Whitpain Township manager Roman Pronczak retiring June 4

After 28 years, the last 13 as the man in charge, Whitpain Township Manager Roman Pronczak will say goodbye.

Described by contemporaries as calm, professional, dedicated and a great boss, Pronczak, who has spent 40 years in municipal government, says he will miss his coworkers, but it’s time to move on to the next chapter in his life.

Hired as Whitpain’s township engineer in 1996, he later added on the duties of assistant township manager and in 2011 was appointed township manager.

Holding a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and Master’s of Public Administration, Pronczak previously spent 12 years as director of public works in Upper Merion Township and the prior five with private engineering companies.

Enhanced open space

Preserving open space, creating playing fields, traffic safety improvements and beefing up emergency preparedness during his tenure are among the accomplishments Pronczak cited.

“It was a great community when I came here — beautiful character — and it was important to preserve that character,” Pronczak said. “It has beautiful residential properties and a good amount of open space; we were able to preserve more. It has commercial needs — retail hubs and nice office campuses.

“Centre Square Park is really unique,” he said. “It has almost 100 acres of passive open space. When the turnpike project was under construction, we worked out a deal to bring soil onto Centre Square Park to level it out and built seven fields, which the Whitpain Recreation Association uses.

“We were able to provide fields at no cost to taxpayers.”

Public safety improvements

Among safety improvements made were realigning some “very dangerous intersections,” and putting in traffic lights “to make things safer,” he said.

Also, a lot was done to make emergency preparedness available 24/7, 365 days a year, Pronczak said.

“We made sure facilities have generators, and a lot of traffic signals have generators,” he said. “We try to anticipate things that could possibly happen,” by periodically doing drills and making sure equipment is operational.

“That type of planning was valuable when Covid hit,” he said.

The biggest challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic was probably the “biggest challenge,” Pronczak said. “It happened quickly, and we had to keep operating and providing services, but keep employees safe. People didn’t know what to expect.”

Hours were staggered, employees spread out, some working remotely, and meetings were virtual, he said.

“It was a unique situation, but we got through it somehow.”

Praise from coworkers

“Roman’s tenure in Whitpain can be defined as unmatched professionalism, unrivaled dedication and a steely calm demeanor,” said Whitpain Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott Badami, who has worked with Pronczak since 2018 when Badami was hired as special counsel to the township.

“He has a deep care and understanding of all facets of local government,” Badami said. Though “obviously biased,” he added, “I thought he was the best township manager in the county.”

“Roman’s probably one of the hardest-working people I know,” Whitpain Police Chief Kenneth Lawson said. “He always put Whitpain on top; he’s all about serving the township and the community.

“It makes it easy to work for him. He sets the tone, is always calm, cool and kind of funny, too.

“I respect him also as a big brother I would go to for advice,” Lawson said. “He’s a great mentor. I can call him a true friend.”

“It’s been wonderful to work with Roman,” agreed David Mrochko, Whitpain assistant township manager since 2012. “He’s a great boss.

“He has such a deep knowledge about municipal government and is a great person. He’s supportive and will help and guide you but give you enough room to make your own decisions.”

The township, which has a AAA rating, has a strong track record and a good parks and recreating program among other attributes “established over the years,” Mrochko said.

“I will miss talking to him every day about work and life. I could talk to him about anything.”

Will miss the people

“I’m very grateful I had the opportunity to work for such a great community. I look forward coming to work every day,” Pronczak said.

“It’s been a very, very interesting job,” he said. “I love solving problems and resolving issues. I was able to interact with people — I will miss the coworkers the most.

“I had tremendous support from the supervisors; they always made sure we had what we needed, and there are great community partners and volunteers.

“We also have a very important, good partnership with the Centre Square Fire Company,” Pronczak said. “I will miss interaction I had with them and with the Whitpain Recreation Association, Boys and Girls Club — all of the interactions.”

The 68-year-old Montgomery County resident, who officially retires June 4, said he and his wife “definitely want to travel” and spend more time with their two daughters and three grandchildren.

“I love my job and Whitpain Township,” he said, but “need to spend more time with the grandchildren and do a little more fishing.”

Eric Traub, financial director of Lower Merion Township, has been hired to succeed Pronczak, effective June 5.

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