Commissioners to revamp airport authority board
Rostraver Township Commissioner Gary Beck Sr. is one of the members who will be replaced.
By RICH CHOLODOFSKY
TribLive
The board that oversees operations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity is poised to be significantly revamped through a series of new appointments Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to vote on this week.
Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said they will appoint four new members to the nine-person Westmoreland County Airport Authority board, which operates the commercial airport near Latrobe and a small commuter airport in Rostraver.
“We expect they will work to bring in new airlines and improve our numbers and hopefully build on our continued growth through finding uses for the land we own,” Kertes said.
Two current board members, Scottdale businessman Rich Pologruto and Rostraver Township Commissioner Gary Beck Sr., will be replaced. Pologruto has been on the board since 2021 and Beck since 2019.
In 2021, Chew and former Commissioner Gina Cerilli installed Pologruto on the board as part of a restructuring. That move resulted in an ongoing disagreement over the process that led to a new contract for the airport’s lone restaurant and food provider.
Pologruto, when contacted Tuesday, said he was blindsided by his apparent removal. Beck said he, too, was not officially told of his ouster.
“I enjoyed working at the airport authority. It’s their decision,” Beck said of the commissioners. “I have no qualms about it and no ill feelings.”
The pair is being replaced by former Rostraver volunteer fire department President Brian Sokol, who works as the district director for state Rep. Eric Davanzo, R-Smithton; and Dale Landis II of Mt. Pleasant. According to a resume provided by commissioners, Landis served as a U.S. Air Force pilot and works as a pilot for FedEx.
Chew did not immediately respond to a request for comment and said he would issue a statement later.
Commissioners, who are slated to formally approve their board selections at the next public meeting Thursday, also said they plan to appoint Latrobe businessman Edward Sobota and Ligonier resident Debbie Irwin to the airport authority board. They will fill terms created by the resignation last year of board member Richard Ridilla and the death of Janice Smarto.
Richard Whittaker, who serves as board president, Mark Gera and Donald Rossi are expected to be reappointed to new five-year terms.
Irwin, a former elected county jury commissioner and chairwoman of the county’s Republican Committee, serves as a member of the Westmoreland County Transit Authority board.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” Irwin said of her appointment. She also said she intends to remain a member of the transit authority board.
Commissioner Ted Kopas said he was not involved in the appointment process and lashed out at Kertes and Chew for failing to communicate with him and the board members who were slated to be replaced.
“They should man up and talk to the people who they are taking off the board,” Kopas said.
The turnover comes at a time of significant change. Longtime executive director Gabe Monzo will retire at the end of April. His top deputy, Maurice Haas, was tabbed last month as Monzo’s replacement.
Meanwhile, the airport’s lone commercial carrier, Spirit Airlines, is expected to emerge from its second bankruptcy later this year. The airline offers daily travel from Westmoreland County to Orlando, Fla., and in April is scheduled to add seasonal flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The number of commercial travelers who flew in and out of the Unity airport last year fell to its lowest level since before 2011. Authority officials also anticipate the spring opening of a $22 million expansion of the passenger terminal, which is currently under construction.
Monzo said he supports an infusion of new voices on the oversight board.
“It’s a long time coming, and it’s good that it is happening. New blood is always a good thing,” Monzo said. “It sounds like, with old and new faces, we’ll be off to the races.”
