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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-12-31 Commissioner Minutes WEDNESDAY, December 31, 2025 The Franklin County Commissioners met on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, with the following members present: Dean A. Horst and Robert G. Ziobrowski. Commissioner Flannery and County Administrator Carrie Gray joined remotely. Commissioner Horst then presided and after calling the meeting to order, a Moment of Silence, and the Pledge of Allegiance, proceeded with the business of the day. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski; Seconded by John T. Flannery; the Board unanimously approved to adopt the agenda. The minutes of the December 23, 2025 meeting were reviewed. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski; Seconded by John T. Flannery; the Board unanimously approved the minutes. Chairman Horst called Prison Board to order at 10:03AM. Prison Board was adjourned at 10:04AM. asking about two financial figures mentioned: $200,000 and $7 million. She sought clarification on whether the $200,000.00 represented interest earned on the $7 million over a two-year period, and if so, whether the total interest earned was less than $1.5 million. Ms. Gray stated that the $7 million was the interest earned since 2022 when the county enrolled in the cashVest program. Ms. 7% of the $154.2 million annual budget, why is the county not allocating $900,000.00 of the surplus to fund pay raises for county prison guards, emphasizing that the amount constitutes just 0.005% of the budget. She highlighted the minimal tax impact on residents and called for greater transparency, including the release of redacted emails related to the county jail. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated that in his personal opinion,the allocation of surplus funds for prison guard pay raises would not fix the issue by emphasizing that the primary issue at the jail is related to scheduling rather than salary. He explained that while the salaries are competitive, the challenge lies in the scheduling, which does not provide new employees with sufficient knowledge of their free time or opportunities for personal events. There has been resistance from the Union leadership to change the scheduling to address these issues. Spending $900,000.00 on salary increases would not resolve the underlying scheduling problem. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski; Seconded by John T. Flannery; the Board unanimously approved to adopt the consent agenda to include: Vouchers in the amount of $962,774.54. Agreement between the County of Franklin and Department of Agriculture for Food and Beverage License renewal application for the St. Thomas senior center at a cost of $41.00. This will be paid by the Aging Block Grant. Lease agreement between the County of Franklin and Darren Garvin for the HUD Permanent Supportive Housing Lease Program that covers total rent plus any landlord-covered utilities at a cost of $10,200.00 for the period of January 1, 2026 through January 1, 2027. The County holds the lease with the landlord and the participant subleases from the County. Program participants are responsible for any utilities not included in the lease rent, up to 30% of their adjusted gross income. Participants are linked with supportive services and case management to assist them with maintaining permanent stable housing. This will be paid from the HUD grant. Lease agreement between the County of Franklin and Darren Garvin for the HUD Permanent Supportive Housing Lease Program that covers total rent plus any landlord-covered utilities at a cost of $10,200.00 for the period of January 1, 2026 through January 1, 2027. The County holds the lease with the landlord and the participant subleases from the County. Program participants are responsible for any utilities not included in the lease rent, up to 30% of their adjusted gross income. Participants are linked with supportive services and case management to assist them with maintaining permanent stable housing. This will be paid from the HUD grant. Lease agreement between the County of Franklin and Mane & Co for the HUD Permanent Supportive Housing Lease Program that covers total rent plus any landlord-covered utilities at a cost of $10,800.00 for the period of January 1, 2026 through January 1, 2027. The County holds the lease with the landlord and the participant subleases from the County. Program participants are responsible for any utilities not included in the lease rent, up to 30% of their adjusted gross income. Participants are linked with supportive services and case management to assist them with maintaining permanent stable housing. This will be paid from the HUD grant. Statewide Interconnectivity Fund Grant Agreement between the County of Franklin and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting though the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). These funds are for NextGen 911 GIS Maintenance in the amount of $35,000.00. Agreement between the County of Franklin and PA District Attorney's Institute for yearly maintenance of the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification system. Provides 24/7 operation service, support and monitoring of hardware and software, 24-hour troubleshooting for system alarms and incoming and outgoing telephone calls and communication costs. Agreement between the County of Franklin and National Association of Government Archives & Records Administrators (NAGARA) for the 2026 National Association of Government Archives & Records Administrators (NAGARA) internship program endeavors to match under- served local archival programs with students interested in careers in archival and records management. The student will complete 150 hours and NAGARA will pay a $3,000.00 stipend directly to the student. This is at no cost to the County. Agreement between the County of Franklin and Inservco Insurance Services, Incorporated to handle claims administration related to the County's Self-Insured Workers' Compensation program as required by reviewing and investigating reported claims, maintaining reserves, and providing necessary claim forms. They will keep claim files for the life of the claim, report monthly statistics, and send bi-weekly payment lists for benefits and expenses. Inservco issues payments, manages account reconciliations and notifies the County and excess insurance carriers of significant cases. Additional services include subrogation, attending claims meetings, seeking approval for litigation, and billing safety management services separately. Flat fees: Year 1 (2026) - $16,762.00; Year 2 (2027) - $17,265.00; Year 3 (2028) - $17,783.00; Year 4 (2029) - $17,783.00; Year 5 (2030) - $18,316.00. Repricing Fees vary depending on claim activity. This will be paid by the Workers Compensation Trust Fund. Agreement between the County of Franklin and Securitas Technology Corporation as a month-to-month agreement in effect from November 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026. The vendor is a sole-source provider (formerly Stanley Security Solutions) that has historically been used to respond to system failures involving camera systems, intercoms, door controls, and CCTV systems. The agreement includes semi-annual inspections and system calibrations, free telephone consultations, diagnosis of system issues, and guaranteed repairs. It also provides support for access control interfaces, utility control interfaces, and overall security system cost for these services is $3,888.00 or a total of $54,432.00. This will be paid by the General Fund. Assisted Re-Entry (CARE) program that pays for prescriptions for psychotropic and life sustaining medications for program participants who do not have medical assistance. The county is the payor of last resort. Chambers' Apothecary is the pharmacy that is used. There were minor price changes and decreases in some medication prices. The contract total is the same as previous years at a cost of $4,000.00. This will be paid from the General Fund. Agreement between the County of Franklin and Keystone Rural Health Center to renew contract for Keystone Health psychiatric and counseling services for Case Assisted Re-Entry (CARE) participants until Medical Assistance is active. The county is the payor of last resort. There is an increase in the cost of individual services, but the overall cost of $15,000.00 for the contract remains the same. This will be paid by the General Fund. Agreement between the County of Franklin and Water Treatment By Design for hydronic DX water loop systems treatment for the following locations: 272 North 2nd Street, 14 North Main Street, and 157 Lincoln Way East. The treatment incorporates chemicals used to balance the hydronic water loop passing through all floors of each building to control the PH levels, provide rust corrosion and oxidation inhibitors. Vendor will also perform diagnosis and monitor the treated water systems. This treatment must be performed by a chemically certified vendor who has the ability to provide laboratory water analysis results. This is year one of a three-year contract, pricing will remain the same all three years at a cost of $4,000.00 per year. This will be paid by the General Fund. Amendment to the agreement between the County of Franklin and Tuscarora Managed Care to increase the administrative services reimbursement by $39,360.00 to $136,755.00. TMCA will reimburse Franklin County for the amount billed. The Board reviewed regular agenda items. Ms. Gray provided a high-level overview of each of the actions. The Board approved the appointment of Allison Labbe to the Franklin County Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council. Commissioner Horstintroduced Warden Franzoni for aJail operations update. Warden Franzoni provided an update on jail operations, expressing gratitude for the support from the Commissioners and county administration. The jail currently has 51 full-time officers and three part-time officers. There are three to four applicants in the onboarding process, with weekly interviews resuming next week. All Lieutenant positions have been filled, strengthening the chain of command and security staff presence. Inmates are still housed at contract facilities, reducing the need for two posts per shift and six per day. The Academy will start on Monday, with back-to-back sessions planned to certify as many staff as possible. A mini use of force training day was conducted to boost non-certified officers' confidence in basic procedures. Warden Franzoni expressed confidence in the training team and the jail staff's ability to navigate the staffing crisis while maintaining custody and control.Commissioner Horst asked how many would be in each academy class. Warden Franzoni stated that there will be six or seven officers per class as to not deplete the shifts and create overtime or holes in operationsover the three weeks of training. Commissioner Horst stated that a new agenda item was being introduced to allow Commissioners to address any pressing issues, but no new business was discussed. The meeting was adjourned at 10:26a.m. on a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski; Seconded by John T. Flannery. Carrie E. Gray County Administrator/Chief Clerk FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ____________________________________ Dean A. Horst, Chairman ____________________________________ John T. Flannery ___________________________________ Robert G. Ziobrowski