Westmoreland commissioners said a new warden for the county jail could be hired in February.
Efforts to fill the vacancy left by the September resignation of Warden Bryan Kline will ramp up in the coming weeks, officials said Monday following a meeting of the county’s prison board.
“We’re going to get moving on this. It’s been vacant for a few months, so we’re going to start seeing who the applicants are,” said Commissioner Doug Chew, who serves as chairman of the prison board.
Kline resigned minutes before the start of a prison board meeting in September amid concerns about operations at the county lockup in Hempfield. Personnel issues and a critical state inspection surfaced last summer, commissioners said.
Kline, the former elected clerk of courts for 11 years, was appointed as warden in 2021 and, during his tenure, obtained a doctorate in corrections.
Kline said he resigned to work in academia and focus on research.
The prison board last fall appointed Steven Pelesky, deputy warden for security, as the interim warden.
Pelesky, 49, of Ligonier, has worked in various capacities at the jail for 16 years, first as a guard, then as an officer and later as an administrator. He said Monday he is seeking the job as the facility’s permanent warden.
Commissioners said the county has received applications from five qualified candidates for the warden job.
“I think it is something we can have done by next month,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said of the potential hiring of a full-time warden.
Pelesky is expected to be considered for the post.
Commissioner Ted Kopas said the renewed effort to fill the warden’s position is not a reflection on Pelesky’s job performance.
“I’m not an advocate of interims being in a long-term leadership position. It is incumbent on us to make a decision soon,” Kopas said.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.