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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-11-10 Commissioner Minutes WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022 The Franklin County Commissioners met Wednesday, November 10, 2022, with the following members present: David S. Keller, John T. Flannery and Robert G. Ziobrowski. Chairman Keller presided and after calling the meeting to order, a Moment of Silence, and the Pledge of Allegiance, proceeded with the business of the day. The meeting was live streamed. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved to adopt the agenda. Valerie Jordan from Fayetteville, provided public comment and stated that she is happy and Doug Mastriano and Oz is still an active voter in his home state and still does a mail-in ballot. She was told that the mail-in ballot process is bad but her and her husband vote that way and feel it is safe. She heard that Doug may step down and someone may replace him and she is hoping that John is not that person. She is worried about the one person that may take his that it has left her. She wants adults to act like adults. Ms. Jordan read another email addressed to her fellow Americans reg she wants his replacement to work for all of them. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved all bills presented and ordered paid. The minutes of the November 2, 2022 meeting were reviewed. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the minutes. The Board reviewed Agreements, Contracts and Reports. Carrie Gray, County Administrator, wanted to mention t a reflection of the Department of Emergency Services modifying some of the construction activities for remodeling to achieve savings. The items will be decided upon in the afternoon session. Justin Slep, Director of Veterans Affairs, provided an update on veteran benefits and funding. Mr. Slep explained that today he will talk about the increase in funding and the changes and major impacts his office has made over the years since he started in 2014. He thanked the Board, the previous board, the current administration and the previous do. He appreciates their support, trust and encouragement to do more each day and he and his staff will continue to do that as much as they can. With some of the growth that has impacted the funding is technology. He has served in leadership boards and other functions across the state and he can say that Franklin County is the tip of the spear regarding technology and he has helped a lot of other departments improve since some are still using pen and paper. The technology has helped with increasing what they do. When he came in 2014 he wanted to make everything digital in the office and to get away from the paper systems. He wanted to get automated systems to help speed things up for accuracy for accountability and quality control which took a while because of all the records they had. They have also increased the amount of services they provide. When he came here there was an average of 500 to 600 veterans each year who were coming through and that quickly increased with the help of an existing staff member to 1,600 to 1,700 in the first year and now they are up to 4,000 to 5,000 they see each year. They increased that with staffing and with the resources the Board and Administration has provided to his office. They will continue to grow that number stop until they see each and every one of them, with the funding that has been increased with Continued on page 2 the resources that were provided to them. They focus on the quality of the claims, each staff is busy for three-quarters of day with appointments with veterans and dependents, and they try to do as many claims they can as possible. They ended the last fiscal year with a little over $20 million which has changed upwards of $16 million sin grow. What that does to the impact on the community, yes its tax free dollars but they are a department of five that produces and with our cost savings and impact bring that much money back into the county. There provide veterans and survivor benefits. He provided more information on benefits that include: survivor pensions, aid and attendance type of benefits; healthcare inside a Veterans Affairs facility and nursing homes; and a home loan process which is a great program for veterans. He wanted to highlight that they work with the Tax Office, Jail, Adult Probation Office, Register & Recorder Office, Drug & Alcohol, Mental Health and many others in Human Services. He continued that with resources the Board and administration provides to him, he has taken on extra responsibilities as he was President of the State Association of County Directors of Veterans Affairs for two years where he represented all 67 counties. He mentioned other motivation comes from and motivation of his team, the fact that occasionally there are vacancies in veterans affairs offices in other counties on more than one occasion Justin and his team has stepped up to help provide services to the residents of those counties. He goes above the call to help our neighbors. He asked how many veterans are in the county. Justin responded that we have a little over 13,000. Chairman Keller stated that he recalls that we have a higher number of veterans in our county compared to other counties. Justin responded that we are around tenth or fifteenth with our population but we are in the top five with resources that we bring in. Chairman Keller said that we bring in more federal benefits for veterans all but four or ioner Flannery said our Veterans Affairs is something he feels very comfortable bragging about in Franklin County and that complements his staff. He wanted to take time to wish him, veterans, staff and residents a Happy Veterans Day tomorrow. Commissioner Ziobrowski concurs with what his cohorts have said. In terms of survivor benefits he sent someone to Justin whose mom was 96 years old and her husband served in WW2 and it took a lot of paperwork and difficulty but they are getting an extra 500 a month now which that with 13,000 veterans that runs to eight or nine percent of our population and they had Prison Board on Tuesday and the percentage of vets in our jail is much lower than that and any to do with their needs being met by the Veterans Affairs office. We have invested heavily in his office, and they feel there is a return on that investment. He asked how much money is his office bringing in? Mr. Slep mentioned that when he took over they were getting $4-5 million on an annual basis which was based on seeing 500 veterans a year and now they are seeing about 4,500 veterans a year. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked how much money is coming in per year to our vets from the Federal Government. Mr. Slep responded that last fiscal year the amount was $20.3 million. Commissioner Ziobrowski also asked if they are able to provide transportation or funding for transportation to Martinsburg or Lebanon VA medical centers. Mr. Slep said at this time they do not but they are currently looking into funding to provide for a transportation program but right now they rely on Volunteer Transportation Network which operates three to four days a week but it is limited on space availability. Commissioner for the volunteers? Justin said they are trying to work out a program where they acquire vehicles where the VA maintains them for repairs and insurance. We could use them for volunteers that are trained by the VA. Chairman Keller asked Justin to talk to them about the process and lengths to which they have to go to get benefits approved. He stated he hears horror stories. Mr. Slep said that claim work is very difficult and his staff does not do mediocre work. They have to prove some things like diagnosis, injuries and sometimes veterans come to them for 30- get medical records, they drive around the county or state to pick up items so the veteran does not get charged. They have to learn how to read medical records and terminology, apply the law and regulations before they even consider submitting a piece of paper to the VA. They have to Continued on page 3 substantiate that claim every time before they even submit their claims. They attend hearings and appeals in D.C. His staff sees a lot of people and they keep good notes and records. They that some counties are still doing things by pencil and paper and when he came on board our county was not as advanced as well and the federal government has tried a couple of times to put a system in place where all records regarding veterans would be digitized and available and make it easier for county agencies to access information to help veterans, and to his knowledge platform a database and form generator, it only takes minutes and works very well. Chairman Keller said he is glad to hear things are getting better. He mentioned that the Board is highlighting veteran programs this month and they will see him again next week. The Board recessed and will reconvene at 2:00 p.m. for final approval of the items that were reviewed. The Board reconvened at 2:00 p.m. There was no public comment. The Board reviewed Children and Youth matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the updated contract listing for additional contracts and addendums for Fiscal Year 2022/2023 for the Children & Youth department. Contract listing is maintained for proper accounting of all contracts to include vendor name and address, type(s) of service provided and rate(s) charged for services. The Board reviewed Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Cooperation and Host Municipality Agreement between the County of Franklin and the Franklin County Redevelopment Authority regarding the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program ("RACP") funding in the amount of $1,500,000.00 to be released to Herbruck's of Pennsylvania, LLC in connection with its Herbruck's Poultry Ranch Expansion Project in Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. This Agreement requires that the County reimburse the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for expenses and costs later determined to be ineligible, and obligating the Redevelopment Authority to indemnify the County for such reimbursements. The Board reviewed additional Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Indemnification Agreement between the County of Franklin, Herbruck's of Pennsylvania, LLC and Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, Inc. This agreement requires Herbruck's of Pennsylvania, LLC and Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, Inc. to indemnify the County in the event that the County is required to reimburse the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for ineligible costs or expenses pursuant to the RACP funding of the Herbruck's Poultry Ranch Expansion Project in Montgomery County, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The Board reviewed additional Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Agreement of Sale to purchase the building and property located at 1683 Opportunity Avenue for $1,295,000, contingent on final approval by legal. The building will be used for the Jail and the Department of Emergency Services in order to maintain full service levels at their primary location and have enough resources and storage to address public health emergencies. Continued on page 4 The Board reviewed additional Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the proposal from Johnson & Griffiths Studio, LLC to provide the documentation and assessment report of the conditions of the historic Franklin County Judge portraits at a cost of $5,400.00. The Board reviewed Fiscal matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Children & Youth quarterly Income and Expenditure report to the Commonwealth of PA, Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) for the 4th quarter of the fiscal year 2021-2022. Expenditures for the 4th quarter totaled $3,238,438 resulting in a required County local share totaling $647,688. The Board reviewed Jail matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Franklin and Avertest, LLC d/b/a Averhealth for drug testing laboratory services for the Jail at a total cost of $17,500.00 for the period of September 1, 2022 through September 1, 2027. The Jail performs random drug tests to inmates in Booking, Work Release and standard random general population. The service assures 24 hour shipment and prompt testing results. This service will alleviate false positives and extended wait for laboratory confirmations. The Board reviewed additional Jail matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the proposal from Modern Group Power Systems for inspections and a 2 hour full load test required by the State and maintenance work, replacing filters and oil on the generator at a cost of $5,900.00 for the period of November 1, 2022 through October 31, 2025. The Board reviewed additional Jail matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the agreement between the County of Franklin and Motorola Solutions, Inc. that allows Motorola to release the locations of the radio locations including a mapping module that are fully integrated, in real-time, access with critical data, historical information, relevant records and alerts at a total cost of $2,923.63 for the period of October 20, 2022 through October 20, 2032. This is used to track the fleet vehicles in case of emergency situations. It also enables dispatch to view all active calls. It provides information needed for mapping locations without interruptions from other activities. This agreement is shared with DES/911 on mobile CAD (computer aided dispatch and records) system. The Board reviewed additional Jail matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the agreement between the County of Franklin and Terminix Commercial Pest Control to provide pest control service at the Jail at a cost of $2,760.00 for the period of January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. The service covers interior and exterior general pest control coverage. This service will be semi-monthly (2 times per month), unless other services are needed. The Board reviewed additional Jail matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Franklin and County of Butler for housing of Franklin County adult offenders over the age of 18 for both male and female at a rate of $60.00 per inmate per day for the period of January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. This is based upon availability of cell space. The County of Butler - Butler County Prison is PREA certified and abides by all Pennsylvania State Title 37 regulations. Butler County reserves the right to accept offenders at their discretion. All medical expenses accrued will solely be the responsibility of the County of Franklin. Continued on page 5 The Board reviewed additional Jail matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the agreement between the County of Franklin and United Churches of the Chambersburg Area to provide Chaplin services for the inmates at the Franklin County Jail at a cost of $25,000.00 for the period of January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. This service is provided by the United Churches of Franklin County - Franklin County Jail Ministries of Chambersburg, PA. The Board reviewed Property Management matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the proposal from RA Hill, Inc. to provide hauling snow from the Courthouse complex, Admin Annex and Franklin Farm Lane parking areas on an as needed basis at a cost of $4,500.00 for the period of January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m. with a motion by John T. Flannery; seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski. Carrie E. Gray County Administrator/Chief Clerk FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ____________________________________ David S. Keller, Chairman ____________________________________ John T. Flannery ___________________________________ Robert G. Ziobrowski