Jun. 27—SCRANTON — Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti promoted from within to fill a key vacancy in the Office of Economic and Community Development, tapping redevelopment specialist Selina Andiappan for the executive director job.
Andiappan, 31, joined the city in the redevelopment role in May 2022. She replaces former OECD Director Eileen Cipriani, who the mayor appointed as Scranton's business administrator in May.
The OECD director's appointment is subject to the advice and consent of city council, which introduced Tuesday legislation approving it by a 3-1 vote. Councilman Mark McAndrew was absent and Councilman Tom Schuster voted against introduction, reiterating concerns about appointees starting in new roles prior to council's approval.
"I think as long as council humors this, I think it's going to continue," Schuster said.
The effective date of Andiappan's appointment was June 19.
Efforts to reach Andiappan were unsuccessful, but Cipriani praised her in an interview, noting she's taken on a range of responsibilities since joining the city more than a year ago and has impressed in those areas.
"She has done an outstanding job with our blight and our demolition program," Cipriani said. "She's also taken the lead on all of our housing initiatives."
Moreover, Cipriani noted Andiappan has a "great familiarity" with city code enforcement processes, "so she's really able to hit the ground running."
Cognetti expressed a similar sentiment, noting in a statement that Andiappan "has proved to be a natural leader and a quick study on the nuts and bolts of city government across a range of functions."
She'll earn an annual salary of $65,000 as OECD director. That salary is federally funded.
Permit fees
Also Tuesday, council adopted legislation lowering fees for building permits across the board.
It's part of a broader effort by the city to encourage more development and improve housing stock. The new fee structure continues to base permit fees on the cost of proposed labor and materials for projects, but reduces the fees themselves.
Under the new fee structure, for example, permits for projects between $75,000 and $499,999.99 carry fees of $990 plus $10 for each $1,000 of cost above $75,000. Under the prior structure, those permits would cost $1,185 plus $14 for every $1,000 of project cost above $76,000.
A side-by-side comparison of the new and old fees is included in a legislative memo available through council's online meeting agenda or at thetimes-tribune.com.