Three weeks ago, Sharpsville Council President Jack Cardwell told a packed borough building that on Aug. 13 council would take a final vote on the sale of the town's aging water plant.

"I don't care if there's an earthquake, a hurricane, 5,000 tornadoes or a plague of locusts. We're going to have that vote," Cardwell said.

Well, something Cardwell couldn't foresee -- a death in the Sharpsville borough family -- will stall that vote at the earliest until Thursday and perhaps as late as Monday, depending on when council can place a legal notice in The Herald advertising the meeting change.

And if Mayor Kenneth Robertson has his way, that vote could be delayed even longer.

More than an hour after Consumers Pennsylvania Water Co. President Bob Liptak left the meeting, Robertson revisited an issue tabled nearly two months ago: whether to hire a consulting firm.

"I think we owe it to the taxpayers to have a study done," Robertson said. "We need to take it beyond the local level to give us good reasons to keep the plant or to sell the plant. ... If we voted Wednesday night, we'll vote from our hearts to keep that plant because it's a piece of Sharpsville ... And I think we need to take it beyond our hearts and we need to vote from our heads."

And Robertson's suggestion left Cardwell frustrated that council could again be putting off the much-anticipated vote.

"I'm asking for that" vote at the next meeting, Cardwell said. "If I don't get one, fine. It's an indication that they want to continue these discussions."

Cardwell then raised a hypothetical question, asking council members how they might vote on hiring a consulting firm, which originally was going to be Resource Development and Management, Inc. of Forest Hills, Pa., for $9,700.

Guy Moderelli, Tom Lally and Gary "Gus" Grandy said they would agree to hire the consultant, using money from the capital improvement fund.

"Nobody is going to fault us for being deliberate," Moderelli said.

Luann Anglin and Cardwell said they would vote no, while Bob Piccirilli said he was unsure. Alex Kovach was absent.

Four votes are needed to pass any motion.

Earlier in the meeting, resident Bill Gargano implored council members to let the community know where they stand on selling or keeping the plant and why they came to that decision.

Gargano of Hazen Road said he believes the water plant should be sold and listed several benefits, including primarily the $5.34 million Consumers would pay for it. And he asked council members to list their reasons, regardless of what side of the issue they fall on so "residents of this community know exactly what's going on."

"You're at a crossroads guys, a real crossroads," he added. "You're either going to be financially sound when this is all over, or you're going to be just like the Borough of Greenville -- in bankruptcy. Take your choice."

Council has been considering several options for the aging plant, which went into operation in 1954. Some of the lines have been in the ground since the early 1900s.

While millions of dollars have been put into the plant over the years, for the most part it's still operating under 1950s technology. And although it meets current state and federal standards, council is concerned whether it will meet future standards.

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