The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority board of directors on Friday approved the appointment of Robert Weimar as interim executive director for one year.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Weimar, formerly the acting director of engineering, will earn up to $350,000 in the role.
Retired U.S. Army Colonel Bernard Lindstrom had served as interim executive director since September. In mid-March, Mayor Bill Peduto’s office announced that Lindstrom would be staying on in that role for up to two years.
In a statement, the administration said that would allow “for continuity of leadership at the PWSA.”
PWSA never formally announced that Lindstrom would be stepping down, but the board tabled a vote on his contract extension in March, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
In April, the mayor’s office announced PWSA was “considering a professional services agreement” with Lindstrom, and that the board would soon ratify Weimar as interim executive director “on a temporary basis.”
It’s not clear why the change in leadership was made.
"PWSA is undergoing critical and necessary changes to deliver better services to city residents, and continued improvements in management and operations are being implemented at the authority,” said Kevin Acklin, chief of staff to Mayor Peduto. “We are pleased that the Board approved the extension of Mr. Weimar's contract to continue service as interim executive director, as he had been serving in this role for the past couple months.”
PWSA could soon come under oversight of the state’s Public Utilities Commission. A bill to do just that has passed the state House and awaits action in the Senate. The Peduto administration has expressed support for the measure.
Meanwhile, Infrastructure Management Group has been contracted to come up with a plan for re-structuring the authority.
PWSA has been without a permanent executive director since March 2016, and has been plagued by billing problems and infrastructure issues, including violation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s lead and copper rule last summer.
