North Huntingdon emergency management coordinator resigns

North Huntingdon is searching for a new emergency management coordinator after the man who held the position for 13 years resigned.

Township commissioners accepted the resignation of Gene Komondor, who agreed to remain in the post until a replacement is selected, said Commissioner Zachary Haigis, board president.

“I’m hopeful he’ll play a part in finding a replacement,” Haigis said.

“I don’t want to lose him.” said Commissioner Eric Gass, who voted against accepting Komondor’s resignation.

The township’s emergency management coordinator is a volunteer and not a paid employee, said Jeff Silka, township manager. The township will advertise for a new emergency management coordinator, even though an advertisement is not required, Silka said.

“I just felt it was time to step aside and give someone else the opportunity to serve,” Komondor said Monday.

“He was a great asset. He brought a lot of knowledge and experience to the position,” said Shane Spielvogle, executive director of North Huntingdon EMS/Rescue.

Prior to being appointed as the township’s emergency management coordinator, Komondor was part of the township’s emergency management team. An adjunct instructor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Emergency Medicine degree program, Komondor served on Norwin’s school safety committee and helped coordinate an active shooter exercise at Norwin’s Hahntown Elementary School two years ago.

More than 100 people — Norwin staff and teachers, state and local police and ambulance personnel — participated. The active-shooter drill also included a component where medics practiced transporting about a dozen injured people to Allegheny Health Network’s Forbes Hospital in Monroeville for treatment.