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Board member replaced

By Patty Yauger 4 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – A veteran city municipal authority board member was replaced Thursday by city council despite a request by a majority of the board of directors to have him remain in the position. By a unanimous vote of those present, council named Rodney Gunderson to replace Pat Duncan on the Connellsville Municipal Authority. Duncan’s term of office expired in December.

Gunderson was the chief executive officer of Fay-West Health System, which included Highlands Hospital in Connellsville and Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant, before the merger was dissolved.

“It’s all political,” said Duncan. “(Mayor Judy Reed) just wanted to get rid of me and the other two just went along with her.”

Reed, who presented the resolution, did not include Gunderson as Duncan’s replacement until she read the proposal, and was chastised by city Treasurer Judy Keller for her continued “fill in the blank” resolutions.

“I think the public has the right to know, prior to a meeting, who might be in consideration for any appointment or any hire made by the city council,” said Keller. “This isn’t the first time that this has happened. Every time there is an appointment to a board or authority, it is always blank on the agenda.

“Maybe certain people know who is going to be appointed, but I think (not naming the person being considered for a position) looks secretive.”

Reed countered that she does not favor publicizing candidate names in advance of taking council action.

“It’s very difficult to get people to volunteer; it is even more difficult when their names are put in the (news) paper if they didn’t get the votes or someone said something about them,” said Reed.

Certain municipal authority and board appointments, said Reed, are at the discretion of the mayor with some requiring council approval.

“(Term expirations) are set by law; when the five years are up, that term is expired,” she said. “(This) mayor has a plan; (this) mayor has an agenda to move this city forward. We have to make changes.

“I will not have people embarrassed by having their names in the paper three days before the meeting. I just don’t think it’s fair.”

The public vote on the matter was delayed for nearly 20 minutes when Duncan requested a letter sent to the mayor and council by three other authority members be read to those attending the meeting and the document could not be located.

“It was written by your appointees (to the authority),” Duncan told Reed.

After the search did not turn up the document, Reed and the two attending council members acknowledged receipt of it and summarized the content to include Duncan’s lengthy service to the community and his knowledge of the operation of the municipal treatment plant and related issues.

In a copy of the letter obtained by the Herald-Standard, the June 15 letter, signed by authority members Norma Cindric, Walter Scheller and Jodi Enany, it was requested council re-appoint Duncan for a fifth term. The letter did not include the signature of authority member Ramona McIntire, the wife of Councilman David McIntire.

“We feel it would be a disservice to remove Mr. Duncan from the Connellsville Municipal Authority,” states the letter.

In addition to Reed, council members Terry Bodes and David McIntire supported the resolution. Councilmen Brad Geyer and Charles Matthews were absent from the meeting.

In other action, council also conducted the following business:

– Rejected two bids for the purchase of a 2004 Ford Explorer used by the city police department.

– Added Cathy Whalen and Annetta Parfitt to the substitute employee list.

– Approved the Connellsville Veterans Commission to use Veterans Plaza Aug. 19 to conduct a POW-MIA Memorial Program.

– Agreed to close Carnegie Street from East Crawford Avenue to Orchard Alley for the July 22 fund-raising event to be held by the Connellsville Elks.

– Extended the in-place Tobacco Compliance Check Program agreement with the Fayette County Drug and Alcohol Commission and the city police department to June 30, 2007.

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