Split Scranton Housing Authority board approves new executive director

Sep. 11—SCRANTON — Despite the mayor's recent request for a pause, a split Scranton Housing Authority board voted Monday to elevate longtime Deputy Executive Director Karl Lynott to the position of executive director.

It followed a split vote to accept the resignation of retiring Executive Director Gary Pelucacci effective at close of Monday's meeting, and to pay Pelucacci for his accrued sick, vacation and personal time. What that amounts to was not immediately clear.

Both votes were 3-2, with board members Terrence V. Gallagher, Devendrabhai Dave and Mary Anne Sinclair in favor and members Michael Hanley and Krista Murray opposed.

Pelucacci, who caps a 42-year career with the authority, had served as executive director since June 2010, following a more than two-year stint as acting executive director. Lynott served as the authority's deputy executive director for roughly the past 12 years and previously served as a longtime Lackawanna County assistant district attorney assigned to the housing authority.

The authority recently advertised the executive director job and received applications from three candidates.

Both Hanley and Murray criticized the hiring process, with Hanley noting he's "never seen this process so closed and the board so shut out."

Murray echoed that sentiment, adding the board has a responsibility not to rush the process.

Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti sent board members a letter last week urging them to pause the hiring process and collaborate with the city to review the job description, conduct a broader search, jointly interview candidates and "discuss how the different top candidates might fit into the City's broader housing initiatives."

She suggested several "improvements" to the search, including removing the Pennsylvania Civil Service status requirement and the requirement that candidates be Pennsylvania residents. She also called on the board to conduct listening sessions with housing authority tenants, employees and other stakeholders regarding the next executive director.

After reading the letter into the record at Hanley's request, Gallagher, a board member and magisterial district judge, noted Lynott's extensive housing authority experience.

"He knows what he's doing, he has all the qualifications," said Gallagher, who defended the authority's search. "(T)he mayor has no right to tell us what to do or how to do it, respectfully. ... I don't think she has any right to dictate what qualifications the person has."

Cognetti's letter was meant to offer the city's perspective, she said late Monday.

"I don't tell anyone what to do but we certainly sometimes offer our perspective on what we here at the city think might be a good path forward," she said. "Our view is that this appointment doesn't have to be a civil service appointment. It could, in fact, be a contract appointment, which would ... widen the search because a civil service appointee has to already be in that system."

Cognetti emphasized the letter has nothing to do with Lynott, who she said "served the housing authority well for many years," but is instead about the process. The mayor was also under the impression Pelucacci wouldn't retire until January, she said.

Lynott, meanwhile, described himself as a "tenant-driven person first." Tenants need more recreational activities and mental health, aging and other services, he said, noting the authority will explore the potential of solar energy projects.

He stressed his willingness to work with everyone, including the board, the mayor and other officials. The executive director's annual salary is roughly $168,000, Lynott said.

The board originally planned to meet Sept. 7, but rescheduled pursuant to the state's Sunshine Act.

Agendas posted online Thursday, before the meeting was rescheduled, and Friday, prior to Monday's session, already listed Lynott as the authority's executive director.

"Executive Director: Karl P. Lynott," they read.

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter.

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