Paterra returns to Charleroi Council
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A familiar face is returning to Charleroi Council.
In a unanimous vote Wednesday, former Charleroi councilman and mayor Frank Paterra was appointed to the post.
Paterra, 76, was sworn in at Wednesday’s council meeting by Mayor Greg Doerfler.
He was one of two applicants, but the other is not a resident of the borough and could not be considered.
Paterra fills the vacancy created when Jeannine Motycki resigned in July, citing health concerns and continued disagreements with other members of council.
Health reasons prompted Paterra to resign from council in January after being elected to a four-year term in November.
“I was at the VA Hospital for about 5 1/2 months, so I resigned my position, Paterra said. “I didn’t want there to be an open position on council.
“I was in pretty bad shape,” he said. “I feel a lot better. I want to come back to life and start living again, pick up where I left off.”
Councilwoman Cathy Diess was appointed to fill Paterra’s council seat.
Paterra served as mayor of Charleroi from 2006-10. He was first appointed to council in 2016.
“Like a lot of communities, we have drug elements,” Paterra said. “We need more police and we need more people to participate in rooting out these parasites that plague our community. It’s something I’ve always been concerned with.”
Paterra said he served in Vietnam for a year and brings a solider’s type of mentality to dealing with such a problem.
“I think we need to attack the drug dealers and get them out of our community,” he said.
Paterra also said code enforcement will be a priority. His new term will run through Jan. 2, 2024.
He is thankful to be able to return to council and come through his recent health battle.
“We have a good council now, and I’m looking forward to working with them,” he said.
The lack of applicants for the position is prompting council to again look at possibly reducing the size from seven to five members.
It was something first proposed in 2020 by Councilman Jerry Jericho.
“Council, at the time, voted to explore the possibility of right-sizing council,” said Borough Manager Matt Staniszewski. “It is evident we need to explore this again because of the number of applicants to serve council. It just reflects the population and community needs at this time.”
Staniszewski said council is expected to authorize Solicitor Sean Logue to proceed with the next steps to explore right-sizing at its Aug. 10 meeting.
“It’s a formality to ensure if there is interest among a majority of council,” Staniszewski said.