Power Mapping

Understanding how local decisions are made and who is making them is fundamental to successful community engagement and project approval. Knowing who the decision-makers are and what they value gives a developer the necessary background for persuasive and constructive engagement with officials.

In Pennsylvania state law, townships have the authority to make zoning laws, in some cases, counties may make zoning laws in the absence of township-level rules. Therefore, the opportunities are with the North Beaver Township Board of Supervisors. The political situation on the board is sub-optimal. In order for Firefly to proceed, Vesper needs either the “Right to Farm” appeal to succeed or for the Board of Supervisors to reverse their position on siting solar on agricultural land. Two of the three sitting supervisors voted in favor of the including the exclusion in the previous language. If the “Right to Farm” appeal does not succeed, Vesper may need to be prepared to continue engagement and may even seek to engage electorally in 2023 to help elect a more favorable board. Between now and early-2023, Vesper should be lining up supporters from civil society and guage to what extent Scott Barth and Grant McKinley can be moved from their previous position on the solar ordinance–a challenge given they initially voted for it. They will want to save face, and so offering concessions that allow them to do that could be helpful.  

North Beaver Township Board of Supervisors 

The North Beaver Township Board of Supervisors is a three-member legislative body that manages North Beaver Township and is responsible for township roads and zoning ordinances. Supervisors serve six-year staggered terms. The Board of Supervisors meet at 861 Mt. Jackson Road, New Castle, PA 16102. nbtwp@northbeavertwp.com | 724-667-7956

After the 2021 election, it is not clear the political environment for the project has improved. The sole member of the Board who voted “no” on the questions on excluding agricultural districts from solar development, Jerry Tillia, retired. Tillia commented that he felt the conditional use permit required for development in agricultural zones was sufficient and would provide optionality for project locations, specifically saying, “I felt that [the agriculture zone] should still be an option.”  

Barth is a Republican who was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2019, he most recently won election in 2019 with 58.7% of the vote. He is up for reelection in 2025.

Barth, along with Supervisor McKinley, was one of the members of the board that voted to enact the solar exclusion from agricultural zones. 

Courson is a Republican who was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2021 after running unopposed, replacing Jerry Tillia. He is up for reelection in 2027. He has a Facebook that is not active. 

Courson has not needed to take a vote on the solar issue yet. It is not initially clear where he stands on the issue, however, by virtue that he did not vote for the exclusion ordinance, he may be potentially amenable to altering the language of the ordinance without appearing like he is doing a U-turn on the issue. 

McKinley is a Republican supervisor who was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2017, he most recently won election in 2017 with 54.4% of the vote. He is up for reelection in 2023.  

McKinley will be one of the most challenging members of the Board to persuade–especially in the effort to remove the industrial zone limitation because he was the member, along with Supervisor Barth, who introduced and voted to amend the ordinance language to exclude farmland from solar development. 

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North Beaver Township Officials

Arin Crawford, Township Secretary/Treasurer, 724-667-7956 

Lawrence County Officials 

• Amy McKinney, Director: amckinney@lawrencecountypa.gov
• Allen Miller, Deputy Director of Planning: amiller@lawrencecountypa.gov
• Rebecca Shaffer, Deputy Director of Community Development: rshaffer@lawrencecountypa.gov 

Lawrence County Directory 2022-24.