Erie County Executive Davis vetoes repeal of Gannon lease at Blasco Library

Less than 24 hours after Erie County Council voted to stop Gannon University from leasing space inside the county's main public library, Erie County Executive Brenton Davis used his veto power to protect the lease.

The veto, which was sent to council Wednesday, rejects an ordinance that council passed Tuesday to rescind the lease and prevent Gannon from building a water research and education center inside Blasco Memorial Library.

Davis, who spearhead the lease with Gannon officials, touted the center as an effective means to address water quality, economic development, and quality of life in Erie County.

“This initiative embodies our commitment to innovation and sustainability, and I am confident that it will bring significant benefits to our community for years to come,” Davis said in a news release that accompanied his veto letter to council.

Davis stated his veto was driven not only by his support for the center but by legal considerations, insisting council’s attempt to repeal the lease was “not only ill advised, but illegal.”

“Council has no power under the (Home Rule) Charter to engage in contracting matters on behalf of the county, as the charter grants this power exclusively to the executive branch,” he stated in his veto letter.

Davis stressed that even if the ordinance had passed, it would have had no effect on the legally binding lease agreement between the county and Gannon.

He further noted that when council passed a resolution in October to approve the lease, council effectively “ratified” the lease.

“Once Gannon's duly authorized representative and I executed the lease, it became legally binding,” Davis stated. “Council is not a party to the lease and has no legal or contractual authority to rescind the lease.”

He added, “(The) ordinance exceeds council's powers and violates the separation of powers set forth in the charter. Rescinding the lease without Gannon’s consent would be a breach of contract and would expose the county to legal risk."

Council Solicitor Tom Talarico pushed back on Davis’ letter.

Speaking with the Erie Times-News, Talarico said the Home Rule Charter gives council the right to repeal ordinances or resolutions previously adopted. He said it doesn’t matter whether an ordinance is repealing another ordinance or a resolution, and called the matter a “distinction without a difference.”

“I would suggest that the administration distinguish between council’s authority to repeal a previous ordinance or resolution and the effect that that repeal may have on a previously approved contract,” Talarico said. “If there’s fallout or consequences in the form of damages, then (council has) taken that into account. Council respects Gannon University and its contributions to the county of Erie. But it is not about to place Gannon’s interest in Blasco Library above the interest of the public, the people, at large.”

Council has 10 days to override Davis’s veto.

The ordinance had passed Tuesday in a 4-3 vote. Republican council members Ellen Schauerman and Charlie Bayle, along with Democrat Jim Winarski, all of whom voted against Tuesday's ordinance, gave no indication of changing their position.

Lease opponents, for months, have criticized the lease agreement for allowing a private, religiously affiliated university to deprive space from a vital public asset.

They've also criticized the county administration and council for making a “sweetheart deal” with Gannon, for fast-tracking, with little public engagement, a 25-year lease of roughly 3,280 square feet of space on waterfront property at $7 a square foot.

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County Executive Davis vetoes repeal of Gannon lease at library