[0:00] We will call to order the salary board
[0:03] and board of commissioners meeting and
[0:05] we will begin with a roll call please.
[0:07] >> Commissioner Nera
[0:08] >> I'm here.
[0:09] >> Commissioner Fashi
[0:10] >> I'm here.
[0:10] >> Commissioner Eckleberger.
[0:12] >> Controller best here.
[0:14] >> Is there any public comment at this time
[0:16] relate uh under the salary board? Is
[0:19] there anyone showing online?
[0:21] >> No request online.
[0:22] >> Okay. We'll begin now with the approval
[0:24] of the minutes of the July 29th meeting.
[0:27] >> I make a motion to approve the minutes.
[0:29] A second. It's moved and seconded. All
[0:31] in favor say I. I. I.
[0:34] >> Next is the approval of the salary board
[0:36] actions.
[0:37] >> I make a motion to approve all the
[0:38] salary board actions except for the
[0:40] items that are related to the courts and
[0:42] the district attorney. Okay.
[0:43] [clears throat]
[0:44] >> I second. It's moved and seconded. All
[0:46] in favor say I. I. I.
[0:49] >> Behalf of the district attorney's
[0:51] office, I make a motion for the approval
[0:52] of the district attorney's salary
[0:55] action.
[0:56] >> Second. Motion.
[0:57] >> It's moved and seconded. All in favor
[0:59] say I. I. I.
[1:01] >> On behalf of the courts, I request
[1:02] approval of the courts salary board
[1:04] actions.
[1:05] >> I second.
[1:06] >> It's moved and seconded. All in favor
[1:07] say I.
[1:08] >> I. I.
[1:09] >> I.
[1:10] >> Thank you. Is there any other business
[1:12] to come before the salary board at this
[1:14] time?
[1:16] Hearing none, we'll entertain a motion
[1:17] for adjournment.
[1:18] >> I motion to adjourn.
[1:19] >> We are adjourned. Thank you so much.
[1:21] We'll go into the board of commissioners
[1:22] meeting and begin with the pledge of
[1:24] allegiance.
[1:28] I pledge algiance to the flag of the
[1:31] United States of America and to the
[1:34] republic for which it stands. One nation
[1:37] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[1:40] justice for all.
[1:48] » Get this uh meeting done with a roll
[1:51] call as well, please. Desire.
[1:53] >> Commissioner Anita,
[1:53] >> I am here.
[1:54] >> Commissioner Aashi,
[1:55] >> I'm here. Commission Iber.
[1:57] >> Um, if anyone would like to make public
[2:00] comment on non-aggenda items, now would
[2:03] be the time. I don't think we have
[2:05] anyone in the room interested in that.
[2:07] Is there anyone showing online?
[2:08] >> No request only.
[2:10] >> Okay. So, we will move into a really, I
[2:15] think, delightful opportunity for us
[2:17] here today. We are going to be uh
[2:20] issuing a proclamation uh recognizing
[2:24] Parker Skip Coons. I never knew it was
[2:27] Parker. I've only known you by Skip
[2:29] forever. Who is uh celebrating 47 years
[2:33] of service on the Cumberland County
[2:35] Industrial Development Authority Board.
[2:38] And I'm going to read the proclamation
[2:40] and then we've got a few folks from the
[2:43] board that are going to join Skip and
[2:45] we'll come on up and get some pictures.
[2:48] But first, the proclamation reads as
[2:50] follows. Cumberland County recognizes
[2:54] Skip Coons for distinguished service.
[2:56] Whereas for 47 years, Parker Skip Coons
[3:00] has served the Cumberland County
[3:01] Industrial Development Authority Board
[3:04] with dedication, institutional
[3:06] knowledge, and a sustained commitment to
[3:08] helping businesses grow, invest, and
[3:11] create opportunities in the county and
[3:13] surrounding region. And whereas since
[3:16] joining the board in 1979,
[3:19] Skip has helped advance its mission of
[3:22] providing lowinterest financing,
[3:24] administering grant funding, and
[3:26] delivering technical assistance to
[3:28] developers, industries, nonprofits, and
[3:31] other economic development
[3:32] organizations. And whereas through his
[3:35] continuous service, Skip assisted in
[3:38] advancing multiple projects across South
[3:40] Central Pennsylvania and helped provide
[3:43] funding solutions to support business
[3:45] investment and project development. And
[3:48] whereas Skip is known for contributing
[3:50] to financing efforts for projects
[3:52] including the hotel in downtown Carlile,
[3:55] known now as the Comfort Inn in Suites.
[3:58] and whereas his decades of service,
[4:00] steady leadership, and commitment to
[4:03] community reflect the highest standards
[4:05] of public service and civic dedication.
[4:08] Now, therefore, the Cumberland County
[4:10] Board of Commissioners hereby recognizes
[4:13] Parker Skip Coons for his distinguished
[4:16] commitment to the Cumberland County
[4:18] Industrial Development Board. May we all
[4:21] be fortunate enough to have someone like
[4:24] Skip Coons whose dedication, commitment,
[4:26] and public service set such a strong
[4:29] example for the community. And that is
[4:31] presented on this 12th day of August.
[4:34] Wonderful. Skip, thank you for being
[4:36] here. And come on up.
[4:43] We have Skip and joining him. We have we
[4:47] have um the chairman of the Industrial
[4:50] Development Authority Kentucky and the
[4:53] secretary uh Jim Ross. So we have two
[4:56] board members with us here.
[4:59] [laughter]
[5:04] My pleasure
[5:06] together real.
[5:08] So Skip, if you have any words of wisdom
[5:11] you'd like to offer us, we would be
[5:13] happy to hear them. The only words of
[5:16] wisdom I can say is that
[5:20] in 1979 when rates were as high as 23%.
[5:25] Wow.
[5:26] >> And poor soul people wanted to expand
[5:28] their business. The IDA which was set up
[5:32] by the state I believe
[5:34] was a wonderful thing because you could
[5:36] get 11% instead of 23. [laughter]
[5:39] And 11% at that time was a great deal.
[5:42] It was a wonderful deal for the
[5:44] financial institutions. These guys at
[5:46] Farmers, by the way, everybody [snorts]
[5:48] remembers Farmers Trust. They'd take
[5:50] anything we could give them. And so, it
[5:53] was to me
[5:56] a nice place to do business.
[5:59] >> Wonderful. Thank you, chairman. Do you
[6:02] have anything you'd like to offer?
[6:03] >> It's been a pleasure. Skip was when you
[6:05] stop and think about it, I won't tell
[6:07] you how old I was when he was appointed.
[6:10] [laughter] He had a good start on me and
[6:12] I couldn't have asked for better teacher
[6:14] in this process. Wonderful historian and
[6:16] fully engaged. He was never He's known
[6:19] on our board as somebody that will voice
[6:22] his opinion and not a long way about it.
[6:25] Yeah. So, it was very good and Skip, it
[6:27] really has been a pleasure working with
[6:29] you. Look forward to calling up and say,
[6:31] "Hey, Skip, remember this?" [laughter]
[6:34] >> Thank you.
[6:34] >> Jim, did you have any thoughts you
[6:36] wanted to add as well?
[6:37] >> Very briefly. Ken summarized everything
[6:40] very beautifully and I just want to
[6:42] congratulate Skip first. Thank you.
[6:44] >> Wonderful.
[6:45] >> Let's get we'll get a few formal posed
[6:48] pictures. I don't know if we can.
[6:50] [laughter] Okay. How we want to squeeze
[6:52] in a little bit.
[6:54] >> I said we need on [clears throat]
[6:55] here for us to know where we are to be.
[6:57] Okay. There's the camera. [laughter] All
[6:59] right. Everyone look here. I'm going to
[7:01] take several.
[7:08] » All right. Thank you.
[7:09] >> Perfect. Thank you. Thank you all so
[7:11] much, gentlemen. Thank you.
[7:12] >> Thank you. Thank you.
[7:14] >> Thank you.
[7:15] >> You guys are welcome to stay or you can
[7:17] certainly skip out.
[7:20] [laughter]
[7:21] >> These boys, these boys are out of here.
[7:27] Congratulations.
[7:31] » [clears throat]
[7:34] » All right,
[7:36] that takes us then to the consent
[7:39] agenda. And pinch hitting for us today,
[7:42] we have our CFO, Paul Landers, and I
[7:45] will turn it over to him.
[7:46] >> Thank you, Commissioner. This takes us
[7:48] to our consent agenda, which consists of
[7:50] items 5 through 13. The following is a
[7:52] list of routine items that do not appear
[7:54] to be controversial in nature and which
[7:56] seem to not require additional
[7:57] discussion. If discussion is desired on
[8:00] any particular item, any member of the
[8:02] board of commissioners or the public may
[8:04] request that the item be removed from
[8:05] the consent agenda and that item will be
[8:08] considered separately under the regular
[8:09] agenda. The remaining items will be
[8:12] acted upon through one motion. Does
[8:14] anyone have any questions?
[8:16] >> Not hearing none. Seeing none, uh, can I
[8:18] get a request to approve?
[8:20] >> I move to approve the consent agenda.
[8:23] >> Second.
[8:23] >> It's moved and seconded. All in favor
[8:25] say I. I. I
[8:28] >> thank you commissioners. This takes us
[8:30] into our regular agenda. The following
[8:32] is a list of non-rine items that will be
[8:34] discussed and may be acted upon
[8:36] individually. I will now hand it over to
[8:38] Angela. Thank you, Paul. All right. The
[8:41] contracting grants portion of the agenda
[8:43] begins with agenda item 14. And I will
[8:45] call on Kim Winton to discuss the
[8:46] contract addendum for aging and
[8:48] community services. Good afternoon, Kim.
[8:50] >> Hi, good afternoon. Good afternoon,
[8:51] commissioners. We are asking for
[8:53] approval for an amendment for Mayor
[8:55] Nantha. Uh they serve at risk
[8:57] individuals, low-income families,
[8:59] veterans, and disabled residents in
[9:01] Kland County by providing uh budget
[9:04] counseling, money management, rep pay
[9:06] services, and financial education in the
[9:09] homeless assistance program.
[9:14] » Any questions?
[9:15] >> I move to approve. Second.
[9:17] >> It's moved and seconded. All in favor
[9:19] say I. I. I. Thank you, Kim.
[9:22] >> Thank you.
[9:23] >> Takes us to agenda item 15, and I will
[9:25] call in Jamie Vyber to discuss the
[9:26] contracts for children and youth. Good
[9:28] afternoon, Jamie.
[9:29] >> Good afternoon. Uh the first contract I
[9:31] have is for Bethany Home Incorporated.
[9:33] They provide residential, group home,
[9:35] and I services. They are requesting
[9:38] increases to their levels of care
[9:40] ranging from 4.83%
[9:42] to 9.29%
[9:44] for the 2627 fiscal year.
[9:47] The next contract is with Daring
[9:49] Consultant Group. Um we are using the
[9:51] same program uh that the county uses for
[9:53] leadership essentials. However, given
[9:55] the size of our management team um and
[9:58] the spaces the limited spaces available
[10:00] through the county program uh we wanted
[10:02] to make sure our management team got
[10:05] through this process um sooner rather
[10:07] than later. So we are contracting with
[10:09] Daring separately uh and we did put it
[10:11] in our needs space budget um and we are
[10:13] doing their leadership essential program
[10:15] uh for our management team here starting
[10:17] the end of this month.
[10:20] uh Hugh S. Smith, PhD and Associates. Uh
[10:23] they provide multiple evaluations and
[10:25] assessments for clients to allow for
[10:27] better service planning. Uh their rates
[10:29] are set by the behavioral health system.
[10:32] We don't use them often, but whenever we
[10:34] need evaluations or assessments, we have
[10:35] the ability to pay for them if the child
[10:37] or the youth does not have insurance. Um
[10:40] their rates are increasing uh ranging
[10:42] from 8.33% to 25%. And again, we don't
[10:46] use all of their programs, but they're
[10:47] there in the event that we would need
[10:49] them.
[10:51] Language Service Associates Incorporated
[10:53] provides interpreting and document
[10:54] translation services. The only increase
[10:57] to their rates for 2627 is their
[10:59] increase to their mileage reimbursement
[11:01] rate.
[11:03] And the last one I have is the Bear
[11:04] Foundation of Pennsylvania Incorporated.
[11:06] They provide multiple levels of foster
[11:08] care and kinship care services as well
[11:11] as providing transportation through the
[11:12] ESSA program. They are requesting
[11:14] minimal increases to their levels of
[11:16] care ranging from.97% to 5% for 2627.
[11:22] Any questions?
[11:25] » I move to approve.
[11:26] >> Second.
[11:27] >> Moved and seconded. All in favor say I.
[11:29] I.
[11:30] >> Thank you, Jamie.
[11:31] >> Thank you.
[11:33] >> That takes us to agenda item 16. And I
[11:35] will call on Melissa Calanelli to
[11:36] discuss the contract for court
[11:37] administration.
[11:38] >> Good afternoon, commissioners. Um, we
[11:40] are requesting approval of contract with
[11:42] URK. Um they provide mobile competency
[11:44] restoration services for community-
[11:46] based defendants as well as assisting in
[11:49] maintaining competency for both
[11:51] community- based and incarcerated
[11:53] defendants. This contract will guarantee
[11:55] availability of those services to these
[11:57] clients. Um they are actually looking at
[11:59] hiring a rep in our area which will also
[12:01] reduce the travel time that uh
[12:03] defendants would need to travel to um
[12:05] meet their obligations for competency
[12:07] restoration. [snorts]
[12:10] >> Any questions? I do not have any.
[12:13] So, there's no dollar amount on this.
[12:15] >> It is an hourly. It is either a flat
[12:17] rate um weekly amount or an hourly. And
[12:22] it depending on the defendants's needs
[12:25] will determine which one makes the most
[12:27] sense. If they need to be seen much more
[12:28] frequently, we would go with the flat
[12:30] rate weekly. Um if they need to be seen
[12:33] much much less frequently, we would go
[12:35] with the hourly, which would work out
[12:37] less. The comment field in on the box in
[12:39] the cover sheet has the rates listed
[12:41] there.
[12:43] >> I'm really sorry and I'm not trying to
[12:45] >> 532 per week per case.
[12:47] >> I'm not trying to be out too or
[12:49] quarterly rate
[12:51] here at the bottom of the box.
[12:53] >> It is very small.
[12:54] >> I apologize. It is it is very tiny when
[12:56] it's printed out. So it's 532 per week
[12:59] per case and the quarter quarterly
[13:02] hourly rate is $73.90
[13:06] with the min minimum of servicing
[13:08] consumer two times weekly unless
[13:12] in maintenance then service
[13:16] something a week one time at least
[13:19] [snorts]
[13:20] minimum of servicing consumer two times
[13:22] weekly unless maintenance then they're
[13:24] serviced one time a
[13:31] at 532 a week for case.
[13:34] We'll do the analysis of which way is
[13:36] the most cost effective
[13:38] before and the that's the way the
[13:41] contracts that's why the contracts the
[13:42] way it is. I didn't want them to lock us
[13:44] into one or the other. the the team for
[13:48] their competency which involves mental
[13:49] health and other county agencies will
[13:52] determine which track kind of they need
[13:54] to take
[13:56] as far as the number of times they need
[13:57] to be seen.
[13:58] >> Okay. So, Mari won't be deciding that.
[14:01] Our team won't be deciding that.
[14:02] >> I'm assuming Mar will make
[14:04] recommendations based on their
[14:05] assessment, but our team will decide
[14:07] which track they're going to go in and
[14:08] follow. They're going to be seen.
[14:10] [snorts]
[14:14] This is new.
[14:15] >> We have been using them on an ad hoc
[14:18] basis. We spent about $10,000 last year.
[14:21] Um, if we don't have a contract with
[14:24] them, we would need to contract with
[14:26] them individually for each individual
[14:27] defendant. There are currently five and
[14:30] that would also delay services as we
[14:31] went through the contract process.
[14:34] >> I would move to approve.
[14:36] >> Second.
[14:36] >> Moved and seconded. All in favor say I.
[14:39] I. Thank you. Thank you.
[14:43] That takes us to agenda item 17 and I
[14:46] will call on Eric Ravenovich to discuss
[14:47] a contract for the district attorney's
[14:49] office FID. Good afternoon, Eric.
[14:54] [snorts]
[14:56] >> Good afternoon, commissioners. Uh the
[14:58] contract before you is for Thermal
[15:00] Electron Corporation
[15:03] uh
[15:04] >> and it's it's for the uh contract to
[15:08] cover our uh instruments in the
[15:11] laboratory. It's $127,826.99.
[15:16] Represents a small decrease from last
[15:19] year.
[15:20] >> And I ask for commissioner's approval.
[15:24] >> I will move to approve.
[15:25] >> Second.
[15:26] >> It's moved and seconded. All in favor
[15:27] say I.
[15:28] >> I. I.
[15:29] >> Thank you, Eric.
[15:31] >> Thank you.
[15:32] >> Takes us to agenda item 18. And I will
[15:34] call on Holly Sherman to discuss the
[15:35] contracts for human resources. Good
[15:37] afternoon, Holly.
[15:38] >> Good afternoon. Um, the first contract
[15:40] is uh, Diesa Global Global Solutions
[15:43] Doing Business as Castle Branch. We're
[15:45] asking for a one-year extension. On this
[15:47] contract is for our employment
[15:49] background checks for all of our new
[15:51] hires. The reason we're asking for just
[15:53] a one-year extension is that we're
[15:54] continuing to explore alternative
[15:56] vendors who um will be able to link
[15:59] directly with our new applicant tracking
[16:01] system. So, we would like to continue
[16:04] for one year while we explore other
[16:05] options.
[16:07] The other contract is for Calair and
[16:10] that is our current applicant tracking
[16:12] system and we are asking for a uh
[16:15] extension till January of 2027 that
[16:17] allows us to get to the implementation
[16:19] of our new applicant tracking system and
[16:21] a little bit of overlap to get us up and
[16:24] running.
[16:28] probably if if we end up not getting the
[16:30] new system up and running in time, is
[16:32] there a month option to just ex continue
[16:35] to extend this on a monthly basis or no?
[16:38] With Kelair?
[16:39] >> Well, I certainly hope that does that
[16:40] does not happen.
[16:42] >> I [laughter] hope not.
[16:44] >> Um, but yes, we could certainly explore
[16:45] that with him if we had to.
[16:48] >> Okay, great. Thank you. I move to
[16:50] approve. Second.
[16:51] >> Moved and seconded. All in favor say I.
[16:53] >> I.
[16:54] >> Thank you.
[16:55] Holly.
[16:57] That takes us to agenda item 19. We
[17:00] saved the best for last, Miranda, and
[17:01] she'll be discussing the contracts for
[17:02] MHID.
[17:05] >> And it does.
[17:06] >> Good afternoon.
[17:07] >> I do have a list of contracts for you
[17:10] today. Um the first bunch of contracts
[17:13] or the first group here, these are all
[17:15] increases to fiscal year 2526 early
[17:19] intervention contracts. This is due to
[17:22] providing additional services that were
[17:24] not covered by medical assistance. The
[17:26] first is for Invo Healthcare providing
[17:29] um evaluations for us. This is an
[17:32] increase of $24,251
[17:35] bringing their total contract to
[17:36] $156,000.
[17:39] Next, we have pediatric therapy
[17:41] specialists of South Central PA. They
[17:43] provide occupational, physical, and
[17:45] speech therapies as well as special
[17:47] instruction, increasing $5,567,
[17:51] bringing total contract to 96,133.
[17:56] Finally, in this group is UCP of Central
[17:59] PA. They provide nutrition support,
[18:02] occupational, physical, and speech
[18:03] therapies, as well as special
[18:05] instruction, increasing their contract
[18:07] $10,17
[18:09] for a total contract amount of 120,942.
[18:15] The next group of contracts are early
[18:18] intervention contracts that we are
[18:20] renewing for fiscal year 2627.
[18:23] These are both decreasing from the
[18:24] previous year and we base our contract
[18:27] amounts um based on the number of
[18:29] clients being served and the amount that
[18:32] we have paid um over the last year. So
[18:34] of course subject to change um based on
[18:37] the mix of consumers and how many have
[18:40] medical assistance and may be eligible
[18:42] or not eligible.
[18:43] >> [snorts]
[18:43] >> So these contracts are for ASL services
[18:46] providing American Sign Language
[18:48] interpretation
[18:50] contract for $30,000
[18:53] and then UPMC Pinnacle Hospitals or
[18:56] Pinnacle um infant development program
[18:59] and their contract is for $187,398
[19:04] to provide diagnostic evaluations,
[19:06] occupational, physical and speech
[19:08] therapies as well as special
[19:10] instruction. uction.
[19:13] The next group of contracts are for ID.
[19:17] These are some increases, some decreases
[19:19] from last year. Again, based on the
[19:22] amount of services that we provided in
[19:24] the previous fiscal year and based on
[19:26] the services that have been uh
[19:28] authorized for our consumers for this
[19:31] year. So, these include Aurora Social
[19:34] Rehabilitation Services to provide
[19:37] recreation and leisure activities.
[19:40] We have Bloom Human Services to provide
[19:43] companion inhome and community supports.
[19:46] We have the Center for Community
[19:48] Resources to provide supports
[19:50] coordination.
[19:52] We have Family Links to provide supports
[19:54] coordination.
[19:56] Focus behavioral health to provide
[19:58] inhome and other community supports.
[20:02] Kenrest services provides community
[20:04] participation support as well as
[20:06] residential services.
[20:08] Keon Enterprises provides transportation
[20:11] services.
[20:12] Markei Pennsylvania provides in-home and
[20:15] community supports.
[20:17] One provides companion and other inhome
[20:20] and community supports. PA LifeSharing
[20:24] provides inhome and community supports.
[20:27] The Ark of Cumberland and Perry counties
[20:29] uh provide community participation
[20:31] support, family education, other inhome
[20:33] and community supports as well as
[20:35] residential services and supported
[20:37] employment services. We have UCP of
[20:41] Central PA. They provide agency with
[20:43] choice administration. They also have a
[20:46] community links program and an
[20:48] employment first program. They do inhome
[20:51] and community supports as well as some
[20:53] residential services, respbit services
[20:55] and supported employment.
[20:58] Work opportunities unlimited is for
[21:01] supported employment services. And then
[21:04] we have York County Transportation
[21:06] Authority doing business as Rabbit
[21:08] Transit to provide transportation
[21:10] services.
[21:12] And last but not least is our mental
[21:15] health contract which is a renewal for
[21:18] 2627. It is an increase from last fiscal
[21:22] year due to a court order that increased
[21:25] the amount of um reimbursement for
[21:28] involuntary commitment hearings. So this
[21:31] is for Bareric Sheerer. This is
[21:33] increasing $6,780
[21:36] for a total contract of $33,180.
[21:40] I know I didn't go over all the
[21:42] contracts amounts for all the ID
[21:44] contracts. I didn't want to overload you
[21:45] with all of that, but please let me know
[21:47] if you have any questions and I'd be
[21:48] happy to answer those for you.
[21:53] » I move to approve.
[21:55] >> Second.
[21:55] >> It's moved and seconded. All in favor
[21:57] say I.
[21:58] >> I. I.
[22:00] >> Thank you, Miranda.
[22:00] >> Thank you.
[22:02] >> That concludes the contract and grant
[22:04] portion of the agenda. So, I will turn
[22:05] it back over to Paul.
[22:06] >> Thank you, Angela. This moves us into
[22:08] our next agenda item, the commissioner's
[22:10] leazison reports. Commissioner Never.
[22:12] >> Yes. So I'd like to give an update over
[22:14] the last couple of weeks. I participated
[22:16] on the world affairs council as a
[22:18] panelist along with um Senator Kim and
[22:22] Rothman. Uh the discussion was around
[22:24] the polarization of politics and how it
[22:27] can quite frankly prevent good
[22:28] government. Again, these students from
[22:30] the World Affairs Council are so
[22:32] incredibly engaged and ask wonderful
[22:34] questions and it was it was really quite
[22:37] a a a wonder a nice exchange. Um and I
[22:41] appreciated being uh part of that. Uh
[22:44] additionally welcomed the secretary of
[22:46] the department of drug and alcohol, Dr.
[22:48] Latica Davis Jones to Sarah's House of
[22:51] Hope. Um that program is for supportive
[22:56] uh family supports for individuals who
[22:58] have lost uh someone due to drug
[23:00] overdose. And there are a lot of
[23:03] programs available that support um the
[23:07] individuals facing the drug addiction
[23:09] but not necessarily the families who
[23:11] also go on a very tumultuous uh path
[23:13] with them. So uh it's a great program uh
[23:17] over um near um oh gosh uh near the pen
[23:22] Harris in in Camp Hill. If anyone needs
[23:25] those services, please look it up. I
[23:28] participated in the national night out
[23:30] in Middle Sex and you know thank you to
[23:32] so many county departments that showed
[23:35] up and participated. Um I know at the at
[23:38] Middle Sex there was public safety,
[23:40] LEAPC, victim services that made it such
[23:44] a great event for the kids and it was
[23:47] while be albeit a warm night it was uh a
[23:50] really lovely time. Um, additionally,
[23:53] our participated our Kirk Stoner has
[23:55] hosted a uh a virtual meeting uh that
[24:00] was well attended uh it was on the 21st
[24:03] century road to housing act and it was
[24:08] coordinated uh in addition with Andrew
[24:10] Bombberger from Tri County Regional
[24:12] Planning and Margaret Parsons. It was
[24:15] walking through some of the impacts of
[24:17] this new act on a state and local level
[24:20] and anyone is welcome to see the it's
[24:23] being rebroadcast on the planning
[24:25] department's YouTube channel which is
[24:27] planning in plain sight. So please if
[24:30] you have interest in uh there's a
[24:32] summary of the act uh that was provided
[24:35] by the national association of realtors
[24:37] and what townships and municipalities
[24:40] can do to prepare for that which was
[24:42] wonderful. Additionally, I um
[24:45] participated in the Commission for Women
[24:47] uh meeting and that is a reminder that
[24:51] on Saturday, August 22nd from 10:00 a.m.
[24:54] to 12 p.m. We will be commissioner Fashi
[24:58] and I are participating on a panel uh
[25:01] women's voices in government and it is
[25:04] uh two panels split between folks that
[25:07] are elected and those that are appointed
[25:09] and trying to provide resources to
[25:11] anyone who wants to become more involved
[25:13] in their community uh at a governmental
[25:15] level. So I look forward to doing that.
[25:19] Um, additionally, the commission is
[25:21] working on their health health care
[25:23] resource fair which will be held in
[25:25] October in Camp Hill and I'll have more
[25:27] details on that later and they are
[25:29] evaluating ways to elevate the
[25:31] affordable housing discussion with the
[25:33] housing coalition of Cumberland County.
[25:36] Um, additionally, we had the A board
[25:40] meeting this morning and if there are
[25:43] any folks out there that own a farm that
[25:45] are interested in preservation, I know
[25:47] this is last minute, but there are two
[25:49] sessions being offered tomorrow, one at
[25:52] 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 pm uh at our Allen
[25:54] Road building uh discussing how you can
[25:58] uh preserve your farm. [snorts] If you
[26:00] are interested, please just give a call
[26:02] out to uh Jessica Cohen 24-5362.
[26:08] And the um the actions that the board
[26:10] took at the meeting today, they approved
[26:12] a formal subdivision for the Stark farm.
[26:15] Uh Stephanie updated the board on the
[26:18] status of farms uh the closing of the
[26:20] farms that were already approved from
[26:22] 2023 through 2025. And then she provided
[26:26] a summary of the offers to be made for
[26:29] the selected farms for 2026. Uh it's
[26:33] going to be a banner year uh this year
[26:35] for farms. They are looking at 18 uh
[26:39] preserving 18 farms which will be a very
[26:41] large year for them. And um
[26:45] additionally, Elizabeth Grant offered an
[26:47] update to the board that focused on the
[26:49] steps that they are taking to improve
[26:52] water qualities and the water quality in
[26:54] four areas of the county. They're just
[26:56] being very focused at Wartzrun, Apossum
[26:59] Creek, Bulls Head Branch, and the lower
[27:01] Ltor Spring. you know, three of these
[27:04] targeted areas are rural and so they'll
[27:06] be approaching farmers uh to talk about
[27:08] best management practices and if there's
[27:10] any way that the planning department can
[27:13] assist. And then the one obviously Lort
[27:17] Spring is more urban and that will have
[27:20] um some possible restoration
[27:22] opportunities that they'll be trying to make happen within the creek beds.
[27:26] And I believe that is it for me. Thank
[27:29] you.
[27:29] >> Thank you, Commissioner Commissioner.
[27:31] Well, good afternoon, Cumberland County.
[27:33] So, the Western Council of Governments
[27:35] does not meet um in August, and neither
[27:38] does the Cumberland County Library
[27:40] System. But boy, I would be remiss if I
[27:42] did not remind you to use the library
[27:44] system. And I would like to formally let
[27:47] everyone know that the Pennsylvania
[27:50] Citizens for Better Libraries awarded
[27:53] the 2026
[27:55] Friends Group of the Year Award to the
[27:57] Friends of Simpson Library. And that is
[28:00] a very big deal. Very big deal. Um I
[28:05] attended uh CCAP, the County
[28:07] Commissioners Association of
[28:09] Pennsylvania, their annual meeting. Um I
[28:12] had a day of board meetings because I
[28:14] sit on board and then I had two
[28:16] committee meetings, one human services,
[28:18] one emergency and veteran services. Um,
[28:23] Butler and Pike counties have done a
[28:25] tremendous amount of work in finding
[28:28] alternative ways to make sure that EMS
[28:33] that there's a workforce, that there's
[28:34] funding for that workforce, that there's
[28:36] funding for equipment. So, I know that
[28:39] Stacy sent some things to the board of
[28:40] commissioners. There are um a plethora
[28:44] of materials to read on that particular
[28:46] matter, but maybe there's something
[28:47] there that that we could be diving into
[28:49] and looking at. um the message from
[28:52] veteran services and the emergency
[28:55] services group.
[28:57] You know, there was the lamenting of the
[28:59] state budget not not helping emergency
[29:02] services. We certainly did not get the
[29:04] 911 search charge increase that we so
[29:07] desperately need. Um so, you know, we
[29:10] have to think creatively about how we're
[29:13] going to fund things. Um same thing
[29:15] happened at human services. the
[29:17] discussion of the state budget not
[29:19] really doing what it needs to do for
[29:20] human services. In fact, I think that was a bit of a surprise uh to some
[29:26] people from the state that were there at
[29:28] how that budget is not helping counties
[29:31] to do the job that they're mandated to
[29:32] do. So, those were my takeaways from
[29:35] that and um that's it. Thanks.
[29:38] >> Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner
[29:40] Ekleberger.
[29:41] >> Okay, just a handful of items. So we had
[29:43] this week was the uh solid waste
[29:46] advisory council uh handful of things
[29:49] going on there as you know they're
[29:51] meeting less uh frequently so the uh
[29:55] volume and substance of the discussions
[29:57] tends to be a bit deeper uh those folks
[30:00] are more than up to that task but I have
[30:03] a summary here of just some of the
[30:04] topics. So, uh, recycling grants are a a
[30:08] an ongoing agenda item and, uh, Jud
[30:12] Justin provided a draft scope of work,
[30:15] uh, on the battery education
[30:18] that, uh, program that we has been under
[30:20] discussion, reported on several times.
[30:23] So the uh scopa workbay was prepared by
[30:26] SCS engineers that's going to be
[30:29] submitted to D and uh so the the the committee did approve
[30:39] of uh moving that project forward uh
[30:42] advancing that so that the scope goes to
[30:44] D and then uh we can move on to the to
[30:48] the next step uh on on the grant
[30:51] application.
[30:53] Also the um [clears throat]
[30:56] uh we had talked about the effort to
[30:59] increase glass recycling particularly
[31:01] for the western part of the county where
[31:04] the uh [clears throat] municipal
[31:05] programs generally don't include glass
[31:08] anymore. So, um,
[31:12] the, uh, Barb Arnold, who is the vice
[31:16] chair, uh, attended the PA Resources
[31:19] Council and spoke to the executive
[31:21] director there because the glass
[31:24] packaging institute really has not been
[31:26] much of a an assist to us. So, she said
[31:29] that was a promising conversation. We'll
[31:32] wait to see if that develops into
[31:33] anything. they would really like to to
[31:36] uh [clears throat] advance glass
[31:37] recycling.
[31:39] Um so also just as anformational item,
[31:43] Dickson College farmer is no longer
[31:45] seeking food waste for their interro
[31:47] digtor.
[31:49] See, also on the electronics recycling
[31:51] side, I don't have any new totals, but
[31:54] uh Jud did report to the group that the
[31:57] county's electronics recycler, ReWorld,
[32:01] um has has noted that there's now a
[32:04] requirement from their certifying
[32:06] agency, NIDA, that um requires companies
[32:10] [clears throat] to record serial numbers
[32:12] on hard drives that come into their
[32:13] possession unless the client actively
[32:16] opts out. So there was a lot of
[32:17] discussion around that potential
[32:20] liability for taking possession of these
[32:22] things because of data security and
[32:24] such. So um
[32:27] Jenhip has reviewed the sample agreement
[32:29] that was provided. Uh so the
[32:34] uh feeling is that the there will be a
[32:36] disclaimer sign put at the website or
[32:39] I'm sorry at the uh the recycling site
[32:42] as well as uh information security
[32:45] disclaimer will be placed in any of the
[32:46] documents that that the public signs so
[32:50] uh that the county is not um in danger
[32:53] immediate danger of being brought into
[32:56] any data security issues. So, um,
[33:01] uh, yeah, that opt out is is the
[33:03] preferred way to to go. So, uh, there
[33:06] was a unanimous vote on that.
[33:09] Let's see. Also,
[33:12] should introduce Bob Sabatini. You may
[33:14] have remembered that we had recommended
[33:16] him for appointment. Uh, Bob's the new
[33:19] burough manager in Newville. Used to be
[33:20] the upper Allen Township uh, manager for
[33:23] a while. and he was welcomed to the the
[33:26] group and of course introduced and uh
[33:30] had an opportunity to speak to the group
[33:31] about [clears throat] his knowledge on
[33:33] the issue elsewhere. So I think
[33:35] everybody thinks he's going to be a
[33:36] super addition there. So we're really
[33:39] glad to have him volunteer for the for
[33:41] the position and giving the knowledge
[33:44] that he has. The next meeting is going
[33:46] to be November 3rd.
[33:49] I'm going to try to get some updated
[33:50] numbers from the recycling programs that
[33:53] are on the way. I'll provide this
[33:54] probably the next meeting. The um
[33:58] [clears throat]
[34:01] see we had the affordable housing trust
[34:03] board meeting was yesterday. Handful of
[34:06] items there. Pretty lengthy meeting but
[34:08] really boiled down to a handful items.
[34:10] So, we have the new bylaws that were in
[34:14] development by uh uh Mary Kuna, the
[34:17] executive director in along with help
[34:20] from uh Stacy Snder, our COO. Um those
[34:24] were put before the board before the
[34:26] organization and um
[34:30] uh uh Mary did summarize
[34:34] a lot of the requirements in there. In
[34:35] the past, the organization was um more
[34:38] or less governed by simply past practice
[34:42] as most counties apparently do. Uh but
[34:46] they decided to formalize this into uh
[34:48] bylaws. So that has now reached its
[34:51] fruition. Um let's see other items were
[34:56] the applications for the funding of the
[34:58] affordable housing grants where it was
[35:00] discussed. They have now implemented a
[35:03] formal $50,000 limit per request. Um, in
[35:07] the past, those could be loans or
[35:10] grants. What they've decided to do now
[35:12] is build into the program that the the
[35:15] grant aspect will apply to the
[35:17] nonprofits, but the for-profit
[35:19] organizations that are applying will be
[35:23] uh restricted into a loan status on
[35:25] those. So that's formalized now and that
[35:29] application is going to be posted up on
[35:30] the uh housing and redevelopment
[35:32] authorities uh web page within the next
[35:35] few days. So we heard again from Gary
[35:38] Linker with Tri County Housing who had
[35:40] presented to us previously on uh the
[35:43] Ltor Lofts project that's going into the
[35:45] former Tao site. Um we received quite a
[35:50] number of renderings and some background
[35:51] information. Very interesting. Looks
[35:53] like a terrific project. It's going to
[35:55] have eight units of affordable housing
[35:59] uh as part of the project and the board
[36:02] did approve the $50,000 grant. He was
[36:04] requesting 150 uh and they had some
[36:07] discussion because his request it did
[36:10] come in before they uh uh essentially
[36:13] adopted the 50,000 limit. But the
[36:16] feeling was that the new cycle begins in
[36:18] January. So, he was awarded 50 and we'll
[36:21] resubmit and it'll be uh redone in uh
[36:24] relooked at in in January. Um
[36:28] but the the the advisory group was
[36:33] very very favorable and it's a very
[36:34] good-look project. So, uh that
[36:37] recommendation for funding will come to
[36:39] the commissioner. So, we will be seeing
[36:40] that shortly and it ultimately has to be
[36:42] approved here. Uh let's see. Uh Mary's
[36:46] also going to be preparing
[36:47] recommendations on increasing the down
[36:50] payment closing cost per program limits
[36:53] because those have not been changed in
[36:54] quite a while. uh Gail Galla who was on
[36:57] board did know particularly that um the
[37:00] costs closing costs have escalated
[37:02] dramatically in recent years and because
[37:05] of the uh lack of an adjustment in a
[37:08] long time she advocated heavily for that
[37:11] and um that'll be as I say act reviewed
[37:15] and acted on in November but the group
[37:18] seemed very famous toward that so uh
[37:20] let's see there are
[37:23] had a great discussion regarding
[37:25] just the programs in general, what the
[37:27] history has been. And just real quick, I
[37:30] wanted to mention that we do always get
[37:32] an update on that um the closing costs
[37:37] program, which is probably one of the
[37:39] more valuable things that they do, down
[37:40] payment closing cost assistance program.
[37:43] So, we have a summary of those that are
[37:45] that have applied and are now approved,
[37:48] others that are um approved, but still
[37:51] looking for a location. And the uh Barry
[37:54] did provide the summary of what the
[37:57] program has done since its inception uh
[37:59] in 1998. I've read some of these numbers
[38:02] at past meetings. So there's been a
[38:04] total of 997 homes that were purchased
[38:07] between 1998 and this past month. Um and
[38:12] uh [clears throat] obviously there are
[38:14] some values that have more than others.
[38:16] Anybody want to guess who's the number
[38:18] one?
[38:20] No guesses. East Pensburgh 140,
[38:22] Carlilele at 132, North Middleton 54. So
[38:28] those are your top three municipalities
[38:29] in terms of of offering and closing on
[38:34] those uh down [snorts] payments. So a
[38:37] lot of good work being done there. Uh
[38:39] again, pretty impressive. 997 homes.
[38:42] They're expecting because of the
[38:43] population increase and just the flow of
[38:46] events that the demand for funds and the
[38:49] number of applications are are really
[38:51] going to to escalate pretty
[38:53] significantly. So, we'll be hearing I
[38:55] believe a lot more about that program.
[38:57] Uh lastly, I attended the uh uh local
[39:03] elected officials committee of the
[39:04] workforce investment board last week and
[39:07] uh in addition to approving all of the
[39:11] contracts and doing our our regular
[39:14] review of all expenditures, Jesse
[39:16] McCree, the director, gave an overview
[39:18] there of uh the past year of activity.
[39:22] It was really interesting. So he did
[39:26] want us to know that they had met or
[39:27] exceeded all nine of the workforce
[39:30] investment and opportunities acts common
[39:32] measures for adult dislocated worker
[39:34] programs. This is the third year in a
[39:36] row they've met or exceeded that. So um
[39:40] he really promoted the uh idea that it's
[39:44] we need to do more about telling the
[39:46] story of the organization and he went
[39:49] through a litany of some of the
[39:51] adjustments they're making to
[39:52] performance measures that really discuss
[39:55] the impact rather than just the
[39:58] numerical accomplishment. And uh he he
[40:02] gave a presentation in regards to the
[40:03] multipliers that they uh their program
[40:07] provides. He gave some very specific
[40:09] numbers and uh uh it was extremely
[40:13] interesting to see
[40:16] how it was a bit of a master class
[40:18] really on how to report on on uh the
[40:21] results of what you're doing and
[40:24] uh he also gave a policy overview on
[40:27] things that are pending. He did mention
[40:29] uh some caveats though even though
[40:31] they've enjoyed enormous success over
[40:33] the past 12 months and he noted some
[40:35] familiar topics. The OMB grant rule
[40:38] obviously is going to affect them. The
[40:40] uh un uncertain appropriations picture
[40:43] obviously something we're familiar with.
[40:45] Uh workforce investment and
[40:46] opportunities act reauthorization is is
[40:49] needed and still pending and the
[40:51] legislature has not really uh I'm sorry.
[40:54] The Congress has not addressed that and
[40:56] they don't believe that's going to
[40:57] happen in this Congress either.
[41:00] um Medicaid work requirements uh could
[41:04] push significant new volume of
[41:06] individuals through the uh the the
[41:09] centers and they have no capacity to
[41:12] absorb that. So they're monitoring that
[41:13] very closely. So uh he gave me a bunch
[41:17] of other numbers and happy to provide to
[41:18] others. I'm not going to read all of
[41:21] this. So I think that's plenty. Um and
[41:24] some of these will be reported on the
[41:26] future as well as they progress. So
[41:28] [snorts] I think that's everything I
[41:29] have for today.
[41:32] >> Thank you, Commissioner.
[41:34] >> That moves us on to agenda item number
[41:36] 21, report of executive session. We did
[41:38] hold executive session on August 5th,
[41:40] 2026 at 1:30 p.m. regarding personnel.
[41:44] [clears throat] This takes us on to
[41:45] agenda item number 22, other business.
[41:47] Is there any other business to come
[41:49] before the board today?
[41:52] Hearing none, seeing none, takes us to a
[41:55] >> Thank you.