NPS would oppose either that or Sipple's project.

Panel members responded that they did not have enough information on either plan to reply.

Several others in the group also spoke, asking questions and generally objecting to the NPS presence on the Upper Delaware.

COUP went into executive session for 20 minutes to discuss a personnel matter, according to Fitzpatrick. Upon returning, it was announced that Hollman has recently started his own firm -- called Hoffman, Williams, Lafen & Fletcher -- and is no longer associated with Foresight Consulting Group. Hoffman was approved to continue as COUP's chief consultant until UDC begins functioning, which is expected to be "sometime around the end of the year."

Fitzpatrick apologized to the public for the size of the crowded meeting quarters. Recent COUP meetings have not been very well attended, he said, and they did not know Rupp's group was coming. Rupp explained the turnout by noting that the Upper Delaware Citizens Alliance was holding its election of officers immediately following the COUP session at the Blue Jay Bar.

From now on, Fitzpatrick said COUP meetings will be held across the street in the Tusten Town Hall.