Pottsville City Council members voted unanimously to correct the term expiration dates of 20 board and authority seats during its reorganization meeting on Monday.
It then voted to make 25 appointments to various boards and authorities, some of which have been dormant. And there are plans to make more appointments later this month.
Term Corrections
These terms were incorrect likely due to former members resigning and their replacements being appointed to serve five-year terms when they should have been first picked to fill unexpired terms.
This, according to Interim City Solicitor Gretchen Sterns, led to many of these boards having unstaggered term expiration dates. These boards, in most cases, should have staggered term expiration dates so that one member is up for reappointment or replacement per year.
As it was prior to Monday, some board had multiple people up for reappointment in the same year.
The action taken to correct these terms on Monday was actually tabled at the request of Mayor Tom Smith at last month’s City Council meeting, when then-Solicitor Ed Brennan said he’d made corrections to some of the boards.
However, Sterns said she and the new majority have gone through the minutes of all these boards and determined that there were 20 term expiration dates that were incorrect.
Council voted unanimously to correct the terms, meaning some board and authority members now have new expiration dates while others’ terms have expired.
Here are the terms that were corrected:
Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority
- Barry Dewitt (term expired Jan. 1, 2026)
- Bill DeAngeles (term expired Jan. 1, 2025)
Redevelopment Authoriity
- Ian Lipton (term expired May 1, 2025)
- Matt DiRenzo (term expires May 1, 2026)
- Lynn Strausser (term expires May 1, 2029)
Parking Authority
- Joe Drasdis III (term expires June 1, 2026)
- Mike Weres (term expired June 1, 2024)
- Jim Humphrey (term expired June 1, 2025)
Housing Authority
- Ed Barket (term expired April 7, 2024)
- Marie Wilson (term expired April 7, 2025)
- Vince Wychunas (term expires April 7, 2026)
- Lori Spotts (term expires April 7, 2027)
- Tom Palamar (term expires April 7, 2028)
Fair Hiring Board (all terms expire on Feb. 14, 2026)
- Brendan Schuettler
- Maria Larish
- Jamison Gunosky
Zoning Hearing Board
- William Anderson (term expires Jan. 1, 2027)
- Maria Glore (term expires Jan. 1, 2027)
- Mike Brennan (term expires Jan. 1, 2028)
- Charles Taronis (term expires Jan. 1, 2028)
Board Appointments
After making those corrections City Council then voted unanimously to make the following appointments to various committees and authorities:
Redevelopment Authority
- Denise Klinger (filling the unexpired term of Lynn Strausser, who resigned late last year) (Term to expire on May 1, 2029)
- Bud Quandel (filling the expired term of Ian Lipton) (Term to expire on May 1, 2030)
Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority
Jonathan Morris (Filling the expired term of William DeAngeles)(Term to expire on Jan. 1, 2030)
Lasting Legacy
This board had gone dormant and the following members were appointed with terms expiring on Jan. 1, 2027. Some had residency requirements waived but it was noted that those people either own a business in the city or work in Pottsville:
- Kaley Hampford
- Alfredo Mercuri
- Todd Richter
The following were appointed to terms expiring on Jan. 1, 2028:
- Marley Mikovich
- Jason Bower
- Gina Gargano
The following were appointed to terms expiring on Jan. 1, 2029:
- Jerry Enders
- Lisa Shuman
- Joe Ferhat Jr.
And the following were appointed to the non-voting Lasting Legacy Advisory Committee with terms expiring on Jan. 1, 2029:
- Darlene Young
- Aleah McGuigan
- Dave Clark
- Brandi Essler
- Wil Rich
Pottsville Planning Commission
The following were appointed to fill open seats on the Planning Commission:
- Tom Wood (term expiring Jan. 1, 2027)
- Walter Davis (term expiring Jan. 1, 2028)
- Ann Dudish (term expiring Jan. 1, 2029)
Zoning Board
Jonathan Morris was appointed to fill a seat on the Zoning Board last held by Maryanne Conway that is set to begin on Jan. 9 and expires on Jan. 9, 2029.
Jack Killian was appointed as an alternate on this board. His term begins Jan. 9 and expires on Jan. 9, 2029.
Parking Authority
The Parking Authority Board of Directors serves as the pleasure of the Pottsville Mayor.
On Monday, Mayor Tom Smith wiped the slate clean of Parking Authority board members and made the following appointments:
- Amber Grube (term to expire on June 1, 2029)
- Jim Humphrey (term to expire on June 1, 2030)
- Sean Reilly (term to expire on June 1, 2028)
- Bob Hoppe (term to expire on June 1, 2027)
- Drasdis III was re-appointed to his current seat.
Humphrey’s term technically expired in June 2025 but that wasn’t recognized until Monday, when his term expiration date was corrected. He was reappointed to the board.
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