Three Archbald council members resign Wednesday, three new members appointed

Archbald's Borough Council experienced a significant shakeup on Wednesday night, with three council members – Dave Moran, Richard Guman, and Marie Andreoli – resigning from their positions, effective immediately. This follows the resignation of former Councilman Tom Aniska last month, bringing the total to four resignations from the seven-member council within three weeks. The resignations occurred as the council faced a petition, signed by over 800 Archbald residents, demanding the removal of certain borough officials, including the former council president. The unprecedented changes are directly linked to a controversial zoning amendment regulating data centers, which was adopted in November. All council members who voted in favor of this amendment are now off the council. The ordinance, while imposing restrictions on data centers, also provided the Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus with the necessary zoning designation to advance its conditional use application. This project plans for 14 data centers that could consume up to 3.3 million gallons of water per day during summer and require 1.6 gigawatts of electricity, sparking significant community pushback. The petition, initiated by Tamara Misewicz-Healey and Justin Healey, founders of the "Stop Archbald Data Centers" Facebook group, accuses borough officials – including Solicitor Jay O Connor, Borough Manager Dan Markey, and Zoning and Building Code Official Brian Dulay – of violating public trust. It alleges that data center developers received draft ordinances and contributed to their content, and that negotiations reduced data center setbacks from 1,000 feet to 300 feet to accommodate developers. Council President Louis Rapoch defended the borough officials, stating their work was "wonderful" and that the petition for their removal would not succeed. Meanwhile, Madonna Munley, Lisa Osborne, and Larry West were appointed to fill three of the vacant council seats.