Apr 9, 2022 3 min read

The city of Washington has a new city administrator.

Council unanimously approved hiring Donn Henderson for the position at its meeting Thursday. The hiring is conditioned on an executed employment contract.

Henderson, who is currently the township manager/treasurer for Sewickley Township in Westmoreland County, will begin his new job with the city on May 2. He previously served as borough manager in Wilkinsburg and Charleroi.

Council approved advertising for the position in January, and Washington Mayor Scott Putnam said three candidates were interviewed.

“From those interviews, we basically came down to two,” Putnam said after the meeting. “From those, Donn rose to the top. We think he’ll be a great asset to the city.”

The city has been without a city administrator since October after the retirement of Lynn Galluze.

Councilman Joseph DeThomas expressed gratitude for the job done by other city employees while there was a vacancy in the city administrator’s office.

“I’d like to thank the department heads and the city clerk, Michelle (Sperl), for stepping up while we were without a city administrator and filling in where they could and doing what they could until we procured a new city administrator,” DeThomas said. “We really appreciate them stepping up.”

Council also unanimously approved the request of a statewide Local Share Assessment grant of $100,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority for the city’s streetlight project.

Putnam said there will be some matching funds involved with the project. He explained that a number of lights in the downtown area have been sheared off and it has been tough to get new heads to match the old ones. He also said an energy-efficient bulb was installed in the lights about 8 to 10 years ago.

“They’re not very bright,” Putnam said. “We’re looking at increasing the light on the ground. It’s a safety measure, and it will spruce up downtown.”

Also, two new police officers were sworn in Thursday by Putnam – Connor McGinnis and Kristapher Engel. The new officers brings the city’s total to 31.

In other business, council announced upcoming city events:

City of Washington Cleanup Day is scheduled for April 23, which coincides with Earth Day week. Putnam said there will be dumpsters available at the street department site off East Wheeling Street for residents.

The Washington Pickleball Tournament is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. May 21 at Washington Park pickleball courts.

The weekly Farmer’s Market at the Main Street Community Pavilion opens Thursday, May 19, and will operate from 3 to 6 p.m.

First Fridays begin June 3 with music and vendors at the pavilion from 4 to 8 p.m.

Punam said an event is scheduled at the pavilion for 70% of the weekends throughout the summer.

“It’s been a great asset to the city over the last seven years,” he said.