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KINGSTON — The Luzerne County Transportation Authority on Tuesday terminated executive director Norm Gavlick in what he said was “retaliation” for resisting the political influences of the board members.
Gavlick said he was fired at a public meeting held by the board after it met in executive session.
“Retaliation, all the way retaliation,” Gavlick offered as his explanation for his ouster.
Gavlick, who started overseeing the agency in 2014, said he did not know who would take over for him. He said his next step is meeting with his attorney Kim Borland to discuss his options.
Attempts to reach board members Tuesday were unsuccessful.
In a formal statement released later Tuesday, LCTA announced that the board “expects to announce the person that will lead the organization on an interim basis, in the next few days.”
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we would like to thank Norm for his many years of service and strong contributions to LCTA,” Chairman Charles Sciandra was quoted as saying. “We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
Gavlick came under fire recently for the rebranding of the public transit agency as the Northeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
Some board members appeared before county council last week to discuss questions about the name change announcement, which has since been put on hold. Council Chairman Tim McGinley said Tuesday he was not aware of Gavlick’s termination and declined comment.
However, McGinley said the county has no say over authority personnel.
Council appoints the authority board and provides an annual funding match.
But Gavlick said he was “not completely” surprised by the board’s move. “There have been members on the board that have been trying to get rid of me for years,” he said.
The backtrack on the name change to NEPTA was the latest incident, Gavlick said. “That’s what they’re using as cover,” he said.
In LCTA’s statement, Gavlick was described as having “led the organization to develop a strategic plan and stabilize the organization. In addition; he worked to improve services to businesses and support Luzerne County’s economic development goals.”
Gavlick’s statement
Gavlick provided his own statement to the Times Leader, which he said supports his claims.
“The actions of the board against the executive director are a continuation of retaliatory actions being carried out by members of the board for several years,” Gavlick said in the email. “The director has refused quid-pro-quo offers by board members to hire relatives, and has vigorously opposed board members awarding contracts to ‘friends’ and has resisted political influence within LCTA. This current issue and board action are retaliatory efforts against the Executive Director.”
Gavlick maintained that he kept the board members informed of the efforts to rebrand the LCTA as it pursued a consolidation with other public transit agencies in Northeastern Pennsylvania and a relocation of its operations to the former Murray complex along South Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has agreed to largely fund the project, which is estimated to cost between $22 million and $27 million.
“The executive director would not, and did not, ‘act on his own,’ for 4½ years on a plan without the full knowledge, consent and approval of the LCTA board. The press conference on August 1, 2019 was planned and executed with the full knowledge, consent and approval of the LCTA board,” Gavlick said in the email.
Staff writers Jennifer Learn-Andes and Bill O’Boyle contributed to this report.