charleroi
For the second time in two months, Charleroi Council has been tasked with filling another vacant seat in council chambers after the abrupt resignation of Cathy Diess on Wednesday, effective immediately. A reason for her resignation was not disclosed.
Diess, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on council in November 2021, was appointed to fill a vacancy left by Frank Paterra in January.
Paterra resigned from his spot due to health concerns, but was recently reappointed last month to fill a vacancy left by former councilwoman Jeannine Motycki who stepped down in July.
He was also the only eligible applicant to submit a letter of interest for that seat.
Diess’ resignation was unanimously accepted by council members in attendance, including President Paul Pivovarnik, Joe Smith, Larry Celaschi, Jerry Jericho and Nancy Ellis. Paterra was absent from Wednesday’s meeting.
Council will accept letters of interest until 4 p.m. Oct. 4 with an anticipated vote during their business meeting 6 p.m. Oct. 5.
They are hopeful there will be interest in the seat, but know filling vacancies can be challenging.
Borough Manager Matt Staniszewski said he hopes young people within the community will choose to get involved.
“We would like to get some younger people involved, so they can have a say,” he said. “It would be nice for them to get excited about local government and have a chance to roll up their sleeves and get to work to help make Charleroi a better place, but we do anticipate filling the vacancy could be a challenge.”
Pivovarnik said the borough will do its best to advertise for the spot and generate interest.
“But there is only so much we can do,” Pivovarnik said. “We aren’t the only ones with this problem and seats on council are not the only positions that are difficult to fill vacancies for. All we can do is advertise and hope for the best.”
The appointee will hold the position until the next municipal election in 2023, at which time three, four-year terms and one two-year term will be on the ballot.
Next week, council will also advertise to fill positions to the Charleroi Vacancy Board and Zoning Hearing Board with current terms ending this year.
In other business Wednesday, council decided to change its commercial insurance provider.
Council unanimously agreed to switch from Travelers Insurance, who submitted a renewal package for $43,486, to Selective Insurance, who offered an expanded policy for $33,125.
CHARLEROI • A2 FROM A1 Selective was the only other insurance provider to submit a bid for coverage.
The old policy expired Sept. 1 and the borough had been depending on coverage through a grace period until coverage was renewed or a new policy was accepted.
Jericho questioned why a switch was necessary.
Celaschi went through a laundry list of reasons, including gaps in coverage and the borough’s former broker not doing the job correctly, pointing out the borough had not had an annual insurance review in the past few years, was lacking coverage in certain areas and was paying for coverage on properties and vehicles the borough no longer owned.
“There has not been a review in years and that is negligent and unacceptable in this industry,” Celaschi said. All council members present agreed to switch brokers and providers, upon review by the borough’s solicitor.
Next week, council will ratify the August/September 2022 municipal expenses in the amount of $135,194.07, advertise to fill vacancies on two aforementioned boards, vote on final readings of two ordinances concerning blight and foreclosed properties and plans to discuss potential litigation, personnel and property acquisition in executive session.
The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.