Coplay Borough confirmed in writing no council committee meeting schedules or minutes exist for the current year.

Last week, The Press filed a written right-to-know request with the borough for a list of committee meeting dates, times, places and minutes for all meetings held since January.

"Your request cannot be fulfilled as no documents exist for the requested records and, as such, no copies can be provided," says the borough's response, dated Oct. 15 and signed by Sandra Gyecsek, right-to-know officer. She is also borough secretary-treasurer.

The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act requires government bodies to hold committee meetings in public, according to Melissa Melewsky, attorney for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

"As committees created and empowered by borough council to address and render advice to borough council on specific areas of borough business, the various committees of Coplay Borough are agencies themselves required to comply with the Sunshine Act," Melewsky wrote in a letter sent to the borough last week.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Councilman Matthew Recker said there are no formal committee meeting schedules. Meetings are simply held when a need arises.

"Committee meetings do not have to be public," said Recker, who has been on council since January.

"We have met where I've sat down with the committee, where we met in council chambers," he said. "An issue arises [and] we'll meet with the committee or have a conversation over email or even over the phone."

Mayor Joseph Bundra told the Press Tuesday scheduling and advertising committee meetings can be difficult because of the schedules of all involved.

"It's not practical," Bundra said.

"The only announced, open [committee] meeting resulted in my swift removal as chairman and from the committee," Councilman Bill Leiner Jr. told The Press Monday.

Leiner, former mayor who became a councilman in January, was appointed to the housing committee at the beginning of his term, he said. In July, after unsuccessful attempts to get information on the housing committee's function, he announced his intention to hold a public housing committee meeting, he said.

"I was promptly removed as chair and [taken] off the committee and replaced by [former Councilman] Marvin Mann," he said. "I don't know why. I didn't ask."

"I don't think that really happened that way," said Bundra, who served two terms on council from 2000 to 2008.

Bundra said it's not uncommon for committee assignments to change. The council chairperson looks at personalities, schedules and other issues when choosing people for committees.

"[Leiner] has his own agenda going on in council right now," said Recker, who believes Leiner's comments are politically motivated.

Recker and Leiner expressed opposing views about private library committee meetings held earlier this year.

In June, the Whitehall-Coplay School District passed a resolution announcing its intention to give the Coplay Public Library $48,000 in funding for the 2012-13 school year. The district had previously gone on record saying it would stop funding both Whitehall and Coplay libraries due to state funding cuts to schools.

An undated handwritten memo signed by "the Boro Committee," followed by the names of library committee members Lou Bodish, Joseph J. Groller and Mann, asks the school district for $48,000 as "a one-time wind down funding for 2012-13."

"The fact that they did all this work without informing council was improper," Leiner said.

At the July council meeting, Leiner said all of council should have been involved in the decision, not just the library committee.

Commenting he's new and inexperienced as a council member, Recker said he was uncertain whether all of council should have been involved. However, the end result was positive.

"[Groller] did a fantastic job on getting them that money," Recker said.

Leiner also said he believes the appointment of Mann to council in February was improper.

Mann, who resigned in August, did not attend the actual February council meeting. However, he came into the meeting room when it was over.

"[Mann] comes in after the meeting like a rat and Bundra swears him in," Leiner said.

Recker, however, said the vote to appoint Mann was fair and not prearranged.

"I think it was pretty obvious he was the most qualified candidate to take that seat," said Councilman Charles Sodl, who was appointed in September to replace Mann.

When Leiner was mayor, from 1998-2007, discussions were open, he said. Workshops, held the night before the regular council meeting, were "painfully long," often going past 10 p.m.

"Everybody got to bed late. They were all fired up. They didn't sleep much," he said. As a result, he said, elected officials often felt like "wet washrags" for the regular meeting the following night.

Bundra said the purpose of committees is for council people to "do their homework" so that meetings are manageable. Strong committee reports inform other council members about issues they may not have time to research individually.

"They still have to prove to council that they're right about what they're saying," Bundra said.

Leiner said the other elected officials believe they're doing the right thing.

"I don't see these guys as maliciously motivated. They just don't know ... and you almost get the feeling they don't want to know," Leiner said.

Sodl said it's time for Coplay to use its energy for positive gain.

"I think there's a lot of negative talk," he said, "too much negative talk."

Bodish, Groller, Mazur and Royer did not return phone callsby press time.

"Coplay's practice of private committee meetings does a disservice to the people of Coplay and the agency itself, and it could result in liability," Melewsky's letter says. "The Sunshine Act allows a judge to impose civil and criminal penalties for violations of the act, including criminal fines of up to $1,000 plus court costs for a first offense. Just as importantly, we ask you to consider the intent of the law. Public participation plays a vital role in enhancing the democratic process, fosters public trust and increases the effectiveness of government."

"If your impulse is open government, this is what you do," Leiner said. "If your impulse is closed government, you operate the way they do."