Mayor’s opponent announces PWSA departures in more agency upheaval
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Three Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority board members have resigned unexpectedly, the latest distraction for the embattled authority that has seen recent water main and infrastructure failures, customer service difficulties, elevated lead levels in some residential water and four directors since late 2015.
Board chair Alex Thomson, and board members Andrea Geraghty and Caren Glotfelty tendered their resignations Monday and
new contract will pay him up to $225,000 a year.
Mr. Welch said at his news conference that problems at the PWSA have been “creeping up” for 15 years, while Mr. Peduto was mayor and before that on City Council, but he did nothing about them. He said the board resignations “call attention to the crisis” and a lack of leadership, and argued that the mayor spent thousands on bicycle lanes that could have been used to mitigate water supply problems.
At the same time, Mr. Welch speculated that Mr. Peduto had “overstepped” in negotiations with Mr. Lindstrom on his contract extension to lead the quasi-independent authority, which was created in 1984 to oversee a $200 million water system improvement project. It absorbed the city water department in 1995 and became owner of the city sewer system in 1999.
“There are so many unanswered questions. When his contract expired Mr. Lindstrom said he wasn’t interested in continuing, but then he did,” Mr. Welch said. “How much input did the [PWSA] board have in that contract? It should have input.”
Kevin Acklin, the mayor’s chief of staff, said he and the mayor were personally involved in the negotiations with Mr. Lindstrom, and that the mayor “felt strongly about there being a continuity in leadership.”
Mr. Peduto said in an interview Wednesday evening that his office did play a major role, and when asked about the importance of board independence, he said: “It is important, but when there’s a crisis within an authority, there is a certain level of involvement that a mayor has to have. And keeping a consistent executive presence on that authority was critical.”
Asked whether board members were informed about negotiation with Mr. Lindstrom, he said: “I don’t know — I wouldn’t try to answer for seven people with one comment. I believe they were being notified through the chair, Alex Thomson, but I can’t answer for them.”
There are more changes coming, the mayor continued. “The entire process of changing what the water and sewer authority looks like, this is only a small step in that. Over the course of this year, we’re going to have an entirely new organization.”
Operational issues at the PWSA caused Mr. Peduto to, earlier this month, name a panel to assist with the selection of a professional advisory team that will manage a possible restructuring of the authority. The panel will hold a public meeting in City Council chambers on March 31 to interview finalists for the advisory contract.
The complete board was not consulted in that process.
“It was to keep independence between those who will be voting on the final contract and those that will be providing a recommendation to the board. The final contract still comes through the board ... but the recommendation coming from a second level of public experts that provide a very open process is absolutely essential, with all the questions people have with the PWSA.”
According to his Wednesday news release, the mayor also invited other community leaders and utility experts to help guide the advisory panel in its work. Those invited include city Councilwoman and PWSA board member Deb Gross; city Controller Michael Lamb; Allegheny County Sanitary Authority Board chair Sylvia Wilson; Mr. Thomson, the now former PWSA board chair; Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT) founder David Miller; and former city Water Department director Alex Sciulli.