The Schuylkill County commissioners approved a new agreement Wednesday with Greens Communications Inc., Pottsville, for the equipment at 11 tower sites. The agreement is for $11,800 a month and replaces the previous contract from 2003. As a professional services contract, the county was not required to place it out for bid.
Scott Krater, county communications director, said that cost will only decrease as older equipment is phased out at the sites.
In other news, the county Emergency Management Agency received a $14,836 Hazardous Material Response Fund grant to develop integrated emergency response capabilities for the health hazards and risks that hazardous materials pose to the general public.
The commissioners also reappointed members to various county boards.
Ed Barket, Shenandoah, was reappointed to a five-year term to the Schuylkill County Transportation Authority through 2020. Barket served as authority chairman. Merlyn Jenkins, Pottsville, was also appointed to a five-year term on the authority. Brian Canfield, Pottsville, Joseph Baranko Jr., McAdoo, and John Reilly Jr., Ashland, were reappointed to five-year terms through 2020 to the Schuylkill County Industrial Development Authority. Keith Masser of Sterman Masser Inc., Sacramento, was reappointed to the Schuylkill County Agricultural Land Preservation Board. The term is through the end of the year. Masser served as chairman of the board.
James Hepler, Pitman, was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Diane Hepler, Pitman, on the board. Diane Hepler had resigned. That term is also through the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the county retirement fund took a small hit over the month. The total market value of the fund dropped from $122,193,981 on Dec. 31, 2015, to $113,530,832 on Wednesday.
“The whole market has been down in 2016,” County Controller Christy Joy said.
Joy was confident that the market will bounce back.
“We are well diversified,” Joy said. “We are not investing for the short-term here. We are investing over the next 50 years.”
The Hay Group serves as the county’s financial actuary for the retirement fund.
The commissioners issued a proclamation endorsing the work of the Schuylkill County Mental Health and Developmental Services and Drug & Alcohol Programs along with the other county organizations involved in the point-in-time homeless count on Jan. 27. According to the proclamation, more than 610,000 people were homeless in the United States.
“We are able to bring help to those who need it and it allows us to apply for grants,” Keith Semerod, deputy administrator for the county mental health and developmental services, said. ““It’s really a win-win opportunity for Schuylkill County.”