HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-03-26 Commissioner Meeting
WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2025
The Franklin County Commissioners met Wednesday, March 19, 2025, with the
following members present: Dean A. Horst, John T. Flannery, and Robert G. Ziobrowski.
Commissioner Horst 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.
County Administrator Carrie Gray asked that 4.06 for Information Technology Services
be removed from the agenda. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G.
Ziobrowski; the Board unanimously approved to adopt the amended agenda.
The minutes of the March 19, 2025 meeting were reviewed. On a motion by John T.
Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; the Board unanimously approved the minutes.
Chairman Horst called Prison Board to order at 10:04 AM. Prison Board adjourned at 10:05 AM.
There was public comment from Kim Wertz who had a suggestion about the construction
going on with the old Sears building next door. She would like to see us put an equal amount of
greenspace as there is parking. She knows what the boroughs guildlines and requirements are
for a building but would like to have equal amount of green space so the County can save a little
bit of money instead of giving it to the borough.
Valerie Jordan commented on item 4.07 from Tax Services, she likes that we are selling
the double wide to
that might be an area that we could do green space on. She stated that she thinks we really
need the parking here and that not many people are going to come down here, but maybe we
can put a few trees up.
She went to the hybrid school board meeting last night and learned that if you are a
Chambersburg Area School District taxpayer that there are cyber charter school parents that
leave the district and are out of state or in other parts of the state and we are still paying those
costs. She sent a letter to as many Pennsylvania state lawmakers this morning after being
encouraged to do so by the school board and will forward it to the Board and is sending it to a
lot of lawmakers that are in the state other than state lawmakers to let them know what she
found out as she is upset by this as well as many others. She put it on Facebook that people are
concerned about taxes, but if we have enough revenue, taxes take care of themselves. Ms.
Nitterhouse just opened up a new area of at least 10 houses in Guilford Township on Falling
Spring Road. Thats revenue, as long as we have revenue, we can cover our debt, and we can
cover our expenses. She then thanked Commissioner Horst for explaining what he did and that
he spends a lot of time going to a lot of meetings
Commissioner Horst, Commissioner Flannery or Commissioner Ziobrowski. There are a lot of
meetings they must attend by law.
William Bechtold commented on behalf of the Chambersburg Classic Car Group. They
are a group of car collectors and car enthusiasts who are mostly based out of Chambersburg
with over 928 members, and they have a show this year to help out
most treasured sites, the Letterkenny Chapel.
ne of four Prisoner of War chapels built in the world and one of three that is still
intact and ours is right here in Franklin County.
thth
there to visit. On September 7, which is as close as they could get to September 11and be
on a weekend, they are hosting a car show, the Heroes Car Show, at the chapel to recognize
veterans and first responders that responded to 911 and those first responders that are here.
They are anticipating 200 cars. They will have a food court of food vendors, product vendors
and events set up for kids.
into Franklin County. He was here today to get the supportof the Commissioners for the event
and ask them to do three things. One, come to the show if they are available and be a judge.
There are 36 classes of trophies to give outnot difficult as there is a checklist that they
would take through a group, but if not just come out and support is welcome. Secondly, consider
Letterkenny Chapel as a dress down fundraiser that is done for the County. He supported those
when he worked here at the County and knows what good those things do. Thirdly, if they know
any businesses or people that would be interested in sponsoring, he left them a flyer and
sponsor sheet to call him as they would love to have them on board. Commissioner Horststated
that he will attend and Judge. Commissioner Flannery stated if he is here he will attend.
On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; the Board
unanimously approved all consent agenda items to include:
All bills presented and ordered paid in the amount of $2,629,943.90.
Quote from Motorola Solutions to migrate the current 911 data and update processes
from ArcMap to ArcPro at a cost of $9,827.51. This will be paid from available Act 12 funds; cost
in excess of available Act 12 Funds would be paid from the General Fund through County
contribution to the 911 program.
Agreement between the County of Franklin and The Rescue Hose Company No. 1 of
Greencastle, PA for 2023 to pass through a Local Share Account Grant for $582,473.00 toward
(2) ambulances. The parties agree to amend the language of Paragraph 8 of the Original
Agreement regarding the Administrative Fee. The Subgrantor shall be entitled to receive an
Administrative Fee which shall be two (2%) percent of the Grant and which shall be paid
through the two percent Administration Fee Set Aside in accordance with the LSA Grant
Agreement between the County of Franklin and Power DMS (Digital Management
Software) to renew agreement for the maintenance software, and usage of a document
management system. This system provides a service for maintaining electronic policies,
procedures, standards and training documentation. It is an inclusive electronic maintenance
system that manages the accreditation workflow and policies for the state inspection
requirements. In addition, this system allows staffing to sign off on policies and procedures to
assist with liability of procedures. It keeps the Jail in compliance with Pennsylvania Title 37,
PREA and other state regulations at a cost of $9,343.83. This will be paid by the General Fund.
Agreement between the County of Franklin and Corrections Consulting Services LLC.
for the PREA audit for the Franklin County Jail. This audit is mandated by the federal
government every three (3) years. The services include: comprehensive audit, pre-audit, onsite
audit, and post audit reporting. The post audit report will include any corrective plans required
for operations. The audit and its information will keep the Franklin County Jail in compliance
with all state and federal PREA regulations and law. 2026 - estimated date of audit at a cost of
$7,250.00. This will be paid by the General Fund. Estimated dates: 2026, 2029, 2032, 2035.
Due to supply and demand, auditors are booking out a year or more in advance.
Approval needed to accept a repository sale bid of $100.00 for a double wide mobile
home on leased land to be able to get the property back on the records to collect taxes.
Amendment to the original lease agreement between the County of Franklin and
Tuscarora Managed Care Alliance (TMCA) to change paragraph one of leasehold address to
425 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 17202 with a deemed square footage of
2,346.
Agreement between the County of Franklin and Tuscarora Managed Care Alliance
(TMCA) for continued payment for the salary, costs, and benefits if any, for its assigned Staff.
TMCA will reimburse Franklin County the actual costs of the Staff assigned hereunder within 30
days of receipt of an invoice. Franklin County hereby expressly acknowledges that TMCA funds
are strictly budgeted. In the event total reimbursement for all Staff provided hereunder will
exceed an annual amount of $718,869.00.
quorum of prison board with one abstention. The Controller caught it
in time and reached out to the Sheriff who had joined virtually and if they would move back in
the agenda and reconvene prison board and reconsider the vouchers so that the voting
members are the quorum it would be appreciated.
Chairman Horst reconvened Prison Board at 10:24 AM and Prison Board adjourned at
10:25 AM.
The Board reviewed regular agenda items. Ms. Gray provided a high-level overview of
each of the actions.
Resolution 2025-03 regarding the request of Susquehanna Regional Transportation
Authority for operating and rolling stock capital local match for the fiscal years 2026 through
2028. The county match of seven and half percent or $37,467.00 2025-2026 portion will be paid
for with General Fund Contingency. Up five percent in 2027 at $39,713.00 and with the same
increase in 2028, $42,099.00. Commissioner Flannery asked why seven and half percent
of total cost, why does it increase by five percent every year. Ms. Gray explained that the total
increases by five percent every year and the county match is seven and half percent. On a
motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; the Board unanimously
approved the resolution.
Agreement between the County of Franklin and Herbert, Rowland, & Grubic Inc. (HRG)
for a proposal of engineering and design services by HRG, including survey, design, permitting,
construction bidding, and construction oversight, for the Bridge 118 Shimpstown Road over
Licking Creek, superstructure replacement project at the cost of $359,565.00. This will be paid
by the Act 13 Marcellus Shale funds.Planning Director Quentin Clapper explained this bridge is
an adjacent box beam bridge which is the substandard engineering bridge that they are working
to replace as quickly as possible due to age. Other than that,it is part of their standard timeline
for a bridge enay look to extend that before
bidding to bundle with another project to do cost savings both for the engineering side of bidding
costs and the construction costs as well. Commissioner Horst asked if the Act 13 will cover the
whole cost
is their most restrictive form of bridge funding and as they have projects
that come up that are eligible.Act 13 is the first source of funding they use when eligible and
they do have additional money in that fund for future projects but it still follows the general
expectations of declining revenues. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G.
Ziobrowski; the Board unanimously approved the agreement.
Ms. Gray then reviewed the tax appeals individually that were discussed last week in
executive session. In recent years these happen very infrequently. First was Grand Embers
Apartments, LLC & Grand Embers Holdings LLC. This is a location in the Waynesboro Borough.
The other taxing authorities have conditionally approved the appeal. As is tradition in Franklin
County being the smallest of the taxes the Board votes last. This covers four tax years
beginning in 2022 and ending in 2025 and results in a total refund of $39,445.05. Next is First
National Bank & Trust Co. also in Waynesboro Borough. The appeal covers two years, 2024
and 2025, and would result in a refund of $5,203.08. Third is Keith Wilders for two tax years and
in the Waynesboro Borough for a refund of $480.16. Lastly in Chambersburg Borough
Chambersburg Area Development Corporation Chambersburg for two years, 2024 and 2025, for
a refund of $9,103.36. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if each of these appellants have each
appealed their assessment to the board of assessment and revision of taxes and have been
turned down, the next junction would be to Court of Common Pleas but the opportunity is given
to the taxing authorities to reach an agreement and avoid going to the Court of Common Pleas.
Ms. Gray stated that was correct. Commissioner Ziobrowski continued that the other taxing
authorities have agreed to certain figures, and she is calling on the Board to see if they would
agree with those other taxing authorities on the negotiated figures. Ms. Gray stated yes. Voting
as a block, on a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; the Board
unanimously approved all refunds.
The Board reviewed Proclamation #2025-04 for the purpose of proclaiming the month of
April as Fair Housing Month. Ms. Gray introduced Ms. Colleen Tidd. Ms. Tidd explained that
each year the county proclaims April as Fair Housing month. While this is a requirement when
receiving federal funding, Fair Housing is an act that Franklin County cares very much about. It
is important that the county keeps our community informed of the ongoing struggle for equal
housing opportunity as well as what their rights are under federal law. The Fair Housing act was
put in place to eliminate discrimination in the sale, rental, and the financing of dwellings and
other housing related transactions because of race, skin color, age, disability, religion, sex,
familial status, or origin. Franklin County continues to make efforts to combat discrimination and
works diligently to provide equal housing opportunities to all county residents. Commissioner
Horst then read the proclamation that has been made a part of these minutes.
Ms. Gray introduced Human Resources Director Tiffany Bloyer to present the Employee
of the Month. The Franklin County Commissioners on behalf of the STAR Committee (Special
Thanks And Recognition) proudly presents the Employee of the Month award to Teresa
Anthony. Ms. Anthony has been employed with Franklin County since September of 1985. She
currently serves as the Director of Domestic Relations. The selection for the March 2025
Employee of the Month was determined by the STAR Committee. There were 25 nominations,
four of which were for Ms. Anthony. Human Resources Director Tiffany Bloyer read the
nomination forms which are attached to these minutes. Ms. Anthony stated that 39.5 years have
been great. It has been great to work for the County and the courts but its time with all the
technology and all the changes and it brought tears to her eyes with some of the things that
people said as it is a family and it will be hard to leave. Severybody, but she
miss the technology changes. Commissioner Horst thanked Ms. Anthony for her 39.5 years and
stated that was incredible and
residents of Franklin Couty definitely appreciate her dedication and willingness to help and to
serve. Commissioner Flannery thanked Ms. Anthony and stated she will be sorely missed and
wished her the best in retirement. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated that Ms. Anthony has graced
them with her presence maybe a
Commissioner and given the fact that she had to wait 40 minutes through a bunch of tedium he
her managerial abilities. She has managed to solve her problems, address her challenges in
Domestic Relations without having to seek help from the Commissioners. The Board will miss
her professionalism, and he will miss her personally. District Court Administrator Mark Singer
stated that the President Judge knows she is here, and she knows he is on the bench handling
some sentences and some court matters. What has been said in the room is the same that the
Court feels. On behalf of the Board of Judges, President Judge, and himself, she will be missed.
39.5 years to get employee of the month. He is a transplant from the Maryland court system as
started, and she has been great
to work with. She
counties and between her and Deedee in Futon County, when she retired, she had Ms.
Anathony beat by maybe two years, so in a joint Judicial District two directors serve for over 80
years. That shows your commitment and dedication to the work she does. They have helped
him in both counties anytime he needed to bounce things off of them and always have been
there. On behalf of the Board of Judges, the President Judge, they are going to miss her. This is
deserved. Everything that she does every day is for her employees and clients and he
appreciated the comments and congratulations.
Ms. Gray reintroduced Chief Registrar Jennie Aines to present the Voter Registration
presentation to keep everyone well acquainted with the different programs with their emerging
trends, topics of interest and any concerns they may have. Her presentation was made a part of
these minutes. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if the voter does respond and says they are still
at that address will they go on another five-year cycle. Ms. Aines stated that they are marked as
. They have found that they
have some voters that she has sent three or four five-year
just never vote. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated he understands but his question was if they
responded yes, I'm still here would they then go on a cycle to be notified the next year or
another five years from there. Ms. Aines explained it would be another five years. Commissioner
Commissioner Ziobrowski stated so just by responding they
basically get another five years to not vote if they choose not to vote. Commissioner Ziobrowski
asked why a state would drop out of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Was
there a cost involved or an aggravation. Ms. Aines explained that from what she has read, they
have all been Republican states that have dropped out because they had concerns over who
had access to the information. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated so for philosophical reasons as
opposed to economic or procedural things or does philosophical reason question the integrity of
political. Ms. Aines explained kind of political. Commissioner Horst great job. He remembers
back in the past election people were lined up down the hallway and out the door and your staff
did a really great job of keeping up and stayed positive through the whole situation. The one
question he still gets asked if the County still uses a paper ballot and he said
change as long as he sits here. He then asked what kind of dollar amount they are looking at for
postage
going up. Ms. Gray stated that she will get them that numberfor the Board. Commissioner
Flannery stated that early when Ms. Aines started that she mentioned that some people are
under the impression that you work once every four years,
realize that we have an election in Franklin County every year. It's just unbelievable. He was an
uneducated voter about 10 years ago and maybe voted in a presidential election and never paid
attention to the probably more important elections, the ones right here in our backyard that
make the decisions that can affect us on a daily basis. He continued that unfortunately or
fortunately for her he knew the answers to most of the questions he normally would have from
her presentation because he thinks as a County Commissioner that is his number one asked
question has something to do with voting. He is very fortunate that she has previously answered
all those questions for him but great presentation, thank you.Commissioner Ziobrowski when
people ask him what's important to a County Commissioner he says the most important thing, in
his opinion, is the safety of the citizens but the second most important thing is the sanctity of our
elections and he always tells people that he is very confident that the sanctity is protected. Ms.
Aines and her team along with the Director of Elections and all the other people, your motives
honest and reliable and you do a great job, and the
absence of problems is changes
she has made and try as she might she expressed a certain amount of distain for those
changes because job so much harder. The fact that all these changes have
taken place, dinary. He thanked
Ms. Aines.
Janelle Friese, Fiscal Director, and Teresa Beckner, Chief Financial Officer, provided a
January
and made a part of the minutes.Commissioner Horst stated great job as always. It makes him
and
thanked everyone that is involved in helping to keep those numbers down and really appreciate
that. Commissioner Flannery stated that its really early in the year so they
grasp on things, but did want to make the comment that he thinks we did very well last year and
wanted to thank them and their department. He and his fellow commissioners are very
cognizant of the budget, and they don't believe in diminishing our services, but we owe it to the
taxpayers in his opinion to keep the budgets tight and work for them. He appreciates theeffort
the County has made. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated he had no questions.
Commissioner Horst stated that in January he gave the staff some directive to look at
some items when it comes to budget and then staff responded he believes about three or four
weeks ago and here to discuss those recommendations that was given for those directives. One
of those directives was to look at the employee roster and look at the vacancies that we have
and maybe meet with department heads and to see of those vacancies what we can eliminate
that direction. One of the others was looking at mandated versus nonmandated services. He
thinks this is a very key concept to helping the budget stay where it needs to be and make sure
that we are spending the dollars the best we can. We always try to do that on mandated
services,
that gets into a little bit of a tricky situation, but he thinks to look at that is important also. Ms.
Beckner also brought up targeted budgeting and that is the direction he personally wants to go
with when it comes to budgeting to have the Commissioners more involved in those targets and
sit with Fiscal and get those department targets there.
different, but going to be a good change. The other idea of hiring an outside firm to
as a commissioner is to be the one who makes that directive, and cuts if need be, not saying he
knows everything. He knows that everybody sitting on the Board brings a very differentidea and
thinking and between the three of them he thinks they can get us where we need to be. Not
little bit forward and maybe Commissioner
Flannery stated that from the list he agrees with everything that was just stated. As far as the
consultant, he agreed to maintain the exploration of finding someone they might feel
comfortable with if they have to pull the trigger and go in that direction, but he also agrees that
Boards responsibility to do what they need to do to meet the budget. Before doing
anything drastic it might be a good idea to bring in a source from the outside with no skin in the
game, but not at this point . Commissioner Ziobrowski
stated that he agreed with both of his fellow Commissioners. Commissioner Horst asked if the
staff had anything for the Board. Ms. Gray first thanked the Board for providing them with the
direction and discussion, but she had a clarifying question about the last item. Part of the
recommendation was to be ableto apply for a grant through the Department of Community and
Economic Development in order to pay for some of the cost of a strategic planner which is
applying today or not but if they wanted to move forward with getting up to 50% of the cost the
grant would be announced in August. Ms. Becknerstated that the grant is due in April or May to
meet the Statebudgetyearand we would find out in August. It would provide 50% funding.
Commissioner Flanneryasked if they would have to commit at that point when they filed that
application would they have to commit 50% of the funding at that time.Ms. Becknercontinued
forwardwith it,we are committing 50% of the funding of
which she believes up to ten percent can be in-kindif they would chooseto move forward with
it. She was offered the opportunity for the DCED representative to meet with the Board and be
able to answer some questionsdirectly if the Board was interested in meeting with him and he
could talk to them more about what the grant is and how it could benefit the county.
Commissioner Horststated hewouldbe interested in that just to give the representative the
, but he struggles to commit
have
Ms. Graystated that sounds good and in a related
effort she asked if the Board would like staff to work towards interviewing some firms to find out
the type of servicesthey provide.Commissioner Horstasked that staffhold off untilthe Board
talkswiththe gentleman,Ms. Becknerstated she had no other
questions and if the Board would choose to proceed it would take involvementof the Board with
approving of the application and a resolution at that point. Commissioner Horstthanked
everyone for their time and energy that has been put into this subject,and he feels goodthat
they are heading in theright direction and after seeing those budget numbers, .
The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m.on a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded
by Robert:G. Ziobrowski.
Carrie E. Gray
County Administrator/Chief Clerk
FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
____________________________________
Dean A. Horst, Chairman
____________________________________
John T. Flannery
___________________________________
Robert G. Ziobrowski
FRANKLIN COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
Dean A. Horst, Chairman
John T. Flannery
STAR COMMITTEE
Robert G. Ziobrowski
Special Thanks And Recognition Committee
Tiffany Bloyer, HR Director
272 North Second Street ~ Chambersburg, PA 17201
Telephone (717) 261-3150 Fax (717) 261-3156
March 26, 2025
The Franklin County Commissioners on behalf of the STAR Committee (Special Thanks And Recognition)
proudly presents the Employee of the Month award to Teresa Anthony.
Ms. Anthony has been employed with Franklin County since September of 1985. She currently serves as the
Director intheDomestic Relations Office. The selection for theMarch2024 Employee of the Month was
determined by the STAR Committee. There weretwenty-fivenominations,fourof which wereforTeresa.
The STAR nomination form asks what recent event or occurrence made you select Teresa and the answer
stated:
After 39 years and countless hours of service, Teresa has decided to retire as Director of the Domestic Relations
Section. She has been dedicated to running an agency that provides for the children of Franklin County. She cares
tremendously about the future of the office and has been working tirelessly to tie up loose ends and to ensure that
her employees are prepared for the upcoming change.
She is retiring after many years with the county, and I feel she needs to be recognized for all the great work she has
done for Domestic Relations. She has seen the office move twice. Got through a new computer system and training
for all her staff.
Teresa has been a loyal, proactive, engaged and valued director of the Franklin County Domestic Relations Section
for the past 39 years. With that being said, Teresa has been hoping to retire for the past year, however, has continued
to extend her time with 'her work family' to see the office move and transition smoothly into their new building
along with preparing for and powering through an audit. Teresa continues to forge ahead with less than 1 month left
until her retirement: educating co-workers, pushing to adjust the DRS budget to maintain our support hearing officer
and taking time to genuinely care about her staff. Teresa has not thrown in the towel yet.
Teresa is retiring after years of working for the DRS. Her kindness will be missed! From taking time to say hello to
each of us individually every morning to taking an interest in knowing all about us and our entire family. She will be
the first one to bring a meal to your house or just checking on you when in need. She is not just an employee but a
friend who genuinely cares.
Ms. Anthony’s outstanding characteristics are attributes that have not gone unnoticed by her peers. Those
who work alongside Teresa used numerous positive words to describe her. These included dedicated, loyal,
responsible, strong, compassionate, hardworking, empathetic, and caring.
We are so grateful to Ms. Anthony as she exudes a high standard of knowledge, leadership and excellence to
the employees and residents of Franklin County.
Sincerely,
The STAR Committee
TLB/kmw cc: Personnel File; Supervisor
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (717) 264-8474
Telephone: (717) 261-3150 Fax: (717) 261-3156
Website: www.franklincountypa.gov
