HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-12-20 Commissioner Minutes
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023
The Franklin County Commissioners met Wednesday, December 20, 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 John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously
approved to adopt the agenda.
There was no public comment.
The Board met with Controller Harold Wissinger for Prison Board matters.
On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously
approved all bills presented and ordered paid.
The minutes of the December 13, 2023 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. The items will be decided
upon in the afternoon session.
The Board reviewed Personnel matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by
Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the position description for the Juvenile Court
Hearing Officer.
The Franklin County Commissioners and county leadership today celebrated 14
Program (LDP). Tiffany Bloyer, Human Resources Director, said we are here to celebrate the
leadership class of 2023. She is thankful that the County allows these opportunities for
up and the commissioners will see who they are in a little bit. This is the second class to come
through the LDP and Keri Kenney who is the Training and Development Coordinator has been a
She is the boots on the ground and makes things happen. Keri takes her crazy ideas and vision
and she brings them right to the table for these employees to have a great opportunity here.
Over the last 12 months this group has learned a lot about leadership, about life, about the
county, about t
sometimes. They learned many new things about each other and how to interact with people
that are different from them. The program initially started with a leadership assessment that
went to how they interact, how they communicate, what their personality looks like for them and
are creative, they like to collaborate, and everyone is full of potential in some way. So it was a
good book for them to read. Tiffany explained that from January until December they had
monthly sessions and she explained them further. She stated that it taught them how to be a
leader so they know how to handle situations. They had a volunteer day in the spring at the
Conococheague Institute and it was one of the best days of the program. They also learned
that giving back to the community is good for the soul, especially when they do it with your
peers. After that they went to a local farm and had ice cream and debriefed about their day.
Continued on page 2
Ms. Bloyer continued that another aspect of the program is the team project which came out of
the Key Concepts initiative that we offer here at the County. Tiff explained the Key Concepts
program where employees can suggest a concept for cost savings. They did the Key Concepts
into. This is a great opportunity for our employees here. They had the networking event
she is happy to celebrate the Leadership Development Program class of 2023. Chairman Keller
said he wants to say some of the initiatives that the county gets involved with come from the
commissioners and just as many if not more come from our team and this is one of those ideas
that germinated and flourished as a result of Tiffany and others who thought we should have a
week. But he hopes in retr
and professionally. The first leadership group last year set the bar pretty high and he thinks
they have achieved that if not excelled beyond what they were able to accomplish. It means a
lot to the commissioners that they take the time to invest in themselves, invest in their
colleagues and invest in the residents of the county. The time they put into this is really
meaningful and it will pay dividends for everyone in this room and all the residents in the county.
next. Commissioner Flannery said he was honored to be a part of a very impressive ceremony
yesterday to celebrate their success
been exposed to some skills that will take them hopefully to the next level in their career and
their life. He said congratulations and he hopes they can utilize their skills preferably here in the
ounty or elsewhere. He stated well
done! Commissioner Ziobrowski has two comments, one of which is a repeat of yesterday. He
said the first is that we often despair over succession plans when our great leaders choose to
retire or move on and who is going to replace them. He is confident that with the skills that
asked Tiff if he could borrow that Steven Covey book from her. He said congratulations! Ms.
Bloyer announced the following who completed the 2023 class were: Selinda Dickinson,
Records Supervisor, Jail; Dawn Erdenbrack, Custodial Worker, Franklin County Property
Management; Brian Guessford, Aging Care Manager III, Franklin County Area Agency on
Aging; Genevieve Harper, Compliance & Quality Director, Tuscarora Managed Care Alliance;
Dora Housekeeper, Juvenile Probation Officer III, Juvenile Probation; Jodi Martin, Director, Tax
Services; Ashley McCartney, Fiscal Officer II, Fiscal; Alexis Pennings, Risk Manager, Risk
Management; Andrew Repp, Communication Shift Supervisor, Department of Emergency
Services; Kara Shindle, Director, Geographic Information Systems; Kayla Stoner, Adult
Probation Supervisor, Adult Probation; Lisa Stouffer, Purchasing Coordinator, Procurement;
Housing Program Specialist, Community Connections.
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.
Continued on page 3
The Board reviewed Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery,
seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the agreement between the County
o for possible legal claims, investigate
legal rights and options relating thereto, and identify claims for recovery from existing class
action settlements. This is a no-cost agreement. If the board decides to engage Counsel to take
legal action on its behalf, representation will be pursuant to the terms of a separate retainer
agreement to be negotiated and executed with Counsel.
The Board reviewed Department of Emergency Services matters. On a motion by John
T. Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved quote from Controls
Service & Engineering (CSE) Co., Inc. to repair an HVAC unit at Clark's Knob Tower Site, in the
amount of $4,558.00.
The Board reviewed Fiscal matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded by
Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the
application to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to encumber Liquid Fuels Tax Funds
Form MS-340: The form serves to represent County commitment/ encumbrance of County
Liquid Fuels funds for future projects, as required by PennDOT Publication 9, in order to avoid
forced or mandatory distributions. Form MS-340 Project 23-28000-004 encumbrance of
$730,000.00 for bridge #118 replacement. Form MS-340 Project 23-28000-003 encumbrance of
$200,000.00 for 2024 bridge repairs and maintenance.
The Board reviewed Grants/CJAB matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded
by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Project Modification request to
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) for the grant that provides
funding for a Reentry Housing Specialist to work with participants being released from Jail back
into the community. This amendment is changing the structuring of the rental payment budget
paid by the County to show all rents under Fair Market Rent and adding "Program Income"
which will be the portion of the rent that the participants pay toward their housing (30% of gross
adjusted income).
The Board reviewed Information Technology Services matters. On a motion by John T.
Flannery, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the quote from AccessIT
Group, Inc. to provide the annual maintenance of our Check Point firewalls at a cost of
$59,273.00 for the period of December 29, 2023 through December 28, 2024. This provides
protection at the internet gateway as well as functionality which includes VPN client access,
Intrusion Detection and Protection Services, and web filtering.
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 Cambria County to house
Franklin County Juvenile inmates at the Cambria County Prison at a cost of $150.00 per day per
inmate for the period of December 7, 2023 through December 31, 2026. Cambria County
Prison is required to treat our Juvenile inmates as their own by providing housing, security,
meals, healthcare and services comparable to Franklin County. Cambria County will abide by
the state regulations of Title 37 and all PREA regulations. The County of Franklin will be
responsible for all transportation requirements and all housing costs associated with housing a
Juvenile.
Continued on page 4
The Board reviewed Tax Services matters. On a motion by John T. Flannery, seconded
by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the amendment to the contract between the
County and Government Software Services forprinting, mailing and postage of
Homestead/Farmstead applications under Act 72 Pennsylvania Homeowner Tax Relief Act for
2024. Original Board of Commissioner approval was on 12/6/23 was for 13,000 applications at
$12,485.00. Due to property address changes, the file was created showing 13,205 mailings
are generated at $12,679.75. Price includes estimated postage at $.60 a piece. The full cost of
this service will be reimbursed by the School Districts. This act requires the mailings of
applications by the County Assessment Office by December 31, 2023.
In accordance with PA Act notifications, CES Engineering, LLC notified the County of a
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection NPDES PAG-04 General Permit being
applied by Jeremy and Heather Foltz for a small flow treatment facility on property located in
Montgomery Township.
The Board recognized Payden Miller, Telecommunicator in the Department of
Emergency Services, for receiving the Clinical Save Award from the Emergency Health
Services Federation. Mary K Seville, Assistant Director of Emergency Services, said that she is
here on behalf of Glenn Holloway, the Director of DES, because he is sick this week. One of
our dispatchers was recognized for a clinical save. Ms. Seville read the letter he received
explaining the situation and how he helped a patient be resuscitated and transported to the
hospital. Payden Miller was the dispatcher and they have Michael who was the patient and
Sherri here today to meet Payden. Chairman Keller welcomed them and stated that he is
pleased that everything worked out okay for him. Sherri said that this young man is her angel
and he directed her on what to do because she had no idea. She is so proud of him. Michael
and to say thank you. He thanked the organization and the leaders and what they put together.
have some brain damage. Michael stated God bless each and every one of them. Chairman
Keller thanked him and said God bless you. He continued that this makes it all worthwhile for
them to be able to see him and hear him say those words. We have the best people and we try
hard to give them the tools and training they need to excel. Payden said the directions are on
the screen but you still have to have s
recognized and he was just doing his job. Chairman Keller told him that they are so proud of
him and read his certificate.
The Board recognized Julie Beam, Administrative Assistant II, in the Veterans Affairs
Office. Carrie Gray, County Administrator, wanted to give a high level summary of the
presentation and recognition that Julie deserves. Carrie said this is completely due to Jerry
whose work in the community on behalf of our 13,000-plus veterans and our military families
has not gone unnoticed. In fact, this recognition, as mentioned, is due in part to a
recommendation by a local veteran who has seen Julie in action. In the short time Julie has
been with the Veterans Affairs team, she has had a positive impact on the quality of lives of our
veterans. Anyone who has seen Julie in action knows that she puts her whole heart and soul
She has dedicated her time including evenings and weekends
to educating area schools and service groups throughout our community about the Operation
Save-A-Vet, Save-A-Pet service dog program. Julie brings an infectious enthusiasm to
and she is constantly thinking of ways to let veterans and military families know t
cared for and appreciated. This was especially evident in the way she helped coordinate the
ing out stockings. Julie arranged to have
Continued on page 5
music and turned the December MilitaryShare event into a festive atmosphere that spread joy,
happiness and even drew a few tears. In short, Julie is an active, energetic force working on
behalf of our veterans and military families. We are grateful to Julie and her efforts on behalf of
s not just as a County
employee but also as a dedicated member of the Franklin County community. Justin Slep,
Director of Veterans Julie about
why she was here so he feels the daggers hitting the back of his head right now but what Jerry
said is 1,000% true. What he said is Julie to a T. She has been an amazing asset to their
team. When Jerry mentioned improving quality of life that is her in and out of the office. She
has reduced the amount of the stress and burden of his staff and team by delegating
responsibilities and duties and keeping them all on track where they need to be. She will make
sure you understand the schedule and what her expectations are for them. Her family is here
today and they have been a part of the office for close to 8 9 years with volunteering and
with turning their house into a dog kennel sometimes. They are the most giving people and true
friends of his. He thanked Julie and her dedication to the stressful situations that he sometimes
puts her in and to make sure his office is always on point and everyone is taken care of when
they are together. Chairman Keller turned it over to Jerry Warnement for comments and
appreciates his prompting to do this. Jerry thanked them for picking up the ball and carrying it.
It was easy to write and if
people know who she is and all the things she does for us veterans. She does it unselfishly, she
asks for nothing in return and she is always there to help in some of the most stressful
situations. Where he would run from things he can assure you she is helping people and all of
us veterans. On behalf of veterans he thanked her for her dedication and for the sacrifices her
family is making and to Justin and your whole organization. He said God bless them all and to
have a wonderful New Year and a very merry Christmas. Justin said he and his staff wanted to
take a moment to thank the Board for their wonderful support that his office receives from them.
They have accomplished a lot since with the support of the commissioners been sitting up there.
He has asked for a lot over the years and he has received more. On behalf of his staff and
himself they are forever grateful for the support and dedication to trusting them. Chairman
much. He thanked everyone who is here in support of Julie. He informed Julie that this is just a
small token of their appreciation but we thought it would be appropriate to recognize her by
giving her a certificate. Chairman Keller read the certificate.
The Franklin County Commissioners and Tiffany Bloyer, Human Resources Director on
behalf of the STAR (Special Thanks and Recognition Committee) were present to award Ms.
Jean Byers as the Employee of the Month for December. Ms. Byers has worked at Franklin
County since August of 1984. She currently serves as the Deputy Chief Clerk. The selection
for the December 2023 Employee of the Month was determined by the STAR Committee.
There were a total of 22 nominations, 11 of which were for her. Ms. Bloyer read the nomination
form which is attached and made a part of these minutes. She turned it over to the
Commissioners for comments. Chairman Keller said there is so much that she does for the
much work goes into having an
election. And every six months an election comes around as there are no off years for elections
in Pennsylvania. There are two elections and every year after the dust settles we just sit back
and look at the headlines in other counties, in other states and jurisdictions and just laugh
because there are always problems elsewhere but never in Franklin County. He continued that
A lot of her time and effort goes into identifying these folks to work, communicating with them or
getting others to call them up to ask if they are interested in working for the election. Those
people come and work and a lot of them stay 10, 20, 40 or 50 years and she makes it all
Board of Commissioners, and they rely on her heavily, all the folks who put aside their daily
routines within the county and pitch in to help from all various departments, contractors,
Continued on page 6
about
this. Commissioner Flannery stated that her temperament, her demeanor and her work ethic is
him depend on her for so many things. Any question he gets from the community is one answer
he knows he can get the answer. If there is any definition of any
person. She plays such an incredible role here and so many people depend on her for so
much.
He knows there are some plans in the near future that she may not be with us much longer and
he does not look forward to those days. He thanked her again. Commissioner Ziobrowski said
emocrat and the reason he gets elected is because there has to be a minority
commissioner and no other Democrat has gotten elected to a county wide office for many years.
And as such the democrats get discouraged and sometimes they complain to him about
something minor or imply that there is something untoward about elections and he tells them
that Jean Byers is beyond reproach and that she is as pure as the driven snow and people have
come to realize that even in his party which always loses. Jean cracks the whip on us. He can
work here is way b
office and running it well and anytime he has a question or a concern he gets a quick accurate
16 years
him that this is your county family and you will grow to love them. And he absolutely has. He
thanked her. Carrie said they all have done a great job of s
and some of the many reasons why Jean is so well respected. She has never met anyone who
very special about Jean, and Commissioner Ziobrowski touched upon it, is that not only is she
superb at a job that needs to have the highest bar set for but she also treats everybody like
family. She just coordinated our December get together for our building. She has professional
attributes and the grace and decorum to be so warm and welcoming to everyone she meets.
for all of her hard work. She thanked Jean and she thanked the commissioners for giving her
the opportunity to speak. Ms. Byers said she is truly humbled and honored by all the kind
remarks, it is greatly appreciated. But she thinks probably most people who have stood here for
Employee of the Month have agreed that it is teamwork.
great team to make things happen and so she is thankful that she has a great team around her
and not just in the office but all the departments she has worked with over the years and like it
hundreds and hundreds of candidates and so she is truly blessed to have a great team around
her. She directed a comment to Tiffany that when she was hired in 1984 she came right out of
anything else. She was hired in 1984 during a presidential election in the Voter Registration
Office as a Clerk Typist and that was before computers so everything was done on a typewriter
so your typewriter was your best friend. She continued that about a year in she was promoted
to assistant registrar and shortly thereafter the decision was made to enter all of those records
into a database so they contracted with Business Records which took them 3 months working
day and night because they had to do it between two elections and manually enter all the data
into the system. The Registrar at that time was an elderly lady who was scared to death of
technology so Jean took the lead role and made sure it all got done. That was early on in her
career and a few years later she was asked by the democrat commissioner if she would be
t
to her age you look back and reflect and you remember how things were very different back
then. There have been so many adjustments and there were no computers when she started.
A few years later, she thinks that Dave had something to do with this but she remembers getting
Continued on page 7
a computer from Sunrise Computers, so we had one computer in the whole office. The county
Management, IT -none of those existed. When she first started, people would ask what do you
do, and she answered all of the above. She did benefits; she typed the budget on the typewriter
and had to start weeks in advance so it would be ready when the board needed to approve it.
But there were always those last minute changes so she used whiteout. Then numbers would
have to be changed on multiple pages. She was involved with Liquid Fuels and fire and burglar
alarms so she worked closely with 911. They had two maintenance guys and shedid all the
pagers. There are just so many things and there have been a ton of changes but having to
work in all those different areas when she first started gave her a great foundation and
knowledge base. She may not know a lot about one thing but she can usually pull out an
answer because she worked in a lot of different areas over the course of her career. She is
grateful for the opportunity to work for the County and
thanked everyone. Chairman Keller stated to Ms. Gray that we need to have Jean sit down in
front of a video camera and give her 5-8 hours to talk about the stuff she talked about here
because there is a lot of great history that we want to capture.
Chairman Keller wished everyone a blessed and merry Christmas.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:48 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
FRANKLIN COUNTY
STAR COMMITTEE
Special Thanks And Recognition Committee
272 North Second Street ~ Chambersburg, PA 17201
Telephone (717) 261-3150 Fax (717) 261-3156
December 20, 2023
The Franklin County Commissioners on behalf of the STAR Committee (Special Thanks And Recognition)
proudly presents the Employee of the Month award to Ms. Jean Byers.
Ms. Byers has been employed with Franklin County since August of 1984. She currently serves as the
Deputy Chief Clerk. The selection for the December 2023 Employee of the Month was determined by the
STAR Committee. There were twenty-two nominations, eleven of which were for Jean.
The STAR nomination form asks what recent event or occurrence made you select Jean and the answer
stated:
“Her superb execution (once again) of a Franklin County election. Jean leads a core team that expands to
include dozens of employees across multiple departments who are deployed across the county over
weeks to conduct elections in Franklin County two times a year, each and every year. She has handled
this enormous responsibility for decades wih grace, professionalism, integrity and tact this is
unparalled. She does it so well and is so humble and modest that her recognition has gone unnoticed for
too long.”
“Jean consistently, day after day, demonstrates kindness and compassion, not only in the general public
and elections officals that she regularly attends to, but also to the team that surrounds her. I have
watched her diffuse very tense situations, always keeping her cool and expressing genuine concern . She
has the innate ability to brainstorm solutions to nearly any issue that comes up and is always willing to
help anyone, within the Commissioners Office or otherwise. Jean is an exemplary example of what the
County stands for (compassion, acceptance, team work, service) and truly deserves to be recognized for
her hard work and her countless contributions to the County. I can think of no one more deserving to be
awarded Employee of the Month than Jean.”
Ms. Byers’s outstanding characteristics are attributes that have not gone unnoticed by her peers. Those
who work alongside Jean used numerous positive words to describe her. These included: dedicated,
integrity, calm, knowledgeable, kind, patient, committed and personable.
We are so grateful to Ms. Jean Byers as she exudes a high standard of knowledge, leadership and
excellence to the employees and residents of Franklin County.
Sincerely,
The STAR Committee
TLB/SMC cc: Personnel File; Supervisor
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (717) 264-8474
Telephone: (717) 261-3150 Fax: (717) 261-3156
Website: www.franklincountypa.gov