2 resign from the board of the Reading Revelopment Authority

Two members of the board of directors of the Reading Revelopment Authority have resigned.

The city council accepted the resignations of Wellington Vice President Santana and Treasurer Secretary Thomas Caltagirone on Monday during a regular scheduled vote.

Both resigned before the meeting.

Caltagirone, a former state representative, was appointed on November 25, 2020 for a term ending in late 2024.

Santana was appointed on March 25, 2020 for a term ending in late 2025.

The council did not specify the reasons for the resignation, and it was unclear whether any reasons had been submitted to the council.

The resignations came after The council expelled former chairman Ernest H. Schlegel from the board last week.

Schlegel’s dismissal for an unknown reason at a special meeting on Thursday took effect immediately.

During a public discussion earlier this meeting, Schlegel apologized for using racial insults in an email to a city official.

Schlegel said the term has an alternative meaning and that he did not mean it as a racial insult.

In a phone interview last week, Schlegel said Reading the Eagle that he frustratedly pounced on an employee after learning that Mayor Eddie Moran wants the city, not the redevelopment authority, to be designated a land bank.

A city hall spokesman confirmed last week that it was the mayor’s intention.

As chairman of the reconstruction department, Schlegel said he had led a nine-month effort to get the body appointed to acquire, maintain, manage and renovate the property.

He intended to present the plan to the city executive committee last week, but this item was removed from the agenda without public explanation.

Only one member of the board of directors for the reconstruction, Goslin Fleming, remained.

It is unclear when the city will appoint new members. Last week there was a meeting that was canceled due to lack of quorum, and it is unclear when the council will meet again.