Status of Frackville PD questioned at council meeting
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The Frackville Police shoulder patch on Chief Paul Olsen's uniform at a Frackville Borough Council meeting on March 8, 2023.
FRACKVILLE – A dwindling police force in Frackville is causing concern for some in the mountain city.
At Wednesday’s borough council meeting, council accepted the resignation of Anthony Kankowski, a longtime patrolman in the borough.
The department, which once provided 24/7 coverage to Frackville and is contracted to provide similar coverage to Gilberton, is down to two full-time officers — Chief Paul Olsen and Ptlm. Devin Dellock.
Ron Jordan, council president, said Kankowski worked in Frackville for 17 years. Jordan, citing Kankowski’s letter of recommendation, said Kankowski left for healthcare coverage and “the most recent stress this job as brought me.”
Kankowski, of West Mahanoy Township, left the department for a full-time position in Locust Township, Columbia County.
He is the second full-time officer to leave the department under Olsen’s tenure without a replacement, which raised concerns for some in attendance Wednesday. Phil Petrus resigned over the summer of 2022, and Olsen was hired in Feb. 2022.
Nicole Russell, Frackville, read a prepared statement during public comment about what she described as the borough’s lack of police coverage.
“Your lack of action to secure appropriate police coverage for the residents of this borough has left us at a great risk of crime such as vandalism, thefts, and unknown numerous activities especially during the nighttime hours,” Russell said.
She said she was aware of one highly-qualified candidate — a longtime borough resident — who had applied for the department and was interviewed, but has not been hired.
“You have and are burning your bridges with the officers you did have or have,” Russell told council. “They are currently overworked and underinsured.”
“The delay and lack of action has put us all at risk,” Russell told the packed council chambers, receiving applause from community members.
Tylor Blackwell, Frackville, questioned why the borough did not promote from within the department to fill the chief position last year. Olsen, of Fountain Springs, was a senior patrolman in Pottsville prior to his hiring at Frackville.
Solicitor Mark Semanchik told Blackwell that the borough advertised for applicants for qualified candidates from both within and outside the department.
Blackwell added that Kankowski previously served as Gordon’s police chief. Kankowski had served as officer-in-charge prior to Olsen’s hiring.
“For someone like that, to leave Frackville. There’s got to be a bigger picture,” Blackwell said. “A veteran like that does not just leave Frackville because ‘I want a better job’ or for healthcare reasons.”
Semanchik said Kankowski did not apply for the chief position.
Multiple sources close to the department told the Sentinel Wednesday that borough officials told officers they were not permitted to apply for the chief position.
Semanchik added that the six applicants for the police chief position were interviewed both by council and a committee of local police chiefs and District Attorney’s Office employees.
Blackwell asked the borough if they planned to hire officers to fill the vacancies.
“The borough definitely is still in favor of a 24/7 operation,” Jordan said. “We’ve never gone away from that and we’ll continue to look at applications and look at officers that we want to hire and get the right fit in here.”
“The last thing we want to do is overwork the workforce we had,” Jordan added, commending Dellock and Olsen for their flexibility. “Nobody sitting here wants our police force to not be a 24/7 operation.”
Since Dec. 2017, Gilberton has paid Frackville $100 per day, or $36,500 a year, for 24/7 police coverage in their borough, which has been without a force since ex-Chief Mark Kessler’s suspension in 2013.
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