Luzerne County releases list of new manager search committee applicants

Luzerne County Council has released the names of eight additional residents interested in serving on the volunteer committee that will help search for the next county manager.

The new committee applicants in the order they are scheduled to be publicly interviewed during a Tuesday session that starts at 5 p.m.: John Magagna, George F. Hayden, Patrick Musto, Ernest Searfoss, Brian Dwyer, Matt Mitchell, John F. Newman and Walter S. Mitchell Jr.

Required by the county’s home rule charter, the committee seeks and screens manager applicants and recommends qualified finalists to council.

Ten citizens already publicly interviewed and remain under consideration: Angelo P. Grasso Jr., Chris Hackett, Sherri Homanko, Rick Morelli, Brian D. O’Donnell, Patrick Patte, Michael Reich, Jeffrey Rockman, Alec Ryncavage and Ray Wendolowski.

Council decided to re-advertise for committee applicants because it removed eligibility barriers that would have prevented some from serving. The now-removed ban excluded citizens employed or compensated by any individual or business serving as a contractor to the county or its boards/authorities/commissions. These prohibitions are not required for the manager search committee under the charter, the county law office said.

The charter does require manager search committee members to “possess relevant qualifications, knowledge, and/or experience in the search for, recruitment of, and identification of qualified candidates for county manager or related positions.”

Some initial background on the new applicants based on information posted online, in past-published news reports or from other sources:

• Magagna, of Mountain Top, founded Search Associates, which assists international schools in filling top leadership positions. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he also holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania and completed post-graduate work at Harvard University and Dartmouth College. He has held various headmaster positions and is now retired.

• Hayden, of Mountain Top, owns and operates electrical construction and real estate development businesses in the county, including the Hayden Power Group and the Hazleton Development Company Inc. He has a degree in electrical engineering technology from Penn State.

• Musto, of Dallas, is in his second term as a Dallas School Board member and served on the county Board of Assessment Appeals from 2011 to 2018. He has a bachelor’s degree in literature with a minor in education from King’s College and owns Tuft-Tex Flooring in Plains Township.

• Searfoss, of Buck Township, is an elected township supervisor and has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing as a production manager and quality engineer. He has a degree in specialized technologies from Lincoln Technical Institute.

• Dwyer, of Larksville, owns and operates DM Realty, which performs electrical, mechanical, heating, plumbing and HVAC projects, and was previously assistant operations manager of Dywer Construction. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wilkes University.

• Mitchell, of Kingston, is a GIS coordinator at the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority.

• Newman, of Nanticoke, is a retired U.S. Postal Service executive. He also previously served on the county election board for two years after the home rule government took effect in 2012.

• Mitchell has been the mayor of Bear Creek since 1993 and is owner/operator of Mitchell Financial Group in Kingston, an insurance and financial and estate planning firm. He has a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Lafayette College and served as county controller in 2013.

It’s unclear if council will consider Mitchell because his application was submitted four minutes after the 4:30 p.m. Wednesday deadline.

A special meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday for council to determine the size of the committee and choose appointees. Directions to attend both the Tuesday and Thursday virtual meetings are posted under council’s “public meetings online” link at luzernecounty.org.

Original applicants

A synopsis of the applicants already interviewed:

• Grasso, of Dallas, has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and three master’s degrees, including one in business administration. He works as a therapist at the Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley and previously held management positions at the Luzerne/Wyoming counties Area Agency on Aging through 2018.

• Hackett, of Kingston Township, owns several businesses, including OneSource Staffing Solutions and i2M in Mountain Top. He has a bachelor’s degree.

• Homanko, of Hazle Township, is a clinical pharmacist for Select Specialty Hospital in Danville. She has a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and a doctorate in pharmacy from Wilkes University.

• Morelli, of Sugarloaf Township, has a master’s degree in business administration and works as a software account manager. He served on the committee that drafted the home rule charter, the home rule transition committee and as a county councilman twice.

• O’Donnell, of Kingston Township, is an optometrist and managing member of New Era Eye Care in Shavertown and said he has been an employer in practice for more than 29 years.

• Patte, of Mountain Top, has a master’s degree in business administration and secondary certification in business education and social studies. He currently works as curriculum, instruction and assessment director in the Hazleton Area School District and also manages his family’s local restaurant.

• Reich, of Butler Township, has a bachelor’s degree in political science, currently owns a small lawn and landscaping business and has received both party nominations in the November general election Butler Township supervisor race. He also worked 20 years as a reporter and then an editor in the newspaper industry, first at the Press Enterprise in Bloomsburg and later at the Times Leader.

• Rockman, of Kingston, said he has been practicing law since 1986 and ran a family bakery equipment business. He currently works for the Slusser Law Firm.

• Ryncavage, Plymouth, is founder and CEO of Cybiot, a cybersecurity technology company in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and also a borough councilman.

• Wendolowski, an attorney from Mountain Top, said he has practiced law in the county for more than 30 years, including work as the Wilkes-Barre Area School District solicitor.

Number of seats

The charter requires at least three search committee members.

Council appointed five in 2015 when a committee was last activated.

Some council members are now proposing seven.

Proposals to reduce the committee to three or keep it at five did not receive majority council support. The motion for seven was tabled.