Erie County Council voted against a resolution to fund Project Resolve, which would go towards building a plastic and battery research facility for Penn State Behrend.

The vote was 4-3, with André Horton, Mary Rennie, Jim Winarski , and Terry Scutella voting against the project. Charlie Bayle, Brian Shank, and Ellen Schauerman voted in favor of the project.

The resolution was to support using $5 million of American Rescue Plan funds towards the facility. Citizens came in to argue to the county council that those funds may be put to better use helping underserved communities, such as black and immigrant neighborhoods.

"We promised the people of Erie County that we were going to create jobs," said Council Chair Shank. "And that's exactly what we do. And the minute we try, the old school politics come in to play. Well, you can't do that because you promised to buy new park benches in new trees for downtown. That's great. That's pretty. But you know what? It doesn't feed or house families anymore."

"There was a resolution in support of $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds going to one project," said Vice Chairwoman Rennie. "And I think, again, all of county council supports that project. It's whether public dollars gets used to fund it with no strings attached."

Others were concerned with how the project got approved for funding, with Erie County Executive Brenton Davis pledging the county's support, without the full backing of the county council.

"We haven't had anything officially to say if we can legally move these type of funds or whether we we can't legally," said Councilman Jim Winarski, who voted against the project due to questions of legality. "So that was a controlling factor. I am, for the record, 100% behind the resolve, but we want to make sure it's done correctly. Got to do our due diligence to make this work."

Winarski was the swing vote. The council will likely vote on the issue at a later date.