RIDGWAY – After nine months without an executive director, the
North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development
Commission in Ridgway has a new man at the helm.

Eric M. Bridges of Bemus Point, N.Y., was unanimously appointed
to the position during a special meeting of the executive committee
Thursday morning.

Bridges’ salary will be $95,000 a year and includes a
probationary period. Officials said funds for the salary comes from
every program at North Central. He will officially begin work at
the organization on Sept. 25, when a press conference to introduce
him and his family will be held at 9:30 a.m. at the ITEC
building.

“I think we are lucky beyond belief,” McKean County Commissioner
John Egbert said Thursday afternoon. “The match appears to be quite
good. I think it’s the right time in Eric’s career and it’s
certainly the right time in North Central’s evolution to have a
young, energetic and well-educated young man with a vast amount of
economic development experience to take the leadership of that
organization.

“He’s the type of team player and manager that place needs right
now.”

Egbert said Bridges’ management style is that of
“inclusiveness.”

“I think you will see an outreach from North Central that will
get out of the Ridgway and St. Marys circle and extend the reach of
(the agency) in a positive way,” Egbert said.

The position has been vacant since former executive director Ron
Kuleck resigned from the post in late December after being placed
on administrative leave Nov. 28. Kuleck’s resignation was effective
Dec. 31.

Since that point, Kuleck’s job was being handled by deputy
directors Howard Glessner, Mike Lawrence and Donald Masisak. Kuleck
served at North Central for 32 years.

For his part, Bridges is the director of the Center for Local
Government and Community Services for the Southern Tier West
Regional Planning and Development Board as administrator of the
Southern Tier West Development Foundation. Prior to this position,
he served as community advisor for the Southern Tier West Regional
Planning and Development board.

Bridges holds a master of professional studies degree in
community services administration and a bachelor’s degree in
criminal justice studies from Alfred (N.Y.) University.

“It is with both pride and humility that I accept this
invitation to join the North Central family,” Bridges said in a
press release. “With a little creative thinking, cohesiveness and a
fresh new vision, (North Central) will be well positioned to help
move the region forward.”

All told, more than 80 applications were received for the
position as part of a search and recruitment effort through J.L.
Nick Associates Inc. of Erie, the firm hired to help in the search
process. From that total, the number of candidates was narrowed
down to a handful, which were then interviewed by a selection
committee and the executive board.

“It wasn’t even close that Eric was the choice,” Egbert said.
“There was a little bit of hemming and hawing on the salary, but
there was a consensus to hire him. Now, the commissioners and other
members of the board need to get out of his way and not micromanage
the operation.”

Egbert said it was likely that Lawrence and Masisak will revert
back to their previous positions in the organization, while
Glessner is expected to retire shortly.

Kuleck was at the center of a controversy two years ago when
10-year contracts were approved for high-level administration at
the commission. County governments objected, saying the length of
the contracts would take away the supervisory ability of the county
commissioners.

Under pressure from the board and media, including The Era, and
at the persuasion of state Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, and state
Rep. Dan Surra, D-Kersey, Kuleck eventually relented, cutting the
length of the contracts and revealing the salaries of high-ranking
officials.

During the height of the employee contract controversy, Kuleck
openly, and at times bitterly, lashed out at U.S. Rep. John
Peterson, R-Pa., who he cited as leading the charge against the
agency with his request to open the non-profit organization’s
financial information for public perusal.

In response, Peterson crafted legislation in Washington
requiring all economic development agencies receiving federal
funding to make their audited statements, annual budgets and
minutes of meetings available to the public upon request or risk
losing out on federal Appalachian Regional Commission money.

The law impacted any agency in the Appalachian Region, including
North Central.

Bridges is married to Maureen and has three children, Shannon,
Megan and Brendon.

(Era Associate Editor Mike Schreiber contributed to this
report.)