28-05-2025
Late Dickson City councilman remembered for dedication, vision for town
Mike Fedorka had a vision for Dickson City and spent more than 20 years fostering new development and improving a town he cared about deeply.
Whether it was working with health care institutions on projects worth tens of millions of dollars or spearheading efforts for a new Borough Building, the longtime planning commission chairman and four-term borough councilman spent more than two decades committed to enhancing Dickson City. Fedorka, 69, died Sunday night after he was fatally injured in a head-on collision in the 700 block of North State Street in South Abington Twp. He was a husband, father and grandfather.
'There are few people who cared as much about Dickson City as Mike Fedorka did,' said council Vice President and planning Vice Chairman Robert Hall, a longtime friend of Fedorka's.
Hall and Fedorka worked together on the planning commission for more than 20 years while also serving together on council. Fedorka won his first term on council in 2007 and was reelected four years later, serving through 2015. He was elected again in 2019 and reelected in 2023, with his current term set to expire Dec. 31, 2027. He also ran for Lackawanna County commissioner in 2023.
*
Democratic commissioner candidate Michael Fedorka debates in University of Scranton's Loyola Science Center in Scranton, Pa., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)
*
Show Caption
1 of 2
Democratic commissioner candidate Michael Fedorka debates in University of Scranton's Loyola Science Center in Scranton, Pa., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)
Expand
In a phone interview Tuesday, Hall recalled the 9 p.m. phone calls he'd receive as his colleague pored over planning documents into the night.
'He was sitting down at the Borough Building, looking at drawings, just trying to make things better, trying to help developers to move into our town,' Hall said, emphasizing that the planning commission is volunteer work and unpaid. 'He gave 110%, 100% of the time.'
With about 25 years heading Dickson City's planning commission, Fedorka helped facilitate developments throughout the borough.
'Mike always had a vision, a long-term vision to bring these developers here, to add to our tax base,' Hall said. 'He just had it. He saw into the future a little bit.'
Council President Jeff Kovaleski, who was elected to council in 2011, said he could only describe it as a friendship working with Fedorka.
'You might have differing sides on things, but at the end of the day, you're friends,' he said. 'Mike and I really all had the best outlook for Dickson City that you could possibly have. He always looked out for the citizens in the community.'
Fedorka always put Dickson City residents first and looked at things 'from all different angles,' Kovaleski said.
'He was a true community guy,' he said. 'He lived in the community. He coached in the community. He constantly sponsored Little League teams.'
Through his company, Fedorka Cabinetry, Fedorka sponsored local Little League teams for at least 15 years, including the Teener League team that Kovaleski currently coaches.
'I am so proud to wear the Fedorka shirt,' he said.
Despite the time he committed to Dickson City, Fedorka always emphasized the importance of family, Kovaleski said.
'One of the things he had always said to me was, 'Always make time for your kids because you can't get that time back,'' Kovaleski said. 'He loved spending time with his family.'
Mayor Robert MacCallum knew Fedorka for about 20 years, predating his political career, and worked with him first as Dickson City's controller and later as mayor. On Tuesday, MacCallum said the borough had received messages from elected officials at all levels of government in Pennsylvania regarding Fedorka's passing, including Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan and state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-114, Waverly Twp., as well as from representatives on behalf of state Sen. Marty Flynn, D-22, Dunmore, and Gov. Josh Shapiro's office.
'He was always part of the community, and then he was just one of the best people to work with,' MacCallum said, praising Fedorka's work with both council and the planning commission. 'I view Mike as a family member.'
Fedorka was always looking for new businesses and opportunities for Dickson City, MacCallum said.
'You knew things were going to be moved as quickly as they could be — government has a lot of red tape — but Mike was a stickler to the rules,' he said. 'We felt total confidence in Mike.'
Both Kovaleski and Hall credited Fedorka for his role in helping Dickson City get a new Borough Building at 901 Enterprise St.
'I think that would be something that, if you asked Mike, he would look back on and say that was the thing he'd be most proud of,' Hall said.
In early 2010, Dickson City council voted to purchase the building for $1.15 million, and the town received a $5.7 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund a project to convert the building into a new municipal headquarters.
When Lackawanna County put the building up for sale, Fedorka pitched the idea of buying it to his fellow council members, worked with the USDA to secure a low-interest loan and then essentially acted as the borough's construction manager, going to the construction site daily, Hall said.
Carl Scartelli, right, gives a tour of construction in April 2013 at 8 Eagle Lane, that will be the site of Dickson City's new borough building. On the tour from left are: Alan Cerep, Dickson City Borough Engineer and construction manager; Cesare Forconi, borough manager; Mike Fedorka, borough council; Scott Allen, SDA Architects and Carl Scartelli. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)
The previous Borough Building on Boulevard Avenue was cramped with the Police Department working out of the basement, and it was not wheelchair accessible, Hall said.
The end result was a Borough Building with a state-of-the-art police station and great Department of Public Works facilities, Hall said, calling it 'Mike Fedorka's vision.'
Kovaleski also considers Fedorka a key figure in the development of Geisinger's $58 million project to construct a 61,000-square-foot cancer center off Viewmont Drive, which is set to open next month.
'When it's all said and done, to be able to leave your stamp on something that benefits hundreds, thousands of people who have cancer, I think that is going to be his most important signature item in Dickson City,' he said.
Borough Manager Cesare Forconi said Fedorka was a friend and colleague for more than 25 years. He was instrumental in bringing both the Lehigh Valley Hospital–Dickson City on Main Street and Geisinger's cancer center to the borough, Forconi said.
'He was instrumental in developing the policies and functions of the Dickson City Planning Commission, working tireless hours, meeting with developers to help them meet the borough's requirements,' Forconi said.
As a councilman, Fedorka supported council's vision for revitalizing Main Street, refurbishing parks and 'working together with the entire council to make many great things happen for Dickson City,' he said.
'His experience will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace,' Forconi said. 'We are all saddened by his untimely passing.'
The borough hung bunting Tuesday on its Borough Building and flew its flags at half-staff in honor of Fedorka, Kovaleski said. Borough officials are now seeking legal advice for the processes to fill Fedorka's seats on planning and council.
