Charter rules an issue for Luzerne County manager search committee

Luzerne County Council’s search for citizens needed to help search for the next manager got off to a bumpy start Tuesday.

Council interviewed 10 citizens who volunteered to serve on the Manager Search Committee Tuesday, but some may be deemed ineligible.

The county’s home rule charter sets restrictions for citizens serving on authorities, boards and commissions.

Council members traditionally took the position that these prohibitions also should apply to the search committee and said so in the advertisement seeking citizen volunteers.

That means no search committee member shall be employed or compensated by any business that serves as a contractor to the county or its authorities, boards or commissions.

Two of the citizens interviewed — Angelo P. Grasso Jr. and Alec Ryncavage — said Tuesday they had served as poll workers in the May 18 primary.

Councilman Walter Griffith said the county law office had deemed paid poll workers as disqualified from serving on boards in the past.

Attorney Jeffrey Rockman, another applicant, said he works for the Slusser Law Firm, which is solicitor for the county Flood Protection Authority that oversees the Wyoming Valley Levee.

Search committee applicant Chris Hackett is president of OneSource Staffing Solutions, which provided a temporary worker to the county election office in this year’s primary election and additional workers in 2020 elections.

Ryncavage told council he did not believe one day as a poll worker should prevent applicants from serving on the committee. The county has been pushing residents to sign up as poll workers due to a shortage.

Council Chairman Tim McGinley said after the interview session he expects council will discuss what it wants to do about prohibitions in its special meeting Thursday, which was scheduled to decide how many committee members will be appointed and vote on nominations.

Council ultimately picks the manager but must rely on an outside committee of at least three citizens to seek, screen and conduct initial interviews of county manager applicants. The committee then recommends finalists to council for its consideration.

C. David Pedri is leaving for other employment July 6, and county Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo is serving as acting interim manager.

Griffith and Councilman Stephen J. Urban proposed council hold off and try to do more outreach through social media to solicit additional applicants. Urban was highly critical of the options before council and asserted there are too many “connections.”

Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck also said afterward she believes recruitment for additional volunteers is warranted. She also said the interviewing did not address whether committee applicants meet the charter requirement. The charter says they must “possess relevant qualifications, knowledge, and/or experience in the search for, recruitment of, and identification of qualified candidates for county manager or related positions.”

Applicants were asked about their applicable experience, why they are interested in serving, the traits they’d seek in a manager and other questions.

The others interviewed Tuesday: Michael Reich, Sherri Homanko, Ray Wendolowski, Rick Morelli, Patrick Patte and Brian D. O’Donnell.

Applicants Robert Fisher and Tim Cotter withdrew before the interviews.

Some background on the applicants, in the order they interviewed:

• Hackett, of Kingston Township, said he spent more than 30 years in the business of assessing and recruiting talent and served on search committees for the Wyoming Seminary president, Leadership Wilkes-Barre executive director, and Wilkes-Barre Chamber president.

He has a bachelor’s degree and owns several businesses, including i2M in Mountain Top.

• Reich, of Butler Township, said he would provide valuable insight screening manager applicants because he has interviewed at least 1,000 people during his 20 years of experience as a reporter and then an editor in the newspaper industry, first at the Press Enterprise in Bloomsburg and later at the Times Leader.

He has a bachelor’s degree in political science, currently owns a small lawn and landscaping business and has received both party nominations in the November general election Butler Township supervisor race.

• Homanko, of Hazle Township, is a clinical pharmacist for Select Specialty Hospital in Danville.

She has a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and a doctorate in pharmacy from Wilkes University and said she has served on several selection committees, including acting as a student representative in the Wilkes provost search.

• Ryncavage, Plymouth, is founder and CEO of Cybiot, a cybersecurity technology company in downtown Wilkes-Barre and also a borough councilman.

He said the committee would benefit from his experience recruiting highly skilled workers from some of the largest tech companies in the world and promoting the county.

• Wendolowski, an attorney from Mountain Top, said he has practiced law in the county for more than 30 years and is willing to commit his time and talents to the manager search.

As Wilkes-Barre Area School District solicitor and an attorney for other districts in the region on real estate tax appeal matters, Wendolowski said he regularly interacts with county officials and has familiarity with effective management.

• Grasso, of Dallas, has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and three master’s degrees, including one in business administration. He works as a therapist at the Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley and previously held management positions at the Luzerne/Wyoming counties Area Agency on Aging through 2018.

He said he has extensive experience hiring, managing and terminating employees.

• O’Donnell, of Kingston Township, is an optometrist and managing member of New Era Eye Care in Shavertown and said he has been an employer in practice for more than 29 years.

He said his experience on many boards and as a business owner have prepared him to recognize the qualities needed in the next county manager.

• Morelli, of Sugarloaf Township, has a master’s degree in business administration and works as a software account manager.

He said he wants to help select the manager because he wants to ensure the home rule structure remains successful. He served on the committee that drafted the home rule charter, the home rule transition committee and as a county councilman twice.

• Rockman, of Kingston, said he has been practicing law since 1986 and ran a family bakery equipment business.

He said he is a strong advocate of home rule and believes his experience, including dealing with various governmental entities, qualifies him for the committee.

• Patte, of Mountain Top, has a master’s degree in business administration and secondary certification in business education and social studies.

He currently works as curriculum, instruction and assessment director in the Hazleton Area School District and also manages his family’s local restaurant.

Patte said his mix of experience prepared him to assess county manager job applicants and the area’s needs.