Charleroi councilwoman resigns
Charleroi once again has a vacancy on council, as Cathy Diess resigned her position, effective immediately.
Her resignation was accepted by the five members of council who attended Wednesday’s meeting, President Paul Pivovarnik and fellow council members Joe Smith, Larry Celaschi, Jerry Jericho and Nancy Ellis. Councilman Frank Paterra was not in attendance.
Diess could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Diess joined council in January to fill a vacancy created when Paterra resigned for health reasons. Diess ran unsuccessfully for a spot on council in November 2021.
Paterra returned to council to fill the vacancy created when Jeannine Motycki resigned in July citing health reasons and disagreements with some members of council.
Borough Manager Matt Staniszewski said applications for the position will be accepted until 4 p.m. Oct. 4. Council is expected to appoint someone to the position at its Oct. 5 meeting.
The hope is that there will be more applications than there were to fill Motycki’s spot.
“Recruitment is going to be a challenge,” Staniszewski said Thursday. “We’re going to increase our outreach efforts as best as possible.”
Pivovarnik called Diess’ resignation a “sad situation.”
“It’s a personal matter,” he said. “We’ve already lost one who resigned and now another one resigned. I wish her the best of luck in whatever comes out of it. We hope we get more people involved, especially some of the younger people. A lot of us who have been around for a while continue to serve and enjoy serving. We’d like some newer, younger people to think about getting involved.”
The appointee will hold the seat through 2023.