[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.

Board of Commissioners Meeting August 12, 2026

Agenda

Transcript