For the last eight years, Cambria Somerset Authority officials have counted on an experienced engineer to keep five dams – including Somerset County’s Quemahoning Reservoir – running smoothly.
Now, officials will have to scramble to find a new person to fill that important job.
Tom Kakabar, who has served as the authority’s manager since 2001, announced Thursday that he is resigning to pursue other interests.
“We accept his resignation with regret,” said Jim Greco, the authority’s board chairman.
Greco will have to step into the manager’s job on a temporary basis. But he is stressing the word “temporary,” saying officials will begin to advertise for Kakabar’s replacement next week.
“This is a role I filled when we first bought the system,” Greco said.
Kakabar, whose resignation is effective at the end of this month, has kept a relatively low profile but has served as the backbone of the authority’s operations.
He was hired about a year after the newly formed, two-county authority had completed the purchase of the Que, along with Hinckston Run and Wilmore reservoirs in Cambria County and two smaller dams.
That $6.2 million purchase from a former Bethlehem Steel Corp. subsidiary brought the dams under public control for the first time.
In his capacity as operations manager, Kakabar has handled day-to-day operations for an authority that fills several roles: It is an industrial water supplier, a public-recreation provider and the steward of some of the area’s largest bodies of water.
“We could not have asked for a more dedicated and committed manager for the system,” Greco said. “He has given us 100 percent.”
Greco said board members hope to hire a replacement by September at the latest.
In other authority news Thursday, the board
– as expected – was able to finally award two contracts for installation of a whitewater-release mechanism at Quemahoning Reservoir.
Chivers Construction Co. Inc. of Erie County has the general-construction contract, set at $832,716. Darr Construction Inc. of Berlin won the electrical contract at a cost of $34,500.
The mechanism, which likely will be functional by next spring, will allow for regular water releases from the Que. The idea is to lure whitewater enthusiasts to the Stonycreek River in northern Somerset County.
The project had been delayed while officials waited for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection. That permit arrived last week.
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