Lower Burrell appoints Greg Primm as manager; Ron Welker picked for council vacancy

It takes Greg Primm 21 minutes to drive from his Kiski Township home to Lower Burrell City Hall.

He’ll be getting used to that commute come September.

Lower Burrell Council on Monday unanimously voted to hire Primm, currently Allegheny Township’s manager, as the city’s manager.

“I’m looking so forward to working with council, moving into the end of the year into the next couple of years,” he said.

Primm will begin his duties in Lower Burrell on Sept. 1, with a contract period through the end of 2023. At that time, council will consider renewing his contract for two additional years.

His salary through the end of 2023 will be $120,000, according to city officials, with a 2024 anticipated salary of $123,000 and a 2025 anticipated salary of $126,000.

Primm will replace interim Manager Jason Dailey of Dailey Operations Consulting LLC. Dailey took over for Amy Rockwell, who became Harrison’s manager in December.

Primm is no stranger to public service. He is from the DuBois area and began his career in 1991 as the manager of Falls Creek, a small borough of about 1,000 people in Jefferson County.

“I tell people that my career found me, I didn’t find it,” he said. “I just got out of college, and all I wanted was a job and a paycheck. And they picked me for this job and said, ‘You have to have payroll out on Friday,’ and I had never taken an accounting class in my life at that point.

“I now teach the bookkeeping class for the commonwealth and the DCED, and to see where I’ve come from then to now is pretty incredible and pretty humbling.”

Primm was hired as Allegheny Township’s manager in 2009. While there, he secured $4 million in grants for the township and was influential in the Tredway Trail project and developing enhancements on Route 356, officials said.

He recently was awarded the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors’ Leadership Award.

Prior to Allegheny Township, Primm was manager of Penn Township, Butler County, for 17 years.

He also is president of the Apollo-Ridge School Board, a position he has held for more than 20 years.

“I live the life of civil service and I always have, and it’s what’s in my blood,” he said.

He said he appreciated the vote of confidence from city council and looks forward to working with Lower Burrell’s staff and department heads. He also thanked his wife, Beth, who was in the gallery, for her support.

Also at the meeting, council appointed Ron Welker, 52, to fill a seat left vacant by Rosina Albanese’s resignation.

Welker and Mike Stanoski are running unopposed for council this November. Council appointed Welker because, members said previously, he will become the city’s director of finance when elected next year and an early appointment would give him the ability to learn the ropes for this year’s budget season. He works at First Commonwealth Bank.

“I’m excited about this opportunity and also humbled by city council and the mayor’s vote of confidence in me with my abilities to use my knowledge and experience to help the city continue moving forward,” Welker said.

“I’m looking forward to leveraging my financial experience to help Lower Burrell’s department of budget and finance to balance the budget, while looking into alternative ways of increasing revenue streams while also keeping expenses in line.”

Council members expressed their enthusiasm about bringing Primm and Welker to leadership positions.

“We’re building a hell of a team,” Councilman Chris Fabry said.