Survey Results: Who Should Be Appointed to Sewer Authority Board?

Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority (NBCJMA) is a public utility entity established by Newtown Township and Newtown Borough. NBCJMA is led by a six-member Board of Directors, with three members appointed by Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) and three by Newtown Borough Council. Board members serve staggered five-year terms.

After township member Linda Bobrin resigned from the Board in April 2025, as of June 2025, there are only 2 township representatives remaining on the NBCJMA Board. Consequently, at the 28 May 2025 #NewtownPA BOS meeting I urged the township to appoint a new member ASAP to replace Ms. Bobrin (read “#NewtownPA BOS Discuss Sewer Authority Board Appointment. Is It Too Late to Ensure Sewer Treatment Plant Project Isn't Restarted?”).

Originally, the supervisors were to appoint one of the following three applicants to the NBCJMA Board at the 11 June 2025 BOS public meeting. That vote, however, has been tabled to be dealt with at a future BOS meeting – probably in July 2025. To get a better sense of who the public felt was the best candidate, I ran a survey from 10 June 2025 through 11 June 2025. The results are presented below.

In the meantime, the vote to fill the empty township seat on the NBCJMA Board was tabled and one applicant withdrew his nomination (see below).

The Applicants

There were initially 3 applicants:

Marc R. Bjorkman (resume): "I am presently self-employed as an engineering consultant specializing in wireless telecommunications within the aerospace sector—specifically, space systems. While this may seem unrelated to the responsibilities of a sewer authority board, my career has consistently required me to quickly grasp complex technical topics, analyze systems thoroughly, ask critical questions, and make data-driven, objective decisions. I believe these skills are highly transferable and would serve the board well."
Craig Deutsch (application email): "I am a registered Architect in the state of PA and surrounding states and a partner in a small Architectural firm. I have been a member of the Planning commission, Joint Historical Commission, and Architect for HARB [Historic Architectural Review Board]. My interest in being part of the Sewer Authority is to help collaborate Ideas, concepts, and openly discuss the most important topic of how to deal with the anticipated growth of Sewer Sanitary needs, along with Storm water mitigation as that affects the volume of discharge our Township produces. I understand that Newtown is not alone in this process, and I look forward to being part of a collaborative effort that can work to establish a plan for the next few decades. We are all aware Sewer Sanitary / Public water infrastructure is a major part of the ablity (sic) of our Township to systemically allow for growth and development."
Keith Terry (application email): "I am retired from Bucks county water and sewer authority after almost 38 years of employment. My last 21 years I worked specifically in the sewer collections and pump stations department. I believe my years of experience would serve your board well. I've lived in Newtown since 1995. I was involved with Council Rock baseball for almost 20 years and part of the coaching staff that went to the Little League world series in 2005. I am familiar with the day to day operations of sewer collection systems, safety and general maintenence (sic)."

On 12 June 2025, I received an email from Mr. Terry indicating that he is no longer a candidate for this position. “After further consideration,” said Mr. Terry, “'ve decided to withdraw my application for this position at this time. Being retired from Bucks County Water and Sewer and still collecting some benefits, I think it's in my best interest to step back and avoid any possible conflict of interest that may arise.”

Survey Results

117 Responses (78% Newtown Township Residents, 18% Middletown).

Comments included:

Voted for Bjorkman: “Best candidate with no political influence!”, “He opposes the wastewater treatment plant”, “Mr. Bjorkman is a qualified professional”
Voted for Deutsch: “Craig Deutsch has been a volunteer in the Township for years on both PC and HARB. He is very knowledgeable on all kinds of land development issues, including utilities”, “Good balance of local background and emphasis on collaboration”
Voted for Terry: “Actually knows the ins and outs BCWSA good asset”, “He is all about what is best for Newtown since he has been here many, years! He is also familiar with sewer company…”, “His experience would cut through the BS on sewer issues IF he's loyal to the town and not to the water/sewer company”

Aside from mentioning qualifications regarding their choices, many respondents also expressed opposition to any restart of the sewer treatment plant as a reason.

Can The Sewer Plant Plan Be Restarted?

At the 11 June 2025 BOS meeting, the Chair and the Township Manager made the argument that "we [the CURRENT BOS] issued a letter to the sewer authority saying that the township vehemently opposes any construction of a sewer plant. For the sewer plant to even happen would would require this board [emphasis added] to authorize the township engineer to amend the Act 537 (The Pennsylvania Sewer Facilities Act) plan to include a sewage treatment plant. So until this board [emphasis added] does that, there's no forward progress with this."

The problem is that "this board" will not be the same after the 2025 election. Two new Supervisors will be elected to replace John Mack and Dennis Fisher whose terms will expire on 31 December 2025. Who's to say that the new BOS will not rescind the mentioned letter and vote to amend act 537? You have to ask yourself: Why would the Sewer Authority undertake this if it did not believe Act 537 would be amended? Did the Newtown representatives on the Sewer Authority Board assure them that would be the case?

It is imperative, therefore, that we appoint someone who has expressed opposition to the sewer treatment plant. I agree with the majority of survey respondents; i.e, that person is Marc Bjorkman, who has publicly (and privately to me) expressed his opposition to the sewer treatment plant. I spoke with Craig Deutsch who refused to say that he is outright opposed to such a plant in Newtown.

In addition, Mr. Deutsch already serves on 3 Newtown commissions. While I appreciate his service to the community. naming him for another position while rejecting a new volunteer is just the wrong optic that sends the message: "we appoint only our friends."

Posted on 13 Jun 2025, 01:54 - Category: Sewer Authority