Westmoreland commissioners oust airport authority board members over restaurant lease
Sep. 30—Two members of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority board of directors, including the former right-hand man to Arnold Palmer, were replaced Thursday for supporting for an extension of a restaurant lease at the Unity airport.
Westmoreland Commissioners Doug Chew and Gina Cerilli Thrasher voted to install new members to the authority board in place of Chairman Paul Puleo and Donald "Doc" Giffin, whose five-year terms had expired.
Both were in the commissioners cross-hairs when they, along with five others on the nine-person board, voted in June to extend a five-year deal to lease for the restaurant space at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to DeNunzio's Italian Chophouse, which held exclusive rights to run the facility's dining concession since 2004.
Thrasher and Chew for months lobbied the board to seek other proposals as a potential revenue generator for the facility. Thrasher made public statements in which she indicated should would seek to remove board members who opposed her efforts to potentially open up the space to a new vendor.
"I am holding the board to the same standard as the county commissioners. We asked them for more time to discuss this proposal and they rushed it through a year before the contract even expired. There was no reason to rush it through," Thrasher said Thursday.
She said that, over the next several years, she will seek to replace all seven of the board members who defied her request to delay awarding a new restaurant contract.
"Board members are not supposed to be (there) for a lifetime. They are to be appointed, reappointed or taken off the board just like county commissioners are voted on every four years. We are just as replaceable as board members," Thrasher said.
Chew explained his vote was simply an effort change the airport's leadership.
"I thought it was best to pick some new faces," Chew said.
Puleo's term expired in January. On Thursday, he stood by the decision to renew DeNunzio's lease.
"It's disappointing. I loved being on the airport board. It's a huge asset, one of the largest we have in Westmoreland County," Puleo said. "I can't speak for why they removed me, but the lease was thoughtfully done and we talked about it for several months. The numbers are the numbers."
He said board members held preliminary discussions with other potential vendors to operate restaurant space but ultimately received no concrete proposals before the lease was extended.
Giffin for years represented Palmer on the board and was tabbed as the golf legend's replacement after he died in 2016. He continued to serve after his term expired in January 2020. He said he was disappointed not to be reappointed.
"I think it was somewhat vindictive," Giffin said. "I was not anxious to get off the board and enjoyed being there and I'm proud of the airport."
Scottdale businessman Rich Pologruto was tabbed to replace Giffin. Paul Whittaker, an excavator and contractor who owns a private airfield in New Alexandria, was picked to replace Puleo.
Commissioner Sean Kertes voted against those appointments.
"I am just disappointed in my colleagues for the actions they've taken to replace volunteers who have done so much for our community over one disagreement," Kertes said.
Kertes, along with Chew and Thrasher, unanimously reappointed Mark Gera to serve a new five-year term on the board. Gera voted against awarding a new restaurant contract at the airport in April.
Under the new lease, Denunzio's will pay $7,447.50 per month, or $89,730 per year, for the restaurant space. That includes utilities and is subject to adjustment with each renewal of the lease. DeNunzio's also will pay $500 per month for use of a banquet room and $750 for a snack bar.
DeNunzio's had been paying $4,000 per month for rent and utilities and $500 per quarter for the banquet room.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
