Coaldale appoints new member to water authority

Coaldale has appointed a new member to one of its seats on the Lansford-Coaldale Joint Water Authority.

Keith Krapf was appointed to one of the borough’s two four-year seats on the board.

Council voted unanimously with Mike Doerr and Tom Keerans absent. President Angela Krapf abstained from the vote because she is married to Keith Krapf.

Keith Krapf currently serves as Coaldale Police chief and a member of the Panther Valley School Board.

Five people applied for the position, including the incumbent, Anthony Kondertavage. One of the applicants questioned if all the applications were considered.

“All the applications we got were considered. Every one got them in their packets and we looked over them,” Angela Krapf said.

Before the vote, Robert Demyanovich, who holds Coaldale’s other seat, endorsed Kondertavage.

Demyanovich said Kondertavage was the most qualified person for the job because he used to work for the authority and also worked as a plumber.

“I would like to see him be reappointed to the position. And all the board members are in agreement with that,” Demyanovich said.

Members of the water authority board are paid for their service. Keith Krapf’s pay won’t be determined until the board reorganizes later this month.

Angela Krapf said someone sent council documents of how much the board members get paid, and saw that Kondertavage’s pay from the authority had risen to $9,000 from $3,000 in his first year.

“We thought it might be a good idea to break things up a little bit,” she said.