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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-06-07 Commissioner Minutes WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2023 The Franklin County Commissioners met Wednesday, June 7, 2023, 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 Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved to adopt the agenda. Valerie Jordan provided public comment that she created a dust up this week because she heard comments made on a local radio station about a book, she happens to be Catholic dad passed away that was given to him by the American Legion. She kept it but she did not open it. There is a school board out in Utah that has banned this book because there is a lot of gluttony, killing, stealing, and she understands their rationale because little ones should not be reading it. It should never be put in a public library or a public school. Because of the dust up on 103.7, she went after the book in question and has it with her today. A Waynesboro State Representative called this book smut and swords, only shapes and colors that youngsters relate to. She has read a lot of steamy novels and her mother has too. There are a lot of offensive books out there. She can go through a whole list but they are not coming off a library shelf because they are protected under Federal law. She knows 20 organizations that will take us to Federal Court if books start coming off the shelves. Last night at the school board meeting, a book called Dressmaker of Auschwitz was discussed and she is worried those books were taken off the high school shelf. She and her husband were at Auschwitz and it's where she first saw that book and she thought the students should nd her father was full blooded German and came home from World War II 20% disabled. So she will fight this. She went to Coyle and those people are very nice. They have a calendar full of wonderful activities. She tting sake. We have to service 160,000 people in this county. Ms. Jordan said last night the school board approved a budget that has a $860,740 deficit. As this c 170,000 strong and service more and more children every day. She is not into banning books and she was not happy with what was going on with 103.7 without doing their due diligence and actually having We will have federal lawsuits like there is no tomorrow. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved all bills presented and ordered paid. The minutes of the May 31, 2023 meeting were reviewed. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the minutes. The Board reviewed Agreements, Contracts and Reports. The items will be decided upon in the afternoon session. The Commissioners presented a check to the Franklin County Veterans Affairs for the that was held in May. Keri Kenney, Human Resources Training and Development Coordinator, said that in May they decided to raise money for Veterans Affairs since it was Military Appreciation Month so it made perfect sense to support our Veterans of Franklin County through the MilitaryShare and Save-A-Vet Save-A-Pet programs. She continued that the MilitaryShare Program was rolled out last year to support area veterans, Continued on page 2 active military and their families. They provide fresh nutritious food once a month free of charge to Franklin County families who have at least one member who has served or is currently serving in the military. The program has become a huge hit and it keeps growing. She explained that the Save-A-Vet Save-A-Pet (SAV/SAP) program is dedicated to helping Franklin County Veterans with service connected disabilities lead happier, healthier and more productive lives by pairing them with a service dog for free. Ms. Kenney said that we raised $730 which is the highest raised so far this year. Around 140 employees donated from 22 different departments. She wanted to thank everybody for their continued support of this program and of course to our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms. She turned it over to Justin Slep, Veterans Affairs Director, who said the Military Share program has been the biggest program growth to date. It just started a year ago in May and they are now feeding 1,024 people a month so the need is most certainly there and the costs have gone up so they have to get creative on continuing to fund that program and the sustainability for it. He continued that they have over 55 veterans on the waiting list and it could be as many as 200 or 300 individuals that are in need when looking at total household size so the funds go a long way. Some may costs for keeping the dogs which is many thousands of dollars. All of the programs that they do and that the Board approves are free of charge to Franklin County Veterans and their families and they want to continue to do that as long as they can. He thanked everyone again and for being here today. Chairman Keller asked Justin to call out some of the organizations or individuals that help volunteer for these programs. Mr. Slep responded that for SAV/SAP we have the trainer Helen Carlson who runs the Good Dog Boarding and Training Center in Greencastle who has been with them since the program was started in 2015. They expanded services and built a kennel on her property with the help of five different Lowes stores that were s. He is working with the VFW and the Legion here in Chambersburg to acquire a new female golden retriever from Colorado and they want to pay for all travel expenses and the purchase of the dog. Veterans Affairs would have unlimited breeding rights with lines and have higher quality dogs. The Lions Club has been a big help with Military Share, and Giant on Norland Avenue helps with the prep time, Lowes staff, support from Summit Wellspan Endowment, retired county employees, Stacy Mellott Group, Michelle Reebok and her staff, Citibank; county staff that uses their own time, and Juvenile Probation. Mr. Slep said that the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has sent individuals to monitor how they run the program since it runs so smoothly that they can model it for other places. He explained that his office sends the Central PA Food Bank the number for distribution and orders a week in advance, they deliver and or have some other companies deliver to us. They also have Brian Campbell Farms that have been delivering all the produce on one of the distribution dates.. Chairman Keller said massive undertaking and it happens smoothly as Justin said every month. The Board is grateful for them spearheading it and all the organizations involved. And that goes for SAV/SAP too. He wanted to give a big shout out also to our employees who continue to give generously and often and they are thrilled that one of our internal agencies is able to set the record with employees for giving generously. The last fo absolutely incredible Affairs in Franklin County. He thanked everyone in their department and everyone associated with them. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated that they said it all and thanked them. Dr. Kim Eaton, Community Connections Division Director, provided information on the following IMPACT! Grant recipients who were present to thank the County for receiving their funds through the grant process and have a picture taken with the Commissioners: Nick Duke representing the Scotland Youth League that received $70,000 for new fencing for sports fields; Regina Barra representing Ragged Edge Swim Club that received $60,000 for facility upgrades; Lee Royer representing Friends of Monterey Pass Battlefield received $50,000 for a land Continued on page 3 purchase; and Mark Miller representing The Rescue Hose Co. #1 of Greencastle, PA that received $100,000 to purchase a new ambulance that they will see and have a picture with today. Dr. Eaton wanted to thank Chris Daywalt who prepared and had all the certificates ready each week so she appreciated her help with that. Chairman Keller thanked everyone for the wonderful work that they do for the communities throughout the County and the Board was happy to have recipients to provide information on their programs and how they will use the IMPACT! funds. Eric Foreman, Treasurer, spoke for Nick Duke and stated that he and Nick put together the by the post office. They used the funds for fencing and they put in a little bit more so they were able to do fences on each field. They also put in a t-ball backstop on another field as well with the money. The ballfield is also a place for the kids in the community to go and learn more about baseball and softball as well as life in general which is what the coaches try to provide. Mr. Foreman read their mission. They have on average 135-140 kids in the program with 11 to 12 teams. Fields are also used for several travel baseball and softball teams as well. Most importantly what did happen with allowing them to partake in the grant that saved them from cooking 10,000 chicken halves. Nick was the one that calculated that information so they thanked them for that as well. The fences are complete and he welcomes them for a baseball game and a hotdog. He thanked them again for the IMPACT! grant and it did make an impact on their community. Mr. Foreman said that A Plus Fencing did the fencing and they did a fantastic job. They did spend some money above and beyond that $70,000 to finish the project but they do appreciate what the County provided to them. Regina Barra volunteers as Treasurer for the Guilford Swim Club on Ragged Edge Road that is formally the Guilford Hills Pool. They are so grateful for the continued support of their pool and they were thankful to receive the grant this year. The pool has been around since 1969 and they were starting to face a lot of really tough decisions about the future of the pool and so this grant was a lifeline to help them find a path forward and find a way to continue providing this resource to the community. She continued that this spring with the help of a huge group of volunteers they were able to make a lot of large structural repairs to the foundation of the pool, especially to a large crack that developed as a result of an earthquake a couple years ago. It was leaking a lot of water and costing a lot of money. The pool is up and running and the kids love it. They are awaiting the arrival of the new snack shack that will provide hot foods which will be a big revenue boost going forward. They are also contacting several companies to conduct a pool feasibility study which is the first step that they need for a big pool revitalization project hopefully to partner with the township and work with DCNR to secure a grant so that they can eventually rebuild the pool have done it without the County and they are looking forward to seeing what they can do in the future with the pool. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated that they are getting kids outside just like is very appreciative to the Commissioners for the grant money of $100,000 to help pay for a new ambulance. It was purchased to replace a 2012 ambulance in their 10 year rotation. With the COVID pandemic they noticed a significant increase of call volume in their response area. They serve the residents of Greencastle Borough and Antrim Township for both Fire, EMS and also rescue and their call volume through the COVID pandemic increased approximately 400 calls each year but now numbers are falling down again. At the height of the COVID pandemic they responded to nearly 2,200 medical emergencies in that response area which is significant. The Ambulance is a state of the art unit and they are proud to have a CASPR decontamination unit built into the back of the ambulance. He provided further information on the unit that is for the safety of their personnel and for the safety of the patients that they transport. They will be incorporating this decontamination system in each of the ambulances they will be purchasing from here on out. The ambulance price in 2021 was $292,000 and they are currently looking at replacing their third ambulance and that cost is now up to $377,000 which is an increase of $80,000 in the last year and half and they are anticipating the costs to keep increasing. Monies thanked them for that. Lee Royer said that Friends of Monterey Pass are very grateful for the generosity of the grant the County gave them. They will use the grant to help purchase a Continued on page 4 Calvary field and a tollgate house that were the center of the battle. Along with the DCNR grant this will allow them to expand the park that they have and provide a place for the Appalachian Trail people to take showers and rest for the night. They will also expand to rebuild the barn that was there and expand it into transportation because what they have found on the other part of the park is that the great Philadelphia Wagon Road came through there which was the beginning of the frontier back in the 17 museum for that along with expanding the Battle of Monterey Pass. This money has helped them and they appreciate that and thanked them again. Chairman Keller said that the County has contributed several times to the Monterey Pass Battlefield and the trails and everything at Antietam or Gettysburg or anywhere else so if anyone has not been to the battlefield and museum which is amazing, he strongly encourages to do it and to take that hike from the museum up to the top of Blue Ridge Summit to the overlook that was wonderfully done and the view is spectacular. Commissioner Ziobrowski visited Gettysburg recently and was very disappointed to see no mention of Monterrey Pass. He asked Lee to give the elevator version of what happened at Monterrey Pass following the Battle of Gettysburg for the benefit of the audience. Lee provided the history of Monterrey Pass which was an exciting battle when the Union soldiers recaptured some of the property that the Confederate forces stole during local property raids and it was total chaos. Chairman Keller thanked everyone again and that most if not all are volunteers and l for it. Commissioner Ziobrowski wanted to commend Kim for the fabulous job since this is the last so much paperwork and so and he wanted to publicly thank her. Chairman Keller said well done to Dr. Eaton. One group after another has sung her praises for answering questions, being available and making this one of those hit the easy button kind of things and that was their intent so she made it happen so and there we sy so they could get the funding they needed. That was the goal so she appreciated all the help she had to make it look easy because on our side it was a little tedious at times but she had a whole crew e already mentioned Chris and others who helped out to make sure that everything flowed as smoothly as it could so she thanked them. picture which is fun. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved to enter an executive session at 12:05 p.m. for the purpose of reviewing real estate matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved to reconvene into regular session at 12:33 p.m. No action was required after the executive session. 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 Aging Office matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the estimate from TTechService, LLC for the purchase and installation of new sound system equipment at the Chambersburg and Waynesboro Senior Activity Centers at a cost of $5,667.00. Requests for quotes were obtained with three responses. This is the lowest qualified quote received. Continued on page 5 The Board reviewed Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved to authorize Solicitor Mark Orndorf to sign the Broad Street 15 LLC tax settlement agreement for tax parcel Docket #2022- 3273. The Board reviewed additional Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the Local Share Account Subgrant Contract between the County of Franklin and the House of Hope of Franklin County, Inc. for a grant in the amount of $85,675.00 to purchase up to two vehicles for the grant period of March 16, 2023 through June 30, 2026. Funding is provided by the Pennsylvania Local Share Account grants, Franklin County is serving as the pass-through entity for the grant award. The Board reviewed Grants/CJAB matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the Project Modification Request to PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) to request a 12 month no cost extension for the grant date will be June 30, 2024. This request is being made to allow the CAC to fully expand the grant. The Board reviewed Planning matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Letter to PA Department of Community & Economic Development requesting DCED to extend the Home Investment Partnership (HOME) Grant for the Waynesboro First Time Home Buyers redevelopment project to August 31, 2023. Additional time is needed to finalize project activities and complete the administration process. The meeting was adjourned at 2:08 p.m. with a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski; seconded by John T. Flannery. Carrie E. Gray County Administrator/Chief Clerk FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ____________________________________ David S. Keller, Chairman ____________________________________ John T. Flannery ___________________________________ Robert G. Ziobrowski