Rod Stauffer

MONACA - Attempts to have Monaca Manager Rod Stauffer resign or be fired and to change the makeup of council all fell short Tuesday night.

Councilman Dennis Cronin introduced a motion asking Stauffer to hand in his resignation.Although the motion passed 5-4, six votes were needed to approve it because a two-thirds vote was required.

When the motion failed, Cronin then moved that Stauffer be fired, but that motion also failed by the same vote.

Voting in favor of removing Stauffer were Cronin, Thomas Ely, William Mosca, Jim Fredericks and Council President Eugene Caltury.
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Stauffer, who was named manager in November, said he was surprised by the move to fire him.

"All I can tell you is that it can't be based on performance," he said as council went into executive session.

Borough Manager Rod Stauffer agreed with Fredericks' assessment that the borough had almost exhausted its options.

"We've really done everything we could," he said.
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"If we were able to keep this open this summer, we'd have a whole year to look for alternatives," Stauffer said.

"It would be an inexpensive way to get some of the time-consuming labor done," borough Manager Rod Stauffer said at council's meeting on Tuesday."There are still some questions we're waiting to have answered, but it's at least worth looking into."

Council has yet to vote on the proposal and won't until it has some answers about liability should one of the inmates get hurt or cause a problem while working in the borough.

But some residents are trying to head off the proposal before it comes to a vote.

Borough Manager Rod Stauffer said a survey of the park, commissioned by Monaca Council in January, confirms that the decades-old slide encroaches by eight to 10 feet on a neighboring property that a local developer wants to use for a condominium development.

And with warm weather approaching, Stauffer said it's time to find out whether the borough's only water-related recreational activity will be able to open for the summer.

Stauffer said he would contact Monaca resident David DeLuca, who owns the property adjacent to the park, to try to gauge DeLuca's schedule for building on the lot and the three other properties he owns next to the park.Stauffer said the ideal situation for the borough would be if DeLuca isn't prepared to start building until the fall, which would give the waterslide one more season.
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"If he says he's ready to break ground soon, we're outta there," Stauffer said.

"We will not delay his project," he said.

But if DeLuca's plans call for starting after Labor Day, Stauffer said the borough would suggest that Aliquippa resident James Giammaria, who owns and operates the slide, pay a small fee to DeLuca, essentially to lease the extra property for the summer.
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That question aside, the survey makes one thing clear, Stauffer said - the slide's days are numbered.

"I don't see any way around it - the slide is going to have to come down as part of the final solution," Stauffer said."We have options from there.We can look at new designs for slides or go another direction altogether.But we know something's going to have to be done."

Borough Manager Rod Stauffer said Giammaria's contract with the borough expires in June, making this an opportune time to review and perhaps update the structure.

"There are new designs (for waterslides) out there, and the original structure is more than 20 years old," Stauffer said."Maybe we can fix the problems with the adjacent lot and update the facility at the same time."

Officials from Widmer Engineering of Beaver Falls, the borough's engineering firm, estimated that a survey would cost around $3,500.The borough would pick up that cost, but Stauffer said it's likely that Giammaria would be responsible for any changes to the structure of the slide.
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DeLuca had proposed a swap of properties to alleviate the problem - his four lots adjacent to the park in exchange for six lots the borough owns across Buckeye Alley from DeLuca's lots, Stauffer said.
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"It's not just a swap," Stauffer said.

The borough's survey would be more detailed than one DeLuca had done on the land after he bought it, Stauffer said.

"This way we can see exactly where everything is," he said."It would give us an idea of what needs to be done to correct this problem."

Councilman Jim Fredericks said the survey would be the first step toward a happy ending for everyone.

"If we hurry, we can get this done in time for summer," Fredericks said."At the same time, we can work with a gentleman who wants to invest a lot of money in this town - and Lord knows we need that."

Council voted to direct Manager Rod Stauffer to inform all of the borough's major service providers that only Stauffer or council President Eugene Caltury can order projects that will result in a bill for the borough.
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After voting 6-3 to pay the bill - with Councilmen Dennis Cronin, Jim Fredericks and Thomas Sargeson opposing - council voted unanimously to inform its business partners that Stauffer or Caltury are the only people who can authorize work on behalf of the borough.

Click to E-Mail Monaca Borough Manager Rod Stauffer.Please mark the "Subject" field with "Developer Query."In the message, please leave your name and business name and address and telephone number(s) so the right person can get back to you.The address is:

Rod Stauffer, Manager

Vincenti, who will earn $42,000 a year, replaces Rod Stauffer, who served as borough manager from November 2002 until September 2003.
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Stauffer quit because he did not wish to comply with an ordinance that required he live in Monaca.