By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – The Borough Council has hired Nicholas Pellichero to serve as Allentown’s Department of Works superintendent.
The hiring of a DPW superintendent became necessary because a shared services agreement between Allentown and Robbinsville through which Robbinsville provided a DPW supervisor and a full-time worker to Allentown will expire on March 31.
Pellichero will begin working in Allentown today, March 30, according to a resolution that was passed by council President Wil Borkowski and councilmen Robert Schmitt and Thomas Fritts on March 16.
Pellichero will work 40 hours a week and was hired from March 30 through Dec. 31. His annual salary will be $47,000 (pro-rated) and he will not receive health benefits or paid time off, according to the resolution.
Robbinsville officials previously informed their counterparts in Allentown that the reason they chose not to renew the shared services agreement was due to an increase in employees’ responsibilities in Robbinsville. Two Robbinsville DPW employees who have been reporting to Allentown will instead be assigned tasks in Robbinsville.
The agreement between the two municipalities was in place for nine years.
Allentown officials have indicated they may hire a part-time DPW employee to assist Pellichero. The borough has its own equipment and a DPW building.
Pellichero will be responsible for planning, scheduling, directing, managing and actively participating in the coordination and performance of daily and seasonal operations.
He will be responsible for ensuring the maintenance and repair of the borough’s infrastructure, including parks, recreational fields, public buildings, vehicles and equipment; and the oversight of the effective delivery of borough services including ice and snow removal, trash and recycling removal, brush and leaf collection; and road maintenance and repair, according to a job description provided by Mayor Greg Westfall.
During the council meeting on March 16, the governing body passed a resolution approving a shared services agreement with Robbinsville for a temporary public works employee at a cost of $270.40 per day for a maximum of 20 days per year. The agreement runs from April 1 through Dec. 31.
Westfall said the temporary employee supplied by Robbinsville will fill in when Allentown’s DPW superintendent is sick or on vacation. The employees’s duties could include brush pickup, lawn mowing, snow plowing, etc., according to the mayor.
In other business, the council accepted the resignation of Eileen Kuzma from the Upper Freehold-Allentown Municipal Drug and Alcohol Alliance. Kuzma had been appointed for the term of Jan. 3 through Dec. 31, 2017. No replacement was named.
The council accepted the resignation of Heather Bruno from the Economic Development Commission. Bruno had been appointed for the term of Feb. 14, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2018. With the advice and consent of council, Westfall appointed Ed Havens to the commission to replace Bruno.
Finally, Westfall appointed Betty Elder as Allentown’s representative to the Monmouth County Municipal Coordinating Council for the Monmouth County Division on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services. Elder’s term will run through Dec. 31.
