Cardinale wraps up long career with Charleroi authority

He officially retired Sept. 1, but he stayed around to help his replacement adjust to the general manager’s position.

Chuck Cardinale has been part of the Authority of the Borough of Charleroi for most of his career — and he’s ready to retire.

Cardinale officially stepped down as ABC general manager Sept. 1, but he’ll remain on as a consultant for now as the authority’s new GM and former solicitor Dennis Paluso gets settled into his new role.

Cardinale started with the authority in 1990 as a crew member working in Monessen, back when there were offices in the communities it served.

“This building wasn’t even here then, and we had three different offices back then,” Cardinale said.

In 2005, he bid into a position and became a water plant operator as a foreman before becoming superintendent of the water plant in 2007.

Nearly a decade later, in 2016, he became assistant to then general manager Ed Golanka, who retired in 2018 and recommended Cardinale for his job.

There have been a lot of changes, improvements and challenges over the years.

One of the biggest hurdles — aside from keeping operations running smoothly and a staff of nearly 40 people employed during a global pandemic — Cardinale, with Paluso at the helm and the support of the entire ABC board, worked diligently and was successful in saving the water authority.

Charleroi council started off 2022 by discussing the idea of putting a value on its assets, including the Authority of the Borough of Charleroi.

It took several months, but in November council took steps to begin that process with or without cooperation from ABC.

The authority made its stance clear, passing a resolution against a potential sale in October 2022, claiming the only reason for an evaluation would be to sell.

Discussions with council and ABC continued, and an offer was put on the table by ABC to purchase borough- owned sewer lines for $2 million in an attempt to help the borough address its financial woes and hopefully avoid continuing talks of a sale but that offer was rejected by council during a special meeting.

In 2023, negotiations continued and at times got a bit contentious when a proposed resolution to dissolve the authority was proposed by the borough’s third-party legal representative during a special meeting May 24, where a statement was read that cited finances, ongoing negotiations with ABC to result in a longterm partnership and the need for a resolution of the borough’s MS4 and collection system issues as reasons for the dissolution.

In June, where the resolution was supposed to have a first reading, people packed Charleroi’s community room to ask officials to reconsider.

The late Frank Paterra, council president at the time, after nearly two hours of public comment and working through the agenda, said the ordinance wouldn’t be read and it was removed from the agenda.

On June 28, 2023 borough officials agreed to keep a dissolution or potential sale to an outside company off the table and agreed to allow ABC to purchase the borough-owned sewer lines for $3.7 million, thus keeping rates low and saving dedicated employees their jobs.

It’s one of the things Cardinale is most proud of.

“It was a big deal, for all of us,” Cardinale said. “We all worked together, all of us, me, Dennis, the entire board, certain members of council. I’m really proud of that, but more than anything I’m really thankful for that. We saved this authority from privatization, kept the jobs and kept rates low.”

The rate structure is also something Cardinale has prioritized since becoming general manager.

Sewage rates haven’t been raised since 2013, and water rates have remained the same since 2019.

Additionally, the borough’s Combined Sewer Overflow fee was dropped a few years ago from $32 to $28.

Keeping rates low and service high, as well as investing in the authority’s infrastructure, have been important.

“We’ve invested a lot into our infrastructure and our waterlines,” he said. “We’re working on a $2 million project right now for a backup generator that will feed the plant.”

While it was stressful at times, Cardinale got the job done with a lot of help from dedicated staff who he said are more like his friends and family, including Paluso who was his right hand for two years as solicitor.

When board members learned Cardinale was planning to retire, they asked him for recommendations.

Paluso was at the top of his list.

“I didn’t want to pick who was going to replace me, but I did recommend Dennis,” Cardinale said “He was the right person for the job because he knew the board, he has experience with management and he has been at my side for the last two years day in and day out. Sometimes we were together all day and on the phone all night, so he learned the job by being with me doing it every day. The board was impressed by that.”

The ABC board voted to hire Paluso at its Aug. 27 meeting. He took over Sept. 1.

When Paluso was first approached about filling the role, he did not take it seriously.

“I thought they were kidding at first, but the more I thought about it, considered the time I had spent here, especially the long hours of last year working with Chuck and Beth, I really got to appreciate the job even more,” he said. “The authority has a great board, great employees, a great management team and I felt like I could be an asset in the role of general manager surrounded by so many outstanding people.”

Paluso feels ready for the challenge.

“I am excited for this new opportunity, to continue to serve the community in a different way,” he said.

Cardinale is confident the board made the right decision.

“I know Dennis will do a good job,” Cardinale said. “He’s right for it.”

Looking back on his career it would not have been possible without surrounding himself with great staff and learning from industry greats like the late Walter Hopkins, ABC’s former board chairman who passed away during the pandemic.

“I have a lot of people to thank for getting to where I am,” Cardinale said. “I want to thank Chairman Tom Santoro and the current board of directors, as well as the previous board members during my tenure as general manager. All of my staff and employees here, it’s just a great group. I wouldn’t have been able to do the job I loved without them.”

While he plans to stay with ABC for now as a consultant, retirement has been good and he’s only a month in.

“I’ve been keeping myself busy, I have a lot of projects at home, and have been helping my family,” Cardinale said. “It’s only been a few weeks, but I think I’m getting used to it.”