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Fike looks back on eight years as Uniontown mayor

By Mike Tony mtony@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read
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John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard

“You take a beating here,” Fike said. “Really and truly, I do need a break.”

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John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard

Ed Fike reflects on his eight years as mayor of Uniontown, as a new administration will transition into office in January.

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John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard

Kim Marshall, city clerk of Uniontown, remembers the progress made in the city over the past eight years. Marshall will be leaving her position with the city at the end of the year.

The walls of Uniontown Mayor Ed Fike’s city hall office are filled with photos of him and his family or activities as mayor.

It’s been an eventful mayorship, one coming to an end after Fike was defeated in his bid for a third term by Bernie Kasievich, who upset Fike on the Democratic ballot in the May primary.

So now Fike’s in a good position to reflect on his time in office, which began with some major financial troubles for the city.

“I had more money in my pocket than the general fund had,” Fike said about the city’s fiscal state upon taking over in 2008 for James Sileo, whom he defeated in the 2007 Democratic primary.

The city faced a $1.6 million deficit at the start of Fike’s first term, partly due to questionable accounting practices under previous administrations. Two certified public accountants from McClure & Wolf told city council in 2009 after their audit of the city’s 2007 finances that a prior administration’s practice of using money from the city’s sanitation and library funds to cover general fund debts resulted in a deficit of sanitation funding, which meant there wasn’t enough sanitation funding to cover general fund checking.

As a result, Fike presided over some difficult early cost-cutting decisions, including laying off the sanitation department in 2008 and implementing a tax increase in 2009.

“We had to lay off 40 people, from every city department,” said City Clerk Kim Marshall, who will also be leaving her position at the end of the year.

Eventually, the belt-tightening measures had an impact, as the city turned its deficit into a positive equity fund balance in two years, with a 2015 net income of $638,935.

Fike is equally proud of the new apartments at the former American Legion location and the development of Senior Life, saying that they have increased the city’s tax base.

“(Former Uniontown Redevelopment Authority Executive Director) Mark (Yauger) and I talked Senior Life into coming here,” Fike said. “They were going to go to Washington.”

Fike also noted that the city tore down some 125 buildings during his time in office, and that under Chief Jason Cox, city police have obtained nearly $1 million in grant money during Fike’s tenure.

Reflecting on his loss in the primary election to Kasievich, Fike said he simply didn’t get enough of his supporters out to vote.

“My supporters thought it was a slam dunk, but you can’t take anything for granted,” Fike said. “I got so many calls where people said, ‘What happened?’ I said, ‘You didn’t vote!'”

Fike said the next administration should explore whether the city should maintain a paid fire company, guessing that Uniontown might be one of the only cities out of the 53 in Pennsylvania designated as third-class (meaning fewer than 250,000 people) with a paid fire department, though there are several that fit that description, including one in Washington.

Fike has few expectations for how city council’s voting dynamic will shift without him, saying only that council will need to continue to focus on obtaining grant money for the city.

But Fike does know that he’s ready for some time off.

“You take a beating here,” Fike said. “Really and truly, I do need a break.”

Fike, a Connellsville Street resident whose business ventures include Fike Brothers Trucking, Edward Fike Trucking and Penn State Auto, said he’s not ruling out a campaign to return as mayor in four years. In the meantime, Fike intends to stay active in the community and said he’ll be a resource for residents or city leaders going forward.

“We wanted to leave the city much better than we found it,” Fike said. “That was our desire.”

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