Joe Fischetti out as Plum buildings and grounds supervisor, employment search to start soon

Plum buildings and grounds supervisor Joe Fischetti has resigned after eight years as one of the borough’s top administrators.

Council accepted his resignation and approved a separation agreement Aug. 9.

Borough manager Michael Thomas said the deal comes with two weeks severance pay, three months of health care benefits and compensation for unused vacation time.

He said Fischetti did not give a reason for leaving in his resignation letter, and there’s language in the separation agreement that prevented him and other borough officials from discussing the departure further.

Council president Dave Odom echoed the manager’s explanation.

“The information associated with his departure was part of an executive session, and I’m not able to discuss that,” Odom said. “We appreciate the service he provided to the borough, and we wish him well.”

The position is expected to be posted this month with an employment search to follow.

Odom said he is unsure when they might hire another public works official.

Fischetti was part of the crews that prepared the parks for all the borough’s major events. He was instrumental in having trucks ready for plowing and salting in the winter among many other tasks. He was featured by the Tribune-Review in May in the monthly Neighbor Spotlight series.

“I enjoy everything that I do,” he said earlier this year. “Not only the people that I work with in-house, but the people that I work with in each organization in the community. When you do all the functions that we do and all the events, you meet a lot of people. It’s enjoyable.”

Calls to Fischetti went straight to voicemail, and the mailbox was full.

Other business

Council awarded an estimated $245,000 culvert repair project to Bentleyville-based Lone Pine Contracting.

They were the lowest of five bidders for the work along Malabar Drive. The road has been closed for about a year.

Odom said crews will build and install a new culvert inside the existing culvert in order to bolster structural integrity. He expects to be able to reopen the road sometime in late October or early November.

“We know that that’s a major road that people use to get to different areas of the borough, so we want to get that opened up as soon as possible,” Odom said.

Resident recognition

Mayor Harry Schlegel recognized Michael Cerniglia of Michael’s Painting for his monthly support of the police officers. He consistently brought police cookies and other baked goods for more than a year.

Schlegel gave Cerniglia a certificate of achievement for his thoughtfulness and service to others.

“Plum’s greatest natural resource is its people,” the mayor said.