McKeesport Housing Authority director retires
Steve Bucklew will be replaced by longtime MHA Deputy Director Diane Raible.
Longtime McKeesport Housing Authority Director Steve Bucklew has retired from his position, after more than 30 years, handing the reins to Deputy Director Diane Raible.
Bucklew is also a CPA and will be working alongside his son to prepare taxes.
“I don’t feel like I’m retired,” Bucklew said. “My son’s a CPA, so I’m helping my son out. That’s what I plan on doing. I’d like to do some traveling in the United States, but not really overseas.”
Bucklew started out at Westmoreland County Housing Authority and worked there for 11 years. The rest of his career in housing was spent at MHA.
“I think the biggest accomplishment I had was de-densifying units, family properties,” Bucklew said. “And probably the best one was Yester Square. There used to be 204 units there, and we demolished it and rebuilt it to be 68, and we applied for low-income housing tax credits. It was very competitive. It actually took us four applications before we finally won, and that was a big deal for the housing authority.”
Former state Sen. Jim Brewster, the current chairman of the MHA board of directors, said Raible will be the first female director in MHA’s history.
“He’s got 40 years of housing authority experience, and in his tenure, I think about 16 of those years, Diane Raible has been the deputy di- rector,” Brewster said. “So together, they have taken our housing authority to a new level in terms of contemporary housing and running a business through some pretty tumultuous times.”
McKeesport Mayor Thomas Maglicco, who is the secretary-treasurer of the MHA board, said he’s sad to see Bucklew go, but he expects Raible to do a great job.
“It’s a great transition; we miss Steve, and he was great for the housing authority,” Maglicco said. “I’m fairly new on the housing authority, but I saw the work that they put in, and Diane’s kind of carrying the torch, new momentum, kind of what I’m doing. She was behind the scenes and working there alongside Steve, and she’s hit the ground running and is very responsive.”
Former McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko, who used to sit on the board, said his relationship with the housing authority was a good one, especially due to Bucklew’s leadership.
“In my entire 14 years as mayor, I was really blessed to have a wonderful working relationship with the leaders of the housing authority,” Cherepko said. “And obviously that’s the direct reflection on the leadership. Mr. Bucklew was someone who dedicated 35-plus years to the housing authority. We can’t thank him enough for what he’s done over his career to help just better the lives of people within the housing and to be a partner in the city of McKeesport.”
Cherepko added that he’s excited to see what Raible does as head director.
“She’s just such a dedicated, hard worker and has a passion for this,” he said. “She’s not scared to get her hands dirty. You’ll see her out there at times, no matter what’s going on, she’s out there with her employees, getting the job done. I truly have the utmost respect for anyone like that. It just reflects her true passion. She loves what she does.”
Raible wishes the best for Bucklew in his retirement.
“Steve did a great job; he’ll be missed,” Raible said. “He brought 41 years of experience to the industry. So I wish him well on his retirement and anything that comes to him in the future.”
Raible has several goals as she takes over as MHA director.
“Right now we’ve got a couple of projects going on, and we’re doing some improvements at both of our high rises, and I hope here in the future to build a new senior development,” she said. “Similar to Grandview Apartments, a small apartment building, and then see what we can help contribute to make the city of McKeesport better.”
