Board member ends long tenure
SAXONBURG — It’s the end of an era for the Saxonburg Area Authority — longtime board chairman Jay Rinebolt ended his storied tenure this week.
Rinebolt joined the authority board in January 1978.
He said his health is not bad, but not good enough to attend meetings in the borough building on Main Street.
Rinebolt, who has been staying at Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Winfield Township, has not been able to attend a board meeting since March.
He will miss his work on the board.
“It meant a lot to me,” Rinebolt said.
He cited the authority’s expansion into Penn and Middlesex townships to address those municipalities’s sewage issues as the biggest accomplishment during his time on the board.
“I consider that quite an achievement,” Rinebolt said.
Paul Cornetti, board manager, said Rinebolt provided knowledge, leadership and fellowship to the authority.
“It’s inexpressible,” Cornetti said.
Mary Papik, authority controller and borough manager, agreed.
“He was a pleasure to work with,” Papik said. “He always had time to talk and listen. He cared about the employees.”
Cornetti said Rinebolt’s efforts over the years are appreciated.
“He served all customers with dignity, integrity and respect,” Cornetti said. “He will be greatly missed. It’s the end of an era.”
Papik said Rinebolt was progressive.
“He wanted things to move forward,” she said.
The authority in August renamed the wastewater treatment plant on Renfrew Road in Penn Township the Jay W. Rinebolt Facility.
The plant was constructed in 2007 to handle the additional customers in Penn and Middlesex. The authority now has roughly 3,600 customers.
The authority received Rinebolt’s resignation letter Monday. The board Monday night named Vice Chairman Greg Clifford the new chairman.
When there is a vacancy on the authority board, Saxonburg council appoints the successor.
The authority board has nine seats representing the borough, Penn, Middlesex, Jefferson Township and Clinton Township.
Rinebolt filled one of the five Saxonburg seats on the board.
He was a social studies teacher at Knoch High School for 43 years. His wife, Pat, is a borough council member.
