HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-23 Commissioner Minutes THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014
The Franklin County Commissioners met Thursday, October 23, 2014, with the
following members present: David S. Keller, Robert L. Thomas 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.
Chairman Keller asked to approve the agenda with one addition and asked John
Hart, County Administrator to explain the action. Mr. Hart explained the request is to
extend county bridge engineer C. S. Davison's contract by six months to complete work
on Bridge 5 . This bridge is funded with TIP funds and PennDOT sets bidding and
construction scheduled. This bridge will be bid in February 2015 so the term of the
contract needs to be extended. There is no increase in costs. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved to adopt the
amended agenda.
James Wyrick provided public comment concerning board action #5 with Troy
and Banks and asked if this is common place to have an independent audit and if the
25% reimbursement from savings is standard?
On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski;
unanimously approved all bills presented and ordered paid.
On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski;
unanimously approved the minutes of the October 1 , 2014 and October 16, 2014
meetings.
Commissioner Thomas asked Mr. Hart to explain board action #5 to answer Mr.
yrick's question. Mr. Hart explained that it is commonplace and we do this every three
to four years and we have found savings in the past. 25% of the savings is a good deal
and this company has experience providing this kind of service. Mr. Hart said this is a
good project for us to enter into.
The Board reviewed Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the request from
C.S. Davidson to extend the original agreement for Final Design Phase Services for the
replacement of Bridge 5 . This will extend the project duration from 12 months to 16
months to coincide with PennDOT's scheduled date of February 12, 2015.
The Board reviewed Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the motion to
accept the Statement of Interest for Professional Services for Construction Phase
Inspection Services submitted by KCI, Harrisburg, PA for Bridge No. 54 Replacement
Project (Store Lane over the West Branch of the Conococheaue Creek in Fannett
Township), subject to negotiation of fee and PennDOT approval. The bridge
replacement has been funded through the Transportation Improvement Plan with
anticipated 30% Federal and 20% State funds.
The Board reviewed additional Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by
Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the
Collective Investment Trust Agreement between the County of Franklin and MFS
Heritage Trust to authorize MFS Heritage Trust to receive and invest funds from the
pension fund as directed by the Investment Manager, Peirce Park Group.
Continued on page 2
The Board reviewed Grants/ H matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas,
seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the amendment to the
original agreement between the County of Franklin and Franklin County Human Services
(signed April 28, 2011) to provide a Housing Trust Fund Grant to support affordable
housing efforts. This amendment will extend the grant end date from January 1, 2015 to
December 31, 2016. All other terms and conditions of the original agreement will remain
in full force and effect.
The Board reviewed Information Technology matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of
the Board to execute the agreement between the County of Franklin and Troy & Banks,
Inc. to conduct a Telecommunications Services Accounts audit ensuring the county is
properly billed and paying for contracted services. Troy & Banks shall be paid 25% of
the amount saved each month for twelve months. If the county does not receive
refunds, credits, or reductions in future billings, there will be no fee for Troy & Banks
services.
The Board reviewed Jail matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded
by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to
execute the revised HIPPA Business Associate Agreement between the County and
PrimeCare Medical Inc., to comply with the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Board reviewed Register and Recorder matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Supplemental
Appropriation for additional budget costs related to document imaging and providing a
computerized index for scanned images recorded during 1942-1946. There are no
additional county funds required; Register and Recorder Technology funds are being
used to fund this project.
Phil Tarquino, Planning Director and Sam Thrush, Planner were present to
conduct a public information meeting for 2014 Community Development Block Grant
(C G) Applications. Mr. Thrush explained the Planning Office held a kick off meeting
on September 18, 2014 where the guidelines and policies were discussed. Prior to the
meeting the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
(DCED) announced the amount of the CD allocation for Franklin County is
$310,384.00. Mr. Thrush said all plans submitted meet the goals County's
Comprehensive plan. Six applications were submitted requesting a total of$811,561.28.
Sam Thrush went through a presentation showing information on each application
submitted. The following submitted an application: Antrim Township is requesting
$13,924.28 to install ADA compliant curb ramps and sidewalks; Hamilton Township
Municipal Authority is requesting $85,000.00 to support a low to moderate income lateral
assistance program; Indian Lake Camp Corporation is requesting $20,000.00 to fund the
difference between engineer's estimate and future bid to replace a decaying water
treatment building; Indian Lake Camp Corporation is requesting $93,000.00 to build a
second water source; Letterkenny Township Municipal Authority is requesting
$460,650.00 to extend sewer service at Skyline Road; and Washington Township is
requesting $138,987.00 to extend sewer service at Calimer Dr. Mr. Thrush informed the
Board a public hearing is scheduled for November 18, 2014.
Commissioner Thomas asked Mr. Tarquino to explain the criteria used to
evaluate CD requests. Mr. Tarquino said the Planning Office will rank the
applications by using a scoring system that looks at administrative capacity, other
funding, low-moderate income requirements, and other criteria, and will come back with
a recommendation to the Board at the November 18, 2014 meeting.
Continued on page 3
The Board opened up the floor to comments from the public. James Wyrick
asked if it jeopardizes projects if the applicants don't receive the money to complete their
projects. Mr. Tarquino responded that some of the applicants could complete their
projects but some could not.
Alecia Kanelopoulos asked if any of this money is coming from the Mental Health
Block Grant or Human Services Block Grants and Mr. Tarquino responded, no, this is
Housing and Urban Development money.
Tim Dibble, Vice President of Justice Management Institute (J I), presented the
findings of the Franklin County Justice System Business Process Analysis. He said
none of the recommendations have been acted upon and stakeholders will take these
recommendations and will decide how to move forward. Mr. Dibble explained the
background of the county and how it's one of the fastest growing counties in
Pennsylvania. He said the county will continue to grow 33% in the next 20 years. He
said research shows that incarcerating low risk individuals is not effective since 60-70%
of offenders in jail have substance abuse disorders or mental health issues. The goals
of the J project are the following: Goal 1: Streamline and improve automated systems
and processes; Goal 2: Identify and improve data for effective decision-making; Goal 3:
Streamline and improve manual systems and processes; Goal 4: Improve efficiency and
functionality to make a major, positive impact on service delivery. Mr. Dibble said the
stakeholders include: public, Commissioners, Court of Common Pleas, Sheriff, District
Attorney, Magisterial District Judges, Courts, Public Defender, Adult Probation Office,
Juvenile Probation Office, Clerk of Court, Prothonotary, Court Administration, Jail,
Domestic Relations, and Day Reporting Center. He said they all need to work together
to make the process more efficient. He explained that there were four project teams and
each team had at least one expert from J partnered with the stakeholders. Mr. Dibble
mentioned the challenges and opportunities are the following: effective system-wide
data on criminal cases; amount of time to process criminal cases and representation at
Central Court; pretrial screening; pretrial supervision resources; fragmented technology;
and overwhelming paper-driven process. He said there is a need for electronic filing.
Mr. Dibble explained that J came up with six initiatives and stakeholders ranked them.
He strongly recommends the County and the justice system not undertake every
initiative at once but implement the strategy in 3 year cycles. Year one will include:
Current projects, capacity building and high priority recommendations with low risk; year
two: Current and new targeted projects, combined with building organizational
foundations; year three: System-wide projects that are based on good data and
improved technology that target specific outcomes. He said Franklin County is very
smartly looking into the future and is working hand-in-hand with the courts and all justice
stakeholders to improve service and technology to save money. They don't do this
without looking at monetary costs and benefits. Tim stated that the costs are estimated
between $240,000 and $450,000 annually. The benefits could be between $1.5 million
and $2.3 million a year. If we do nothing, the costs are going to go up. If we don't
change the way we work, for instance in incarceration or pretrial, the jail bed population
will go up by 25 to 30 percent which will have a real serious dollar impact on the
community.
Chairman Keller invited questions and comments from the Board.
Commissioner Thomas said this is a very similar issue that the state is dealing
with regarding the pension problem. If don't do anything we will just keep kicking the
can down the road.
Continued on page 4
Commissioner Ziobrowski said he begs to differ in so far as the state has
neglected to fund the pension and is a precarious area. The County has always funded
our pension and we have done nothing wrong. He asked if the savings Tim mentioned
factored in reduction of recidivism in the dollars he talked about. Mr. Dibble responded
that they factored in savings and operation costs. In terms of reducing recidivism, this is
a more complex issue but one goal is to reduce recidivism. They do know that
recidivism goes down if the system is able to meet the needs of low risk offenders that
have substance abuse and mental health issues.
Commissioner Ziobrowski said Mr. Dibble mentioned the fact that spending time
in jail tends to increase recidivism but as a society we want to incarcerate people that
have done things wrong and therefore how do you change the mindset of people that
want to incarcerate? Mr. Dibble said for a certain kind of low level offender like DUI
offenders it's been discovered that if they are faced with the punishment quickly then
they are able to self-correct and continue on with their lives.
Chairman Keller said he has been impressed by the combined efforts of his
fellow commissioners, employees, and all the folks from courts in helping with the study.
He thanked everyone who has been involved in helping with this process. There has
been a lot of extra effort that has gone into the study from all parties involved.
Chairman Keller invited study participants to comment or ask questions.
Judge VanHorn said she welcomes the opportunity to receive the
recommendations and work with individual stakeholders toward identifying the
recommendations that are the best fit for the judicial system.
Chairman Keller said there is more to be done and the expectation is there is an
opportunity to achieve further efficiencies. The Board will take this under advisement
and ask staff and all stakeholders to review recommendations during future planning and
budgeting efforts. The payoff will be down the road.
Commissioner Thomas clarified his earlier statement by highlighting the forward
thinking that has characterized county and court planning in the past: the county built
the jail in 2006 not based on population but also factored in other improvements like the
DC, enhancements to Adult Probation, and creating a Criminal Justice Advisory Board
which is a model across the state. He said the county, judges, and criminal justice
related offices brought a lot of good ideas to the table but it takes a partnership to make
these things a reality. We've had that partnership and it needs to continue.
William Vandrew, Clerk of Courts, said when this study first came about his
biggest concern was communication with technology and verbal communication
between the departments and the courts which has been addressed in the report. Some
improvements have already occurred since the study began, he added.
Chairman Keller opened the floor for public comment.
Mr. Wyrick asked with population growth and increase in tax revenue does the
cost Mr. Dibble mentioned increase proportionately. Mr. Dibble said this does not but
what happens if we don't do anything and continue to rely on incarceration then those
costs keep going up. He said costs in jails go up faster than the normal rate of inflation.
Continued on page 5
Mr. Wyrick asked if economic factors weigh into any of these with the overall
amount of crime. Mr. Dibble said across the nation they have seen an increase in urban
areas in crime but Franklin County is a different story; this is a great place to live and
work. He said the economy is just one of the factors in looking at crime rate. There are
a lot of other factors that contribute to the crime rate and it is hard to assign causality
between any two factors. Allen Piper asked if DLII's in Franklin County, even though
minimal, are they stable. There was no change in DUl's in Franklin County. Mr. Dibble
said what has changed is that the legislature has increased mandatory minimum
sentences and the way DUI's are being enforced across the board at law enforcement
level and by 2nd or 3 d offense gets more serious.
The Board answered some questions from Jenn Fitch, Herald Mail and Marcus
aunt, Public Opinion.
Chairman Keller thanked all colleagues from the Court and related offices and
said he appreciates their support of the study and in going forward from today.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:57 a.m. with a motion by Robert L. Thomas;
seconded by Robert G. Ziorowski.
FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS