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Westmoreland couple seeks injunction to stop sale of county property to security-training firm Date published: 6/10/2009
BY FRANK DELANO Westmoreland County officials left only bits of public paper along the path that led them to a controversial contract with The O'Gara Group, according to opponents of the security-training company. Of 34 Freedom of Information Act requests to the county for O'Gara records, 22 came back as "no existing records applicable to request," Robert Quinn, a spokesman for an anti-O'Gara group told a packed supervisors' meeting Monday night. Dennis and Norma McGuire of Mount Holly got the same response for some of those FOIA requests, they said in a pleading filed Monday morning in Westmoreland Circuit Court. In their affidavit for an injunction of mandamus against County Administrator Norm Risavi, the McGuires wrote, "It is implausible that no documentation or correspondence of any sort was generated for this significant transaction amounting to approximately $679,000 for the sale of the county-owned 'shell' building and 25 acres." The county's Industrial Development Authority voted after a closed meeting in January to sell the property to O'Gara. The company also has a contract to purchase 325 acres of adjacent agriculture land for $2.5 million. Both deals are scheduled to close July 1. The McGuires asked the court to prohibit the sale of the county property to O'Gara "until such time as any and all of the requested documentation is provided." The barrage of FOIA requests did not please Supervisor Lynn C. Brownley. "That's not information, that's aggravation," he said. Nor is Brownley scared of the litigation against the Board of Supervisors and possibly more to come. "I like a good fight. Bring it on! Bring it on!" he said. Anti-O'Gara group WE COUNT presented the supervisors with petitions signed by 900 people opposed to O'Gara's firearms, driving and combat training. The company now operates in Halifax County. O'Gara officials have said they want to move closer to Washington, where many of their government and military clients are based.
Frank Delano: 804/761-4300
Read more stories about Westmoreland Date published: 6/10/2009
Nimby -- There are few benefits to a community when a bus. offers only 12 jobs with no guarantee they will fill them with local employees. I don't believe any of the 10 Halifax jobs were filled from locals in Alton, VA.
PaperTrail: You obviously cite information you know nothing about. Petitions are a democratic freedom of expression for those who want their feelings known... People don't sign things they don't want to... you obviously weren't there.
The Board of Supervisors needs to press forward and, after duly taking into account the opinions of the vocal minority, sell the property to O'Gara. The benefits to Westmoreland County far outweigh the concerns presented thusfar by opposition groups.
The 12 people that spoke out against O'Gara at the Monday night BOS meeting is the core group that doesn't want the facility. The petition is questionable as many citizens have said they didn't know what they signed, but did so to get the person "out of their face." This is fair?
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