New Arnold mayor plans to bring back city manager, remove police chief

Shannon Santucci says she ran for mayor of Arnold to make changes, and some of those changes will come quickly after she takes the office in January.

With an anticipated council majority, Santucci intends to rehire Mario Bellavia as city manager and remove police Chief Eric Doutt.

Council voted to fire Bellavia in October, after he was placed on administrative leave in September. A reason was not disclosed.

Santucci said she has spoken with Bellavia, who she says is willing to return to the city. Bellavia declined to comment.

Santucci ran for mayor with council newcomer Aaron Moore and returning Councilman Phil McKinley. They essentially won their offices in the May Democratic primary and were unchallenged in the general election.

Moore said he believes in Santucci’s leadership.

“When we first decided to run together, it was because of the work she already does in the community,” he said. “I believe she’ll be a good leader. She definitely has the community’s attention, and I believe the community has faith in her.”

A lifelong Arnold resident, Santucci said she has not seen any change in the city for up to a decade, while other communities in the area, such as neighboring New Kensington and Tarentum, have made huge advances.

“My dad always taught us, don’t complain about it if you’re not going to do anything about it. I said, ‘Well, I can go in and give it a shot,’ ” Santucci said. “Now I’m here and got a lot of work to do.”

Santucci replaces outgoing Mayor Joe Bia II, a former councilman who served one term as mayor, while Moore takes the council seat given up by George Hawdon, who did not seek reelection. Debbie Vernon and Adam Zweig remain on council.

Santucci, 60, said she and Bellavia grew up together in Arnold and have been friends since childhood.

“He’s a great guy. He knows what he’s doing,” she said. “I just feel that he’ll be easy to work with. He’s a worker and he has a great mind and great ideas. I know that Phil and Aaron, all three of us, we’re just really looking forward to just get in there and start fresh with him.”

Santucci is a former Arnold police officer now working as an officer in the Fox Chapel Area School District. Mayor Larry Millito named Santucci the city’s first female police chief in 2015, replacing Willie Weber, who retired.

The city’s first female mayor, Karen Peconi, demoted Santucci in 2016 and appointed Doutt as police chief. Santucci resigned from Arnold as a sergeant in 2018.

Replacing Doutt as chief is in no way personal, Santucci said.

“There were guys there that probably earned it before me. They should have been considered before me,” she said. “Like everything, it’s small-town politics, and things aren’t ever done the way they’re supposed to be done.

“I want to see change in the city,” she said. “He’s one person. I’m here to try to make a difference in this community, not just for one person.”

Doutt would return to being a patrolman if he stays with the department, Santucci said. Doutt did not respond to requests for comment on his plans.

Santucci expects a new chief to be in place by early February.

Santucci said she will first look for a new chief from within the department, and then search outside if that doesn’t pan out. She has someone in mind for the position but would not say who that person is.

The third issue Santucci said she will tackle early on is blight.

Efforts at combating blight in Arnold have included the city joining the Westmoreland County Land Bank in 2022 and Arnold being among seven communities where county commissioners said they would spend $10.4 million of American Rescue Plan dollars to fund demolitions.

“We want to work on getting these houses down and get somebody in here that wants to buy these empty properties and hopefully do something with them,” Santucci said.

But while Santucci said she welcomes responsible landlords who maintain their properties, she’s not keen on creating more rental properties and is wary of out-of-state buyers.

“We need to have people who want to buy their homes and live here. Renters are great, but there’s a different feeling when you own a home and the percentage of homeowners is greater than the percentage of renters,” she said. “I think we need to get back to where people know their neighbors and you can go out and say hi to your neighbors and not worry about what could be.”

Santucci will continue running The Tomb, a community outreach ministry in Arnold founded by Bob and Rosetta Lecocq in 1972 as Lazarus’ Tomb that she took over in 2022.

Wanting to have things for kids to do, Santucci said she wants to update and clean up the city’s riverfront, its ballfields and Roosevelt Park. A dog park and a gaga ball pit are being considered.

She would like to see volunteers help stage events for kids once or twice a month and have other events such as craft shows, concerts, food trucks and holiday affairs that bring the community together.

“I have a million ideas. The big things are getting the police department straight, getting the administration straight and trying to buckle down on this blight,” she said. “The most important without any question is to be transparent. We want people to be able to come and talk to us. We want to be able to tell them what is happening and be honest about it. That’s the most important thing.”

Santucci remains surprised and humbled that she was elected mayor. She’s been reading up on rules, codes and how things are supposed to be done to be ready.

“I just want to make sure I do everything right,” she said. “I want to make sure that everything we do is with intention and with purpose.”