PWSA retains Weimar as interim top exec
The newest top executive at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is promising accountability for consultants and aggressive oversight overall, vowing that “passive management is gone” at the troubled agency.
“I think that part of the problem historically is that perhaps the individuals who’ve been here [in leadership] may not have had as much experience. I’ve been in this 45 years,” said Robert A. Weimar, 67, of the Strip District, who was retained by the PWSA board Friday for a yearlong appointment as interim executive director. “I’ve done a number of large systems of this type.”
The agreement begins July 1 and will pay Mr. Weimar $175 an hour — or an estimated $350,000 a year — under a consultant contract. He started at PWSA about three years ago, working as a project manager and interim director of construction and engineering before he assumed oversight of day-to-day operations in March.
Mr. Weimar took over from the last interim executive director, Bernard R. Lindstrom, whose six-month, $100,000 contract ended at that point. Mr. Lindstrom is continuing to work for PWSA, but as a contractor focused largely on emergency management. The board never voted on a possible $225,000 agreement that would have kept Mr. Lindstrom as top executive.
He did not respond to a message Friday.
Board members elevated Mr. Weimar to interim executive
director on a temporary basis in April, making him the fourth person in that role since March 2016. He had been planning to leave by this month, but the board asked him to reconsider, he said. Failing pipes, nine-figure debt and lead pipes are among the difficulties confronting PWSA.
“He has demonstrated to the board that he’s the right leader during this time of change at the authority,” PWSA board chairwoman Debbie Lestitian said in a statement. She highlighted Mr. Weimar’s decades in the water and wastewater industries, his work as a professional engineer and his prior leadership at PWSA.
He holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Massachusetts and took master’s-degreelevel classes in water resources at Northeastern University.
Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration applauded the continuation of Mr. Weimar’s leadership. Mr. Peduto appoints the authority board members.
“PWSA is undergoing critical and necessary changes to deliver better services to city residents, and continued improvements in management and operations are being implemented at the authority,” said Kevin Acklin, Mr. Peduto’s chief of staff.
Mr. Weimar said he negotiated his arrangement with PWSA, under which he is responsible for his own benefits, such as health and retirement. Mr. Lindstrom’s potential agreement as executive director would have included benefits on top of his cash compensation, PWSA spokesman Will Pickering said.
“The nature of what I’m saying to the board is that because I have the ability to manage all of the various areas and have experience in it, I probably won’t need as much direct support” from additional staff, Mr. Weimar said.
His priorities include boosting PWSA infrastructure improvements, which should grow from around $50 million a year to as much as $200 million a year in a half-decade, he said. Mr. Weimar said he’s also focused on removing lead service lines from the PWSA system, reducing lead contamination risks and preventing technical breakdowns. Much of the leakprone system lacked sufficient upkeep for years, officials have said.
It isn’t clear how much PWSA may raise service rates to help pay for the work, but Mr. Weimar said the authority hopes for state support. Pending legislation would bring PWSA under the regulatory control of the state Public Utility Commission. By fall, an outside contractor is due to craft options for a possible organizational overhaul.
“I like to think that a publicly owned asset should stay public,” Mr. Weimar said. “I have a lot of confidence that the people here have just not had the right listening. I will listen, and we will develop strategies together to solve the problems we have.”