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<\/p>\nScranton native Sam Kuchwara, 72, a Marine veteran who has volunteered at Nay Aug Park for many years and knows it inside-out, would be a shoo-in to serve on the city recreation authority, except for one thing \u2014 he now lives in Dickson City, Scranton council members said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Council voted 4-1 at their weekly meeting Tuesday to nix Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti\u2019s pick of Kuchwara to fill a vacancy on the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority that oversees Nay Aug Park, according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video of the meeting posted on YouTube.<\/p>\n
Council President Tom Schuster and Councilmen Patrick Flynn, Mark McAndrew and Sean McAndrew all voted no on a resolution backing the mayor\u2019s appointment of Kuchwara, while Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild cast the lone yes vote in favor of putting Kuchwara on the recreation authority board.<\/p>\n
The four councilmen all roundly praised and thanked Kuchwara for his many long years of volunteerism and dedication to Nay Aug Park, but they all said they voted no because he is no longer a Scranton resident. The foursome also blamed the mayor for putting forth an appointment of a nonresident and questioned how much outreach the administration actually did to drum up potential applicants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe administration was made aware that not living in the city was a nonstarter for appointments to boards and authorities, yet for some reason Mr. Kuchwara\u2019s name was still sent over. I do not believe that is fair to Mr. Kuchwara and puts me personally in a terrible position of having to publicly vote on someone that I have a great deal of respect for and know personally,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cAt the same time, the last thing we should do as a city is discourage former residents or community members from continuing to invest their time, energy and even their own resources into our parks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sean McAndrew said, \u201cI would love to say yes to Mr. Kuchwara. He\u2019s an excellent volunteer and I commend him for everything he does. I just wish he lived in the city and that would be an easy yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
City employees no longer have a residency requirement. That mandate had been in effect for many years but was reversed a few years ago under labor contract, grievance and arbitration processes. Council\u2019s rejection of Kuchwara means volunteers on boards, commissions and authorities have a residency requirement, even though city employees do not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also want to thank him (Kuchwara) for his service and devotion to the park. None of that is questionable. What\u2019s questionable is why it was sent down knowing, the mayor knowing, that it violates our policy,\u201d Mark McAndrew said. \u201cWe can\u2019t go down that road where we set a precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schuster added, \u201cThe simple fact is that Mr. Kuchwara does not live in the city. The mayor brought this point up to me and despite this fact decided to press the issue and did so at Mr. Kuchwara\u2019s expense. Tonight I\u2019m going to vote to do what\u2019s best I feel for this body moving forward with this administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
In casting the lone vote to back Kuchwara\u2019s appointment, Rothchild said there are few people who have devoted as much time to the park as he has done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see Nay Aug as a place that everyone can enjoy, not just residents, and other people can care about, too,\u201d she said. \u201cWe get visitors from all over just to see the park, the gem of Scranton. So I don\u2019t really see it in the same light as him beating out a resident or someone else who could be on the authority board. I don\u2019t really think there are many better people than him and I am supportive of him serving on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement Wednesday, Cognetti also cited Kuchwara\u2019s decades of volunteerism at the park, and noted he is a leading proponent of getting a traveling wall honoring the veterans of the Vietnam War and a display honoring the sacrifice of service members from World War I through Operation Enduring Freedom to make a visit to Nay Aug Park this coming fall, on Oct. 2-4.<\/p>\n
\u201cDating back to his childhood, Sam Kuchwara has shown a passion for keeping Nay Aug Park the crown jewel of Scranton\u2019s parks system. His dedication to Nay Aug is clear with his near-daily presence at the park, doing a variety of work including keeping up our veterans memorials,\u201d Cognetti said. \u201cWe aim to appoint members to the SMRA board who want Nay Aug to remain an incredible city asset and are dedicated to its upkeep, which Sam has proven through his decades of service.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview Wednesday, Kuchwara expressed disappointment in the council majority\u2019s rejection of him serving on the authority board. He noted he lived in the city near the park for 65 years and has long volunteered there.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when I came back from Vietnam, I volunteered,\u201d Kuchwara said.<\/p>\n
His more-recent volunteerism has ranged from installing benches and picnic tables to doing most of the construction on an addition to a concession stand building to create a community room. This space has become an asset as a location for hosting various governmental and community meetings and as a home to a VFW post.<\/p>\n
Kuchwara said the mayor, as well as Flynn and Rothchild, had expressed support of him getting on the authority board. Flynn on Wednesday said he initially was going to back the appointment but did not know Kuchwara had moved out of the city \u2014 and that changed the equation for Flynn.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did say at that point I would be supportive, but I did not know that Sam did not live in the city,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cIt would have been a slam dunk\u201d appointment if he lived in Scranton.<\/p>\n
Despite the council rejection, Kuchwara said, \u201cI\u2019m still going to do volunteer work up there. I\u2019m still going to help them. It\u2019s for the people, it\u2019s not for the city council.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In this photo from Sept. 6, 2008, George Lowry, left, and Sam Kuchwara, both of Scranton, display photographs of them taken in 1967 from the Times-Tribune archive as they retrieved a 3 and a half foot alligator found in Nay Aug Gorge in Scranton. They were at the Wild Times photography exhibit held at The Scranton Times Building. (TIMES-TRIBUNE \/ FILE PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Volunteer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/STT-L-KUCHWARA-0514_.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n
Volunteer for the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority Sam Kuchwara installs a park bench in Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Aug. 22, 2024. (TIMES-TRIBUNE \/ FILE PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/STT-L-NAYAUG-1024-04.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n
Three members of the new nonprofit Friends of Nay Aug Park group, from left, Russell Preno, Ed Davis and Sam Kuchwara, at the park in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (JIM LOCKWOOD\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Marine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/STT-L-WALL-1111_5-rotated-1.jpg?w=620\")
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Marine veteran and Scranton native Sam Kuchwara of Dickson City at a veterans memorial flag pole at Nay Aug Park in Scranton named in honor of his late brother, Jim \u201cKuch\u201d Kuchwara, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War who died in 2023 at age 73, and that\u2019s dedicated to all living and deceased veterans. Photo taken Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD \/ STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
Show Caption<\/p>\n
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In this photo from Sept. 6, 2008, George Lowry, left, and Sam Kuchwara, both of Scranton, display photographs of them taken in 1967 from the Times-Tribune archive as they retrieved a 3 and a half foot alligator found in Nay Aug Gorge in Scranton. They were at the Wild Times photography exhibit held at The Scranton Times Building. (TIMES-TRIBUNE \/ FILE PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n