COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Commissioner's Legislative Meeting
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 (10:00AM)

MEMBERS PRESENT

Jeff Haste, Chairman
Dominic D. DiFrancesco, II, Vice Chairman
George P. Hartwick, III, Secretary

STAFF PRESENT

Chad Saylor, Chief Clerk/Chief of Staff; Marie Rebuck, Controller; Bob Dick, Treasurer; Randy Baratucci, Purchasing Director; Diane McNaughton, Press Secretary; Garry Esworthy, Risk Manager; Kacey Truax, Commissioners' Office; Jena Wolgemuth, Commissioners' Office; Julia E. Nace, Asst. Chief Clerk; Dave Schreiber, Personnel Office; Elke Moyer, Human Services Directors Office; Mike Yohe, Budget Director; Dominick DeRose, Warden; Michael Madden, Captain, Dauphin County Prison; Jesus Maldonado, C.O., Dauphin County Prison; Eric Sapp, Correctional Officer 3, Dauphin County Prison; Michael Welker, Treatment Specialist, Dauphin County Prison; Mark Templeton, Human Resources Director of Dauphin County Prison; Carissa Herwig, Treatment Specialist, Dauphin County Prison; Ellen DeVolpi, Sergeant, Dauphin County Prison; Michele Jeszenka; Treatment Evaluator, Dauphin County Prison; Leonard Carroll, Deputy Warden, Dauphin County Prison; Thomas Fox, Life Skills Instructor, Dauphin County Prison; Barry Wyrick; Director of Mental Health/Mental Retardation; Dan Eisenhower, Deputy Director of Mental Health/Mental Retardation; Serge Grigoryan, Mental Health/Mental Retardation; Sharon Way, Personnel; Carolyn Thompson, Esq., Court Administrator; Bruce Foreman, Esq., Solicitor's Office; Edgar Cohen, Director of Facilities Maintenance; Lena Martinez, Commissioners Office; Greg Schneider, Budget Office; Gary Serhan, Deputy Controller; Melanie McCaffrey, Solicitor's Office; Michael Brown, Correctional Officer 3, Dauphin County Prison; Robert Ream, Correctional Officer 3, Dauphin County Prison

GUESTS PRESENT

None

MINUTES

CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Haste, Chairman of the Board, called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Everyone observed a moment of silence.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mr. Haste: We have the April 6, 2005 Legislative Meeting and the April 13, 2005 Workshop Meeting minutes. Is there a motion to approve these two sets of minutes?

Mr. DiFrancesco made the motion to approve the April 6, 2005 Legislative Meeting, and the April 13, 2005 Workshop Meeting Minutes. Mr. Hartwick seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS HELD BETWEEN MEETINGS

Mr. Saylor: There was one Executive Session held on April 27, 2005 to discuss litigation.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Mr. Haste: We are at the point in time in the meeting for public participation. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to address the Board? (There was none.)

DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS/GUESTS

1. Commissioners
   1. Presentation of a Proclamation proclaiming "Corrections Employees Week". Representatives: Dominic DeRose, Warden; Leonard Carroll, Deputy Warden; Mark Templeton, Human Resources Director; Michael Madden, Captain; Michele Jeszenka, Treatment Evaluator; Ellen DeVolpi, Sergeant; Jesus Maldonado, Correctional Officer 3; Eric Sapp, Correctional Officer 3; Thomas Fox, Life Skills Instructor; Michael Welker, Treatment Specialist; Carissa Herwig, Treatment Specialist; James Hinkley, Training Officer; Michael Brown, Correctional Officer 3; and Robert Ream, Correctional Officer 3

Mr. Haste: It is my pleasure at this time to present a proclamation honoring our correctional employees in conjunction with "Corrections Employees Week" in the nation and we want to recognize it in Dauphin County. I have the pleasure of being Prison Board Chair and I see these folks in action first hand on a regular basis. There are few weeks that I don't go away amazed at the responsibility and dedication that these folks have with their job. It is a job that is not made for everyone and that is why we go through the extensive testing. It is tough to take guardianship of these folks and sometimes they don't say very nice things and do not act the way that they are supposed to. It is tough to do that with professionalism. I would be naive to say that everyone is perfect out there but I think that most of our folks are. They strive to do a good job and it is my honor to read this proclamation this morning.

Office of County Commissioner
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Proclamation

We, the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners, join friends, family members and fellow co-workers in honoring the many outstanding corrections employees we are fortunate to have working for us here in Dauphin County;

Whereas, corrections employees are trained, skilled and dedicated professionals who help to maintain order and safety at the facility in which they work;

Whereas, during the last year, Dauphin County's corrections employees battled many challenges, including a hurricane, flooding, tornadoes, and at one point, a lack of drinking water; through all these obstacles, the employees remained calm and ready to assist wherever they were needed;

Whereas, although they are rarely ever in the limelight, corrections employees are highly trained individuals, receiving certification in programs such as American Red Cross Child and Infant CPR, Emergency Medical Training, basic certification for the Fire Suppression Team, pistol transition and Pressure Point Tactics, Inc., to name a few;

Whereas, above all, these employees are committed to running a safe and efficient facility, and have made many enduring sacrifices, both personally and professionally;

Therefore, we join with the 251,300 residents of Dauphin County in honoring these often unnoticed staff members; we thank them for the work they do to keep Dauphin County Prison safe; and in grateful recognition thereof, we do hereby proclaim May first through May seventh "Corrections Employees Week" in Dauphin County.

(Proclamation was read and presented. Pictures were taken.)

Warden DeRose: On behalf of the staff and management of Dauphin County Prison, we appreciate the proclamation. The staff at Dauphin County Prison does a great job and I would like to extend my thanks to them for their dedication and hard work on a daily basis.

1. Barry Wyrick, Administrator, MH/MR and Serge Grigoryna of MH/MR
   1. Update of State Hospital Closure.

Mr. Wyrick: Good Morning. I actually have two items to review with you today. I just gave you a proposed budget submission for Dauphin County for the closure of the state hospital. We also have in the personnel packet the appointment of Serge Grigoryan for the position of Mental Health Program Specialist 1. This position was recently created by the Board which will be one of the direct service staff in my office that will focus on the state hospital closure.

I would initially like to look at the budget presentation then we will talk about Serge. I have given you a hand out including two sheets of paper. The first sheet of paper is an internal budget that reflects the detail of the services that Dauphin County's MH/MR Department intends to create with the funding provided by state for the closure of the state hospital. The second sheet is the actual form that gets submitted to the state. Our budget is much more detailed and it breaks out the description of the services. The state form that we will be submitting does not allow for that. We actually will be providing the detailed budget to the Deputy Secretary but this is the official form that gets submitted. I want to highlight a couple of the services that we are proposing. This is for the fiscal year 2005/2006. The first highlight is the expansion of the outpatient psychiatry and counseling services. That funding line item includes expansion of our services to keep our outpatient network in tact and it also includes the waiver request to the state, which has been submitted to permit the Dauphin County MH/MR program to pay for the treatment services of registered consumers who are currently incarcerated at Dauphin County Prison. The second service I would like to highlight is the community treatment team. This is a program that we created in our community within the last two years. Currently our case load is 35. We are proposing to expand that case load to 100. This service is a very intensive community based service including the services of a psychiatrist, nurse, social worker and case manager that work very intensively in the individual's community setting. This includes the psychiatrist being mobile to help that person be successful in the community. We have had great success with the 35 people presently on the case load. We are very excited for the opportunity to expand this service. A little bit further down the budget presentation is a line item for consumer support. One of the things that have been recognized in Dauphin County by my staff is the need to have a formal process where consumers are able to support one another. The literature suggests that is a very effective means to help those individuals be successful in their communities. We are proposing a very formal consumer support program and also the addition of pure specialists which are individuals who have a serious mental illness that will be working along side professionals in three other programs in the community treatment team, our targeted case management services and in some of our residential programs. In the forensic CLR for Dauphin County we are proposing 16 beds. In addition to those 16 beds for Dauphin County, we are going to be handling the proposal process for six beds for Franklin and Fulton Counties and 2 beds for Cumberland and Perry Counties. This is a total of (four) six bed facilities. Dauphin County will only be providing funding for 16 of those beds. This is to help serve the individuals at the Dauphin County Prison who are currently waiting for placement into the community and additionally for individuals who can be diverted from Dauphin County Prison into a residential placement setting. We are suggesting outpatient services and expansion of the residential services for the mentally ill substance abusers. We anticipate that the expansion of the residential services for the mentally ill substance abusers will also help address part of the problem with individuals at the Dauphin County Prison. We have three individuals where we will be maximizing our dollars for they are coming from the Office of Mentally Ill Substance Abusers. By transferring those funds over to the office of Mental Retardation, we actually are able to double the amount of money to serve three individuals who have mental health and metal retardation issues that we will be moving back to the community. The total budget that we are presenting today for the fiscal year 2005/2006 is $5,661,000.00. This budget does not include the health choices adjustment that we are anticipating that will fund the extended acute care facility. The funding may be as much as $2 million dollars which is currently under negotiation. That will be a separate negotiation with the county in regards to the health choices allocation. This 2005/2006 budget is presented and we have notified the state as a start up budget because we are not anticipating we will be running all of these programs for the entire year. Some of these programs will be created during the year. We have included in this document, although it does not get submitted to the state at this time, an additional request of close to $2.7 million for a total request in the 2006/2007 year of $8.349 million dollars. I would entertain any questions at this point.

Mr. Haste: You answered some of mine already. The columns were a little confusing with one title says '05-'06, the other '06-'07 and start up costs. I wasn't sure if in fact it was two different years or if the first column was what you were asking for and the second column was the real cost.

Mr. Wyrick: It is actually two different budgets.

Mr. Haste: What happens if the state says no we are going to continue at the $5.6 million dollars, where do we come up with the $2.7 million dollars?

Mr. Wyrick: It is nice that we are staging the development of programs. If the state doesn't provide us with assurances regarding the level of funding in 2006-2007 there will be services that we do not develop in 2005-2006.

Mr. Haste: That is what I wanted to hear. What type of assurances are you going to get from the state? Most of the programs we had assurances from the state that they would fund them before we entered into these forced partnerships from day one. Somehow we continue these services and somehow they forget the funds.

Mr. Wyrick: We have already engaged in discussion with the state regarding our anticipated request for 2006-2007. Before I finalize the program development, I will be expecting to receive written confirmation from the Secretary of the level of the requested funds in the 2006-2007 budgets.

Mr. Haste: When you have that will you share that with our legislative delegation?

Mr. Wyrick: Yes. I have also been requested, after the Commissioners have approved the submission of the proposed budget, to share this budget with our legislative delegation.

Mr. Haste: Can you share what the highlights mean on here?

Mr. Wyrick: Those were changes from the original budget that have been discussed with Commissioner Hartwick and with you.

Mr. Haste: So, they do not indicate new programs?

Mr. Wyrick: Actually, one does indicate a new program. That is the specialized community residence for those suffering from traumatic brain injury. We were anticipating that the comcare waiver would be able to provide funding for that but as we worked with comcare we learned that they will not be able to provide funding for that so we included that in our proposal. The second change was that we originally proposed one additional personnel for that and now we have changed that to two.

Mr. Haste: Please share this with Mike Yohe if you haven't done so already to give him a heads up. This talks about the budget, but does not talk about what may or may not be matched out of the general fund. What match do you anticipate out of the general fund?

Mr. Wyrick: This is considered CHIP funding and it requires no match from the County.

Mr. Hartwick: I want to commend both of you for your diligence through the entire process. I know the two of you have been working extremely hard. I just want to make sure that my two colleagues know that to the truest extent possible we have communicated to our legislative delegation on every matter that has come up. Senator Piccola has led the charge on this. He has been extremely informed and we want to make sure that they are battling for us on that side as well as on our side. We communicate with them frequently. We have gotten on a first name basis with their staff. I do have some concerns. How close are we at achieving the budget numbers that we want to sustain us for years 2006-2007? Commissioner Haste raised a good point, there is always the commitment here but we are talking about developing an infrastructure that is going to be a long-term solution to the transition of these folks. How long is that commitment going to last? How close are we at achieving that $8.3 million dollar figure that you outlined?

Mr. Wyrick: In our discussions with the Deputy Secretary, regarding our 2006-2007 funding, she had shared with the County MH/MR Administrators that it would be reasonable for us to request a transfer to the counties of 75% of the Harrisburg State Hospital operating budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year. It will be operating during the 2005-2006 fiscal year. It will not be operating over the 2006-2007 fiscal year. This number represents about 57% of our share of that operating budget. Our request actually comes in a few percentage points under what the Deputy Secretary said would be reasonable for us to request. So far it is a friendly discussion. I have not gotten the formal written correspondence yet that it will be included in the budget request.

Mr. Hartwick: Our concern is 2006 and beyond.

Mr. Wyrick: One of the things that we have found with CHIP funding, and have seen a history of because Dauphin County has been participating in the CHIP program for over ten years is that funding is annualized and continued in every year's budget. We actually have a program through CCAP to receive a cost of living adjustment on that money every year as well. So if you looked at the mental health budget through the last ten years you will see the most well funded program is the CHIP program. From experience I can say I anticipate this to be ongoing funding that is annualized every year into our budget. There are no assurances because the budget for mental health/mental retardation is a legislative process.

Mr. Hartwick: How close are we to achieving the 8.3 million dollar figure that you indicated you will need for 2006-2007?

Mr. Wyrick: I think we are close to get the written assurance. We are not going to see that in the budget until the governor presents the budget in February 2006.

Mr. Hartwick: At our last discussion there was about a $2 million difference between that $8.3 million. I t looked like we were going to be able to achieve that without any push legislatively from this Board. I want to find out exactly where we are at and what has transpired and what is needed to get us closer to that $8.3 million dollars.

Mr. Wyrick: At the Senate hearing, it was communicated that 2005-2006 is a start-up year and in 2006-2007 there will be full implementation and additional funds will need to be made available. I believe that the Secretary and Deputy Secretary had discussions with the budget Secretary about the need to transfer additional funding into the 2006-2007 year and I believe that we have support from our legislative delegation encouraging the Secretary to make this consideration. I think all of those things have moved us closer to a final commitment.

Mr. DiFrancesco: How is the state viewing this as an on going issue, we lose the resources of the state hospital? Is their philosophy that we will bring these people back in to the community or ship them out to other facilities? If it is to get these people back in to the community, have you seen any signs that they are adjusting their budgetary process to ship money from what is now going into the state hospital to ongoing commitments and line items? I know it is a little bit premature to ask that because they can make all the promises in the world but when the Governor's budget comes out the whole world looks different than what they were presenting to us. Have they given you a legitimate sign that in fact when case is identified two years from now who is not currently in the state hospital, there is going to be a place for them and a funding stream to get the services that they need?

Mr. Wyrick: The amount of funding that is presented in both the $5.6 million and the $8.3 million actually provide far more additional services than those services just for the individuals who will be moving out of the state hospital. If you look at the second one, just in residential services, you will see that it shows 41 individuals discharged from the state hospital servicing residential programming but an additional 66 community members who will be served by the same fund. For those people years down the road through the expansion of our infrastructure, we will have in our community a far greater ability to serve them than we currently do. Additionally, we will still be retaining just less than half of our current capacity of state hospital resources and that is an ongoing commitment as well. It is just that we will no longer be located in Harrisburg. It will be located in Danville.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I realize that negotiations are still going on but you are at least confident that the state is not just trying to dump the burden. They are trying to change the philosophy and are trying to work with us to see if that philosophy is successful in our community.

Mr. Wyrick: That is certainly the experience with other state hospital closures that the funding that was provided up front for the first two years has continued and has the support of the community to the development of their resources. We would expect the same.

Mr. Haste: The Warden shared with me yesterday and he is going to forward you a study that was done in Ohio in a correctional system. It talked about the issues and needs of the mentally ill in the correctional system in Ohio. It is probably good background reading with the problem we are facing.

Mr. Wyrick: I saw the report.

Mr. Hartwick: There is certainly increased discussion with the Prison and your Department. Probably a higher level than it has been in the past, but at this time I know one of the things that we wanted to do because of the nature of the position of trying to get better RFP's to work diligently in making this transition appropriate. The Board has approved a position that is going to be filled and I wasn't comfortable and in talking to Chad, as well as, trying to move forward anybody that the Commissioner's didn't have a relationship with and I know you guys have a great deal of confidence in Serge. If Serge could please come forward and talk about what his philosophy and position is. He is not going to be a policy maker. We are expecting him to carry out the process of creating the RFP's and getting the programming together. The direction is still coming from the Board to Barry to Serge.
Mr. Haste: Just to lighten it up a bit in here, I can tell you were talking with the administration when in your first sheet, under notes, second highlight says specialized community residents with TBI. Next line down it says 100 slots, I can tell you were talking with the Governor.

Serge: I am grateful to the Board to be here today. I have been assigned to the Upper Dauphin area for the past four years including my work for Commissioner Henry. I have been able to manage the satellite office as a crisis caseworker. There is a variety of providers in that area which is considered to be under served for a given time prior to us creating the new caseworker position a few years ago when I took that position. I was able to coordinate services throughout the area including five schools in three different school districts. I communicated various information efficiently between different entities in order for the local case management team to perform their duties properly and in order to provide the services that the school board had requested. I do believe based on that experience alone, I will be able to manage this position with the most efficiency. Especially considering the fact that sometimes you have to do more with less and I have the experience in that area. In regards to my experience as a case worker, I have served the community in Harrisburg as well for at least 50% of the time. Our mission is pertained to a successful closing of the Harrisburg State Hospital. There are three main points:

1. The complete assurance and adequacy of resources.
2. The assurance of the needs of the people discharged from the hospital. I have placed close to 500 people into treatment facilities over the past several years.
3. The collaborative work of the provider network in order to improve the current system.

Our ultimate goal is to improve the relationships with the provider community to guide our services to meet the mission statement set forth. I am a very loyal and competent employee who plans to utilize the mission statement set by Barry Wyrick and Dan Eisenhower with confidence and ability to build the proposed program set up on this vision.

Mr. Haste: I understand that you are going to oversee the whole transition.

Mr. Wyrick: I will continue to oversee all aspects of the transition with the state hospital closing. We recognize the amount of work that needed to be done and needed additional time besides what Dan and I have. Serge will be assisting Dan and me in all of the aspects but will not have independent responsibility for any part of that process.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I was up at the upper end Superintendent's meeting the other day and comments received by the Superintendents and the general population up there is what great work you have done and they are going to miss you.
Mr. Saylor: The College he attended is a fine institution and I went there some time before him and they definitely increased their standards for graduation since I graduated from there.

Mr. Wyrick: I would ask the Board for approval of the proposed budget today. I need your approval prior to submission to the state.

Mr. Haste: You will have budget hearings with Mr. Yohe but you are asking for our blessing for submission to the state?

Mr. Wyrick: Correct.

Mr. Hartwick made the motion to approve the submission of the MH/MR budget to the State. Mr. DiFrancesco seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carries.

SALARY BOARD

(A full report of Salary Board minutes is on file in the Chief Clerk's office.)

PERSONNEL

Mr. Schreiber: We would like to remove item 8 from the personnel packet until more details are worked out on that position in Domestic Relations. There was an addendum to the personnel packet also.

Mr. DiFrancesco made the motion to approve the Personnel Packet as amended. Mr. Hartwick seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carries.

Mr. Haste: George, when you made your motion, and Nick seconded, when you made that motion did that include last week's Salary Board request also.

Mr. Hartwick: That included all three requests.

Nick: Correct.

Mr. Schreiber: The Personnel Office is extremely pleased to be aunts and uncles to Jayden Taylor. Who was born last Thursday evening. We talked to mom yesterday and she is on cloud nine. She assured me she is not coming back any time soon.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I am quite certain that she will make an exce

llent mom.

Mr. Hartwick: She has been a mom to her employees for longer also. I am discouraged to hear that she is not coming back any time soon, not that we don't like you, Dave. We love you, Dave.

Mr. Schreiber: I share that also. I told her I would bring her work but she is more interested in being a Mom which is what it is all about.

PURCHASE ORDERS

Mr. Baratucci: We had three items that were added to the purchase order packet from last week. They were all approved by Commissioner Haste on pages three, four, and six. All budget issues from last week have been resolved.

Mr. DiFrancesco made the motion to approve the Purchase Order packet. Mr. Hartwick seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carries.

REPORT FROM BUDGET & FINANCE - GREG SCHNEIDER

Report from the Office of Budget & Finance
May 4, 2005

• April 22, 2005 transferred $2,103,903.73 to the Payables account from the County's Concentration account for checks issued that week.
• April 29, 2005 transferred $5,169,298.10 to the Payables account and $1,845,441.06 to the Payroll account from the County's Concentration account for checks issued that week.

Mr. Yohe: This was a non payroll week and we had a large pay out for $1.6 million for transfer taxes. They send them out when they are ready because the money is in there.

Mr. Haste: What do you mean transfer tax?

Ms. Rebuck: Recorder of Deeds.

Mr. Yohe: We periodically distribute them out to the state and municipalities.

• Total Term Investments - N/A
• Balance today in INVEST account $123,473.16 rate 2.80%
• Balance today in Community Banks investment account $20,000,598.64 rate 2.990% (This rate is good through 5/31/05)
• Balance today in Commerce Bank investment account $40,000,414.18 rate 3.170% (This rate equals today's 91-day T-Bill rate of 2.870% plus 30 basis points)
• Balance today in Sovereign Bank investment account $20,000,597.75 rate 2.922% (This rate equals today's 1-month Libor of 3.080% less 10% reserve plus 15 basis points)

$10M TRAN Line-of-Credit Status at PNC: No activity to date.

Mr. Yohe: Do you wish to discuss the offers from Citizens and PNC? Both Citizens and PNC are offering rates a little bit higher than two of the three that we have here. PNC would have the highest rate of the month if we started up with them.
Mr. Haste: I thought what we were going to do was to not slice the pie too much.

Mr. Yohe: Exactly. Commerce did stipulate that in order to keep providing these premium rates they would need a quarter of our investable funds. This means that they need to be in the top three mix. The other two are no minimum balance requirements. Community did express the same concern. Which makes me believe, although they did not say it out right, if the funds were not there, at significant levels, they may drop out. I do not know. They hope we keep the process the same as we are dong now. PNC's rate is good through the end of this year. Citizens and PNC have confirmed that the rates will continue to rise with the going market rate. All of them will continue with the market. The problem now is two of them are higher than what we are getting. I could put them out to all five and give it to the top three. First, I would need authorization from you to set up the accounts and that probably wouldn't get done until June. I am a little concerned if we go more than three, there will not be much money to spread around.

Mr. DiFrancesco: One of the things that caught my eye is the fact that if we had the ability to change and go with the top three presented from the five; it would have been six thousand more income per month. Did I read that correctly?

Mr. Yohe: For May.

Mr. DiFrancesco: Assuming that PNC would keep their margin for the rest of the year that is obviously significant money. I think we do need to take a look at this. Maybe if we even took them to a minimum deposit of 10 million dollars or something along those lines and then spread the rest of the money with the top three just to keep them in play, it is tough for us to figure out at what point do the banks lose interest. Do they no longer think it is worthwhile to compete for the business? 10 million dollars is still a significant deposit. Looking at the overall mix, $6000.00 a month is a significant amount of money.

Mr. Haste: I agree. My only concern is that one of the reasons we went to this plan was because banks were complaining about us not being consistent. I do not want to start sending another signal that we are not consistent. I think whatever our game plan is we need to stick to that. If every so often we do the RFP then we select three and do it. Somehow we need to let the community know what we are doing. That is my concern.

Mr. DiFrancesco: The answer may be that every six months we issue an RFP to set the three banks that will have our business for the next six months. If a bank drops off or comes on they will have a consistent play at an x number of assets.

Mr. Haste: When we set these three up, what expectations did these three folks have? Did they think they were getting this for a year, quarter?

Mr. Yohe: I never asked that. When Community started their promotional rate, I do not think they considered other banks getting into the fold. I think the first step would be if I could get the authorization to get the other two accounts opened.

Mr. Haste: What is there to say that the third bank would come back next week with a good rate? Are you going to open an account up there also?

Mr. Yohe: It depends on the rate they offer us.

Mr. Haste: Many banks have offered a high rate for a month then the next month they are not. They will be high to get in the door and then change.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I think it is important for us to communicate to them and be clear. If PNC is guaranteeing the gap, for a long period of time, then obviously I think we need to consider that institution. I am not interested in a teaser rate that makes us jump through a lot of loops then changes from month to month.

Mr. Haste: Then why not give it all to them if they are guaranteeing?

Mr. DiFrancesco: We have to balance the fairness to the organizations that are competing for the business. If we don't, they lose interest and we lose overall. We also have to balance the responsibility of generating the best interest rate for the money.

Mr. Hartwick: I think that Nick's suggestion of going with three individuals is best because you keep banks on alert that there will still be competition out there. Some banks have not gone up with the rates because they think they are in the mix no matter what. This keeps more stability.

Mr. Haste: Then if we do that, you need to do an RFP that goes out to all the banks that says every six months that effective on such a date, we will take the top three banks and for the next six months those top three banks will continue to compete for the pot of money and will be guaranteed a quarter of it and the fourth quarter is bid to the highest bidder for the next months. We will have a fair playing field and I am all for earning more money but like Nick said, I do not want the banks to not trust us.

Mr. DiFrancesco: It has to be a fair partnership. Let's face it; this money just doesn't sit in the bank. They turn it around and put it back into the community and loan it. It has to be a stable environment to them otherwise it is no value to them; if they feel they are going to lose it next turn. We have to be respectful to them and their needs and at the same time set up a program that gives us the highest possible interest rate in return.

Mr. Haste: If you want to open an account with everybody who is going to bid, to do it in one full swoop, I don't care. My concern is I do not want someone coming in here talking to you and every two months having a new idea on how we are going to do this.

Mr. Yohe: That is fine. We will shoot for July 1. That will give me time to put something together. We will stick with these three until we do the RFP.

Mr. Hartwick: Was PNC's rate good until the end of the year?

Mr. Yohe: Yes.

Mr. Haste: Bob, does this sound like a reasonable approach to you?

Mr. Dick: I do. I think you ought to tell them what you expect in the pool, then of course at the end of the year they can draw down on that. That can affect their rates. It sounds like a reasonable approach to me. It is fair.

Mr. Yohe: I can incorporate expected balances by month. We will work through it. Some may respond that they will tie it into an index, or we'll give you a flat rate that whole time, or we will adjust it according to the market.

REPORT FROM CHIEF CLERK/CHIEF OF STAFF - CHAD SAYLOR

Mr. Saylor: We have the recommendation of the voluntary benefits committee to switch the deferred compensation accounts to the Alliance Benefit Group. That transition took place at the beginning of this year. Our employee's contributions started going there at the first of the year. On January 26, 2005, the existing balances were transferred over and I was advised that everything went smoothly. We have had no complaints. Some employees have commented on some of the options that are now offered and they have a wider selection. I have been alerted by Stephen Hetrick that we now need to set up a Deferred Compensation Investment Board. Since the Board of Commissioners have signed the paperwork as being the main fiduciary ultimately the voluntary benefits committee can review and make recommendations, it is a formality that the Commissioners should adopt their recommendations. He has suggested that an Investment Board exist of the Commissioners, Mr. Yohe, and a member of the voluntary benefits committee. This Board should meet quarterly for a half hour and vote and make whatever recommendations the committee makes. These meetings can be conducted immediately after a Commissioners' Meeting and they can be recorded and all of you are here. That is a request that Mr. Hetrick made to me.

Mr. Haste: This Board would only deal with recommendations regarding deferred compensation and not anything else brought up by the benefits committee?

Mr. Saylor: Yes.

Mr. Haste: Instead of another meeting, I think we can place it on our agenda similar to Salary Board which is another Board, unless the Solicitor's Office felt otherwise.

Mr. Foreman: Ok.

SOLICITOR'S REPORT-BILL TULLY, ESQ., SOLICITOR

Mr. Foreman: Nothing to add, but I would be happy to answer any questions.

MATTERS REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

Mr. Haste: Is there anything that needs to be pulled out separately or discussed? (There was none.)

Mr. DiFrancesco made the motion to approve Items A through R. Mr. Hartwick seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carries.

1. Training Packet
2. Approval of FY04/05 Per Diem Rates between Children & Youth Agency and:
   1. Valley Youth House
      1. Base Rate $126.00/day
      2. High Structure $150.00/day
      3. Supervised Independent Living $110.00/day
3. Satisfaction Pieces with the following individuals:
   1. Scott Alan Warfel property located at 2639 Boas Street, Harrisburg.
   2. Yvonne C. Evans property located at 3012 Meadowlark Place, Harrisburg
4. Adopt Resolution No. 16-2005 Authorizing the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners to apply for $250,000 of the Housing Redevelopment Assistance Program Grant from the Commonwealth of PA, on behalf of the Keystone Development Corporation, Inc., and approve a contract for the Derry Street PNC Bank Building project.
5. Professional Services Agreement between Dauphin County and Surgical Monitoring Services, LLC d/b/a SMS Medical Systems to perform neurophysiological and neurovascular test for certain at-risk patients at Spring Creek.
6. Audit Agreement between Dauphin County and Strategic Pharmacy Solutions, LLC to perform a retrospective audit of claims from the County's pharmacy/ prescription drug plan which are dated prior to the effective date of this Agreement. (Personnel)
7. PA Department of Community and Economic Development Contract for Housing and Development Assistance for a Brownfields for Housing Initiative Grant. The Grant funds
   in the amount of $226,297 will be used for the redevelopment of the City of Harrisburg's Zommit Cleaners site. The Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority will be the subcontractor for project. (Economic Development)
8. H HOME Program Contract from PA Department of Community and Economic Development Office. A requirement by HUD for the County to qualify as an Urban County and receive grant assistance directly from HUD. (Economic Development)
9. Agreement with PA Dept. of Transportation between Dauphin County and Herbert, Rowland & Grubic to provide inspection and inventory of bridges in Dauphin County.
10. Amendment to Contract between Dauphin County and Zelenkofske Axelrod LLC to adjust the scope of services and related fees for the 2004 Audit.
11. GIS License Agreement with Henkels & McCoy, Inc. (Information Technology)
12. Advertising Agreements with Movie-Town (Elizabethtown) and Colonial Commons 9 (Harrisburg) to recruit foster parents on local movie theatre screens. (Children & Youth)
13. Adoption Assistance Agreements:
    1. 2005-10
    2. 2005-11
    3. 2005-12
    4. 2005-13
    5. 2005-18
14. Subsidized Legal Custodianship Agreement 2005-04.
15. Lease Agreement between Dauphin County and the PA Audubon Society for space located at the Benjamin Olewine III Nature Center at Wildwood Lake Sanctuary. (Parks & Recreation)
16. Proposal/Agreement with Dauphin County Technical School for the provision of catering services for the Employee Appreciation Luncheon.
17. Real Estate Tax Refunds:
    1. Refund of 2004 Interim real estate taxes to Raymond & Lena Manari, 120 W. Governor Rd., Hershey, Derry Township, parcel #24-045-014, in the amount of $346.82.
    2. Refund of 2002, 2003 & 2004 real estate taxes to Sherry Heidelmark, 260 Quarry Rd., Hummelstown, Derry Township, parcel #24-030-049, in the amount of $393.48.
    3. Refund of 2005 real estate taxes to Gratz Borough Municipal & Authority, Gratz Borough, parcel #27007-067, in the amt. of $94.90.
    4. Refund of 2005 real estate taxes to Reliance Hose Company, 405 W. Main St., Elizabethville Borough, parcel #26-007-009, in the amt. of $573.60.
    5. Refund past due 2004 real estate taxes to John Paul Ngheip Nguyen, 2401 Kensington St., Harrisburg, parcel #13-028-001, in the amt. of $63.97.
    6. Refund of 2005 real estate taxes to the Halifax Borough, 123 Armstrong St., Halifax Borough, parcel #28-001-014, in the amt. of $77.90.
    7. Refund of 2005 real estate taxes to Halifax Borough, 38 2nd St., Halifax Borough, parcel #28-001-015, in the amt. of $99.13.
18. Adjustment to Dauphin County's Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) allocation for FY2004/2005 increasing the grant amount to $1,361,632.

FORMER BUSINESS

(There was none.)

NEW BUSINESS

(There was none.)

COMMISSIONERS' DISCUSSION & ACTIONS

Mr. DiFrancesco: Last night was the TMI drill and everything went very well. We will not know until Friday when they officially review the observations from the people who were testing us. I want to commend the operations. There are many volunteers and employees involved. It does take a significant amount of people to make it work and everyone did a wonderful job and that extends out to the municipalities. In a test situation quarterly, you realize how complicated the decisions are that have to be made when a crisis occurs. I said to an observer last night that hopefully this is the closest we have to get to re-living a TMI accident. It is good that we continue to test and prepare if we ever had the real thing and had to get our people out.

I spoke last week about the proposed credit card program and PNC came back sort of amusing. I asked them to get me information from other counties who are doing this program so we have an example of some of the challenges and some of the benefits. They came back with all of the counties they have in the credit card program. They issued credit cards to everybody. They said some of the things they are facing are that there are challenges and unbridled use that is hard to control. Obviously, we told them from day one that this is not what we were looking for. I am going to sit down with them and set up a meeting with a greater number of people so we can see what controls and reports they can offer us. They are fully aware that in Dauphin County there are no credit cards that will be handed out and if we can get a rebate based upon paying a utility bill on credit that is great but this is not a program to put credit cards in the hands of people. I wanted to assure you that we are unified on this.

Mr. Hartwick: On Monday from 9 a.m. until noon we are holding a legislative rally at the Capitol. We have briefings and I talked to the providers on Monday about several things such as MA Realignment. We coordinated our efforts on who is meeting with whom on the hill. I know the Board is involved and we invite anyone else who is concerned about Human Services to attend the rally and voice our budget concerns about the budget cuts in Children and Youth, Drug and Alcohol, HSDF and the issues related to the state hospital closing. We are going to be very proactive on our budget as we have been in the grass roots level.

In a recent editorial in the Patriot News this past week, it talked about the renewal of a license to operate TMI. In that editorial it suggested that Dauphin County play a role as the watch dog and insuring that all the questions are asked and answered. We really need to be involved and at the forefront. One other thing that I heard was that it did not address the day care centers which I did bring up before and it is still an issue and should be mentioned in TMI's overall plan. How are we anticipating in being involved? Is there any way we can have periodic involvement by our staff that is involved with updates to the Board so we can in fact be the watch dog?

Mr. DiFrancesco: I did a couple things and the most important one at this point in time is I sent an email to the Solicitor's Office and am waiting for them to get back to me. very much like the tax assessment debate that we had, this license renewal we need to have counsel on our side that can guide us on how we can be involved when we have the opportunity to comment, what types of options do we have to give us some muscles in these discussions so if there are some issues in these discussions we know the best time and method to do that. I am waiting for the Solicitor's office to advise. This process only happens once in a while and probably locally we don't have the best expertise on. My recommendation is to wait for the Solicitors Office. I want us to be very proactive in our preparedness. We need to let TMI and our citizens know that it is Dauphin County's intent to be very actively engaged in this as we move forward because there are a lot of concerns in our community. The Solicitor's Office will keep the Board informed as we move forward. They need to be the quarterback on strategy.

Mr. Hartwick: We won't have the opportunity to comment until 2024. So, we better get our comments in now and maybe we can host public meetings for community and constituent concerns that allows us to hear the community's concerns are. I certainly would be willing to assist you in any way.

Mr. Haste: Talk about controversial facilities. I have asked Secretary McGinty to meet with us as well as legislators regarding the landfill. Secretary McGinty has refused to meet with us. That just continues my concerns on where DEP is going and what may be going on behind the scenes. I have attempted to set up a meeting and she has refused.

Mr. DiFrancesco: Were they kind enough to give you a reason?

Mr. Haste: No.

Mr. Haste: We are working on that. My intent was to have a public, public officials meeting so that she could clearly understand that I have not found one public official yet in favor of reissuing a permit and wanted to make it very clear where this community stood and she chose not to have that meeting.

Mr. Hartwick: I have not found one citizen in favor either.

Mr. Haste: Waste Management.

Mr. DiFrancesco: It is very clear that this facility is not the right facility and all evidence presented to DEP shows that. My own personal opinion and if they move forward and grant the permit to expand the facility, the cost benefit process that they go through is a joke. They have to ignore every piece of evidence that was presented in order to approve that expansion.

Mr. Haste: It appears that is what they are doing.

Mr. DiFrancesco: We will continue to fight.

CORRESPONDENCE

Mr. Haste: You see the items of correspondence received by the Board lettered A through P that will be handled by the staff appropriately.

1. Notification from Light-Heigel & Associates, Inc., indicating Frank English will be applying to DEP for a General NPDES permit for stormwater discharges associated with construction activities located at Deodate Road, Conewago Township (6-lot residential subdivision).
2. Notification from CET Engineering Services indicating a revised application to DEP by the Lower Paxton Township Authority for the construction of two utility line stream crossings as part of the Authority's Spring Creek Mini Basin SC-11 sanitary sewer rehabilitation project.
3. Notification from Fairfax Compliance Group Inc., on behalf of Harman Stove Company, indicating they will be submitting a Request for State Only Operating Permit Administrative Amendment to DEP. The amendment is to incorporate the requirements for the two new spraying booths.
4. Notification from PA Dept. of Transportation indicating they have been issued by DEP a general permit for the use of recycled asphalt pavement in various highway construction projects.
5. Notification from Erdman Anthony indicating they intend to file an application to DEP for a NPDES general permit concerning the proposed Capitol View Commerce Center on the 1000 Cameron St., Harrisburg. The 10.42 acre brownfields site will be develped into a three-story printing facility and multi-lease office building.
6. Notification from PA Dept. of Transportation indicating they intend to apply to DEP for a general NPDES permit for stormwater discharges associated with construction activities located in Swatara Township.
7. Notification from Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc., indicating they have notified individuals for Right-of-Ways necessary for the construction and maintenance of Dauphin County Bridge No. 42, Matterstown Road, over the Wiconisco Creek, Washington Township, Dauphin County.
8. Notification from DEP indicating a revision to a permit #7175SM1A1C8 and permit #22920301C2 for the Hummelstown Quarry Operation, South Hanover Township, Dauphin County. The purpose is to incorporate RAP storage within the permit area.
9. Notification from Derry Township Municipal Authority indicating they plan to submit an application for an NPDES permit renewal for the Clearwater Road Wastewater Treatment Facility.
10. Notification from Glace Associates, Inc., on behalf of the Halifax Municipal Authority, indicating the Halifax Borough is planning an application to amend their existing NPDES permit to DEP for an increase in the hydraulic capacity and organics loading rate relevant to the existing waste-water treatment plant.
11. Notification from TeamAg Incorporated, on behalf of Kreider Farms, indicating they intend to submit an application to DEP for renewal of an NPDES permit for a concentrated animal feeding operation at the following locations: Main Dairy; Manheim Layers; Donegal Complex; and Middletown Complex.
12. Notification from Buchart Horn, Inc., on behalf of Susquehanna Township School District, indicating they intend to submit an application to DEP for a general NPDES stormwater permit for construction of Susquehanna Township High School and Middle School.
13. Received notification from the Dauphin County Planning Commission indicating partial release of 2005 Community Development Block Grant Funds for the following projects: Harrisburg Upper Dauphin YMCA; Williamstown Borough; Millersburg Borough; Elizabethville Borough; Lykens Borough; and Wiconisco Borough.
14. Notification from Marlene Fuhrman, indicating she intends to place a new structure on her property located at 941 Stoney Creek Road, Dauphin, PA. The original structure was destroyed by a fire.
15. Notification from Omar King of 376 Middle Road, Upper Paxton Township, indicating his intent to register use of a general permit for two stream crossings on his property.
16. Notification from Erdman Anthony in reference to the Capitol View Commerce Center indicating they intent to submit a joint permit application to DEP for a water obstruction and encroachment permit related to construction activities of a three-story office building in the Paxton Creek floodway.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

(There was none.)

ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Haste: Is there a motion to adjourn?

Mr. DiFrancesco made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Hartwick seconded the motion. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned.