Incumbent, 4 newcomers seek seats on Vandergrift Council

There will be at least two new faces on Vandergrift Council when the borough celebrates its 125th anniversary next year.

Five people are running for three open seats in Tuesday’s election, and only one of them, Council President Kathy Chvala, is an incumbent. Council members Vern Sciullo and James Rametta decided not to seek reelection.

Chvala, 72, has served on council for 28 years, the last two as president.

She said Vandergrift has received a number of grants from various agencies over the past several years, and several requests are pending. She said she would like to serve a new term to see those grants put to use.

“We are getting a $338,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in conjunction with the Westmoreland County Land Bank to revitalize Olmstead Commons along Washington Avenue,” Chvala said. “Plans are for a green space and enlarged parking lot with water-permeable pavement.”

The borough also plans to use a $50,000 grant to buy a new police cruiser and to fix the borough building roof.

The borough is working with the state Bureau of Forestry to cut trees around the Project 70 area to bring in revenue, and it is lining the borough’s pool and improving the adjacent community park.

“People are also very happy with our 24/7 police coverage,” said Chvala, who is retired from Oberg Manufacturing.

One of the newcomers is Steve Jurovic, 82, who grew up in Turtle Creek but moved to Katy, Texas, where he had a long career as a designer for engineering firms and opened a window business eight years ago. He moved here almost two years ago.

Jurovic said he held appointed office in the planning and zoning departments in the Houston suburb where he lived and became politically motivated when Katy approved seven subdivisions in an eye-opening 20 minutes.

In Vandergrift, Jurovic said his goals are derived from talking to residents.

“When you come into town, Farragut Avenue is one-way leading out of the business district,” Jurovic said. “It should be the other way around to let people coming into town have access to the businesses. Without businesses, a town dies.”

Jurovic also thinks that police officers need more and better training.

Another first-time candidate is Karen McClarnon, 54, a principal at the former Cardinal Maida School who now owns Organized Interiors. She said she was urged to run by residents.

“I believe we need more community involvement and greater government transparency,” McClarnon said. “We have good people here.”

McClarnon cites the Rally in the Alley event last weekend as an example of people of all ages and backgrounds coming together.

She also feels code enforcement needs to be stepped up.

“The code enforcement officer doesn’t have enough time to work on the problems,” McClarnon said. “The rule in Vandergrift is if the police are called three times to rental (property), there should be an eviction. And that’s not happening.”

Tim Turner, 44, is the owner of Working Man’s Garage on Hancock Avenue. He’s lived in the borough for 13 years.

Turner’s first order of business would be to have printed agendas at council meetings.

Another priority is public safety. He said he would donate his $600 yearly salary to first responders and has donated proceeds from car shows in the borough to the Vandergrift No. 2 Fire Co.

He said the police department needs to look at its coverage.

“The shifts are not well-staffed. They have some crazy shifts,” Turner said. “Plus, we need an internal audit to keep track of the problem homes and see what we need to do to keep out the troublemakers.”

Running on both party tickets is John Uskuraitis, 38, a 14-year borough resident who has also lived in neighboring East Vandergrift.

He would like to see council members be more accessible and make it easier for the community to get involved.

Uskuraitis would like to see more entertainment at the Casino Theater and at the amphitheater at the community park. He also would like to see more support for community groups like the Vandergrift OWLS (Observing, Walking, Listening, Serving), which is a volunteer group that supervises borough parks and serves as the eyes and ears for the police department.

Uskuraitis has served in the No. 1 Volunteer Fire Company for 20 years, part of that time as assistant chief, and also has served at the nearby Markle Volunteer Fire Company.

“I’ve taught first responders at Westmoreland County Community College and at the state fire academy,” said Uskuraitis, who works at ATI Inc.’s Brackenridge Operation in Harrison.