35 interviewed for seats on Luzerne County boards

Luzerne County Councilman Robert Schnee commended 35 residents Tuesday for undergoing public interviews required to be considered for appointment to outside county boards.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart that you’re taking an interest,” Schnee said during the session at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.

Councilwoman Sheila Saidman agreed, noting many cited an interest in giving back to the community as a reason for applying.

“We are always blown away by the resumes that we get — the qualifications,” said Saidman.

Five interviewed for two seats on the three-member Board of Assessment Appeals, which rules on property owner requests for real estate tax value reductions.

This is the only board approved for compensation, with members receiving $150 per appeal session up to $8,000 annually.

The terms of Neil J. Allen and Richard Long are expiring, and both men appeared before the committee Tuesday seeking another term. Fred Javer, Michael Vacendak and Kenneth Temborski also interviewed.

Allen said he was in banking prior to retirement, handled quality control for the county’s reassessment company and has served two, four-year terms on the county assessment appeals board.

Long, owner/broker of Gordon & Long Real Estate in Dallas, said he served on the board for four years and six months because he also had filled a partial-term vacancy. He told the committee he and Allen should be reappointed because they have experience handling the approximately 1,400 appeals heard annually and provide fair decisions.

Javer said he has 45 years of real estate appraisal experience and asserted the current board “hands out too much” in its decisions on reductions.

A licensed Realtor and certified residential appraiser for more than three decades, Vacendak said he would ensure similar comparable properties are used in deciding appeals so the tax base is not reduced by unwarranted assessment reductions.

Temborski said he has relevant experience as owner of Aggressive Realty in Conyngham and a Realtor for 20 years. He also noted he has served on the Hazleton Area School Board and Conyngham Borough Council.

Flood authority

Two were interviewed for a vacant seat on the five-member county Flood Protection Authority, which oversees the Wyoming Valley Levee system along the Susquehanna River.

Applicant Stephen Maakestad said he is a civil engineer with about 15 years of experience, including work as a consulting engineer on flood relief projects in the Philadelphia area. He also had responded to the authority’s call for engineers willing to undergo training and serve as volunteers patrolling the levee when the Susquehanna rises.

Retired educator Gordon Dussinger, the second applicant, said he wants to serve on the flood authority because he is a lifelong Kingston resident and cares about the well-being of Wyoming Valley residents. He said he is a Wyoming Valley West School Board member.

William Falls, who previously held the seat, is interested in reappointment but was unable to attend the interview session because he is out of the area, citizen Brian Shiner said. The committee did not agree to his request to be interviewed by phone, and Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo said her office will issue an opinion on the matter.

Prior authority member John Maday also is on the eligibility list due to a prior interview.

Council is set to fill some vacant seats at Tuesday’s meeting.

Community college, LCTA

Eight interviewed for three seats on the 15-member Luzerne County Community College Board of Trustees: Anthony Seiwell, Margaret Steele, Brian Gill, Scott Verdine, Donna Cerza, Daniel Rodgers, Dr. Nicole Ferentino and Paul DeFabo.

Steele and Gill are seeking reappointment.

Newly interviewed applicants will be added to six already on an eligibility list.

Two seats are open on the nine-member county Transportation Authority, and seven interviewed for the openings Tuesday.

In addition to Lynette T. Villano, who is seeking reappointment, the following were interviewed: Nanci Romanyshyn, John Young, Jeffrey Kubitz, Thomas Bindus, Richard Gazenski and Dennis Driscoll.

Three others are on the existing eligibility list for consideration.

Election Board

Two council-appointed seats are vacant on the county election board that must be filled by one Republican and one Democrat.

Democrat Audrey Serniak interviewed for reappointment Tuesday, and four other Democrats already were on the eligibility list. However, Republican Anne Davies has decided she won’t seek reappointment, and no Republicans interviewed Tuesday or are on the eligibility list.

Council Chairman Tim McGinley has said he wants to fill the two expiring election board seats next week because the board will be busy preparing for the high-turnout April 28 presidential primary, when the county will be using a new paper-trail voting system for the first time and implementing state election reforms.

As council vice chair, Chris Perry heads the council committee that interviewed the applicants. Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott also is serving on the committee along with Schnee and Saidman. Council members Walter Griffith and Stephen J. Urban also opted to attend Tuesday’s interview session.