Ross fills vacant commissioner seat; former lawmaker Ravenstahl hired as assistant manager

Ross commissioners tapped two former elected officials to fill a vacant board seat and the newly-created position as assistant township manager.

The township received applications to fill the Ward 2 seat vacated last month by Steve Korbel from two residents — Chris Rand Eyster, who works as a criminal defense attorney and previously served as a commissioner; and Matthew DeReno, a technical writer who founded the Across Ross social media page.

Eyster was appointed to fill the post by a unanimous vote and was sworn in by West View District Judge Richard Opiela during the Feb. 1 virtual meeting. Eyster will complete the remainder of Korbel’s term, which runs through 2022.

Korbel stepped down last month so he could devote more time to his wife’s judicial campaign. The commissioners presented him with a plaque at Monday’s meeting to recognize his service to the community.

Eyster was the Ward 2 representative for two terms before deciding not to seek reelection. Korbel won the vacant seat in 2013 and became the board president in 2020.

New position filled

The board voted 8-0 with one abstention to hire former state representative Adam Ravenstahl to be the township’s assistant manager.

Ravenstahl, 36, was the state House District 20 representative for 10 years before losing to the seat to Pittsburgh attorney Emily Kinkead last year. Ravenstahl is the brother of former Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

Commissioner Jack Betkowski abstained from the vote to hire Ravenstahl because of budget concerns.

“I expressed my support for this position (assistant town manager) last year,” he said. “I also believe that this position is a good thing for the township. But I am concerned about (adding) any additional staff right at this moment.

“I would be much more comfortable once we see how this year moves along and what our financial situation is,” Betkowski said.

Commissioner Joe Laslavic said the assistant manager’s position was created by adding additional administrative duties to the existing position of communications manager, which is vacant.

“This is not an addition,” he said. “It’s a replacement. We have been short-staffed since November.”

Ravenstahl will earn a starting salary of $72,000 and is scheduled to get a $2,500 pay bump after 90 days. He will be opting out of receiving health insurance benefits.