October 17, 2007 Minutes
- Tax Refunds:
- 2007 Real Estate Taxes - Dennis & Priscilla Schwenk, Parcel #24-051-013 - $242.59.
- 2007 Real Estate Taxes - Helge and Flora Jespersen, Parcel #09-096-021 - $358.33.
- 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Real Estate Taxes - Annabelle Wert, Parcel #39-019-050 - $954.82.
- Appointment of Virginia L. Teter to the Dauphin County Children and Youth Advisory Board. Term expires October 24, 2010.
- State and Local Government Single Schedule Lease Purchase Agreement between Dauphin County and HP Financial Services for Schedule # 103120000007. Total cash price $249,798.25 for 36 months with lease payment of $22,734.14. (***A VOTE IS REQUESTED 10/17/07***)
- Ratify the authorization for Craig Williard, Weatherization Director, to execute the title for a 1999 Dodge Caravan. This vehicle will be given to Dauphin County from the York County Weatherization Department at no cost. (***A VOTE IS REQUESTED***)
- Appoint Kathy Possinger to the Affordable Housing Board. Term expires December 31, 2008.
DAUPHIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
WORKSHOP MEETING
OCTOBER 17, 2007 10:00 A.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Jeff Haste, Chairman
Dominic D. DiFrancesco, II, Vice Chairman
George P. Hartwick, III, Secretary
STAFF PRESENT
Chad Saylor, Chief Clerk; Marie E. Rebuck, Controller; Bruce Foreman, Esq., Solicitor's Office; Gary Serhan, Deputy Controller; Diane McNaughton, Commissioners' Office; Amy Richards, Commissioners' Office; Randy Baratucci, Director of Purchasing; Edgar Cohen, Director of Facilities Maintenance; Mike Pries, Director of Security; Kay Lengle, Personnel; Dave Schreiber, Personnel; Leila McAdoo, Solicitor's Office; William Struemke, Solicitor's Office; Dan Kern, Schaffner Center; Laura Kempton, Schaffner Center; Gary Grenoble, Schaffner Center; Brenda Hoffer, Commissioners' Office and Richie-Ann Martz, Commissioners' Office
GUESTS PRESENT
Reggie Sheffield, Patriot-News; Sanford Krevsky, Sandra Krevsky
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 Minutes from the October 3, 2007 Workshop Meeting that we will take up at next week's meeting.
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 at this time? (There was none.)
DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS/GUESTS
(None)
PERSONNEL
Ms. Lengle: Are there any questions on any of the items in the Personnel Packet? (There were none.)
There are several that I would like to request a vote for today. They are Items #7, #11, #12 and #1 of the Addendum.
It was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Board approve Item #7 under New Hires; Items #11 and #12 under Personnel Changes and Item #1 under New Hire of the Addendum; motion carried.
PURCHASE ORDERS
Mr. Baratucci: You received the Report yesterday. There are obviously a couple budget issues that will have to be fixed. Mike already has those. The Report is there for you to review. Last week I discussed a Blackberry Request and I'm not sure if you are ready to make a decision on the Blackberry Unit for EMA.
Mr. DiFrancesco: No.
Mr. Baratucci: It can wait until next week.
Mr. Hartwick: Awhile ago I asked about the patching and sealing of the parking lot out at the Schaffner Youth Detention Center and whether or not we could use folks on work release or community service to do that. Was that idea ever explored?
Mr. Baratucci: I don't believe so. Dan was here. He could probably answer that. I believe he was talking with Edgar about that. There are a couple of maintenance projects that they were working on; two of which are in here now. There is an HVAC project and then the paving. Dan, could you come up.
Mr. Kern: When we consulted with the Department of Public Welfare, they didn't feel comfortable with work release inmates being near the Center, given confidentiality and just the safety of the residents.
Mr. Hartwick: I understand that they don't feel comfortable, but isn't there a way you could make sure you put up some sort of perimeter of security to make sure that no one is interacting with any of the residents. The idea is that we have work release folks and this is a job that I don't think would take a great deal of innovative skills or equipment for that matter. You see people doing their driveways. I did it on my own. If you could use folks and just buy materials, it would cut down on the cost. Just explore the option. If DPW says that it is 100% prohibited then you need to do whatever you need to do. I would like to hear from them first before we make that assumption.
Mr. Kern: Shall I report back before next week?
Mr. Haste: As soon as you get it send us an email.
Mr. Hartwick: If in fact DPW says no then move forward with the company.
Mr. Baratucci: These won't be approved until next week either way so by then we will have an answer and you can either say yea or nay.
Mr. Hartwick: Edgar, could you explain to me a little bit more about the roof repair and why this change order is so large.
Mr. Cohen: The reason for the cost is because to get to this roof you have to set up some scaffolding. It is a small area out front on the Front Street side. It is 75 feet high. The only way to access this roof is by placing scaffolding. There is no using a ladder. There is no access panel. This area actually covers out over above the Law Library and goes across the front entranceway. You can't even get a ladder from the top working down. It is very unsafe. To work in a safe manner, scaffolding needs to be erected.
Mr. Hartwick: $21,000 for scaffolding.
Mr. Cohen: No. This is for materials, rip-off and labor. You have more labor than materials involved. Materials are probably only a quarter of that. The rest is labor.
Mr. Hartwick: Was this not anticipated?
Mr. Cohen: What happened was that portion was actually omitted. It was a miss from our guys. We caught it and we are trying to get it rectified.
Mr. Hartwick: That is my concern with the projects. I think this Board has always been pretty skeptical with change orders. Some folks come in and they low ball and then all of a sudden you see a ton of change orders. You want to make sure you are giving everybody the fair opportunity to bid on the whole scope of the project. Large change orders like this always raise some concern.
Mr. Cohen: They have performed work that was not included in the bid that they did on their own. They have done more extensive labor than what actually was projected, because after they ripped the roof off they actually had to use a grinder on the foundation. They worked well with the Courts and everybody.
Mr. Hartwick: If you could just so I get a better idea and understanding of the project could we go out so I can take a look at exactly what we are talking about. $21,000 is a lot of money and I want to make sure that I understand the scope of the project.
Mr. Cohen: Just let me know when you are ready and we can go up to the roof and look over.
Mr. Haste: Why don't you talk a little about the roof project out at the jail? I guess we are only going to do a segment of that now.
Mr. Cohen: The roof project basically consists of four phases that the engineers had projected. All four phases together we are looking at close to $1.5 million to do the whole entire roof out at the jail. Basically what we are planning to do is to break it out into sections, taking the worst section of the roof and then working backwards. The Prison roof is a challenge, because there are a lot of items up there on top of the roof. For example there are gas lines that go all over the roof. You have a lot of materials to work around and also location and the square footage of the roof.
Mr. Hartwick: Are you putting a rubber roof on that too?
Mr. Cohen: Yes.
Mr. Hartwick: Schaffner the same thing? I know you are doing stages.
Mr. Cohen: I'm not sure about Schaffner. Do you mean Bulk Storage?
Mr. Hartwick: Yes.
Mr. Cohen: Bulk Storage is more square footage than the Courthouse, but you don't have the necessary means of trying to locate dumpsters and it is not labor intense.
Mr. Hartwick: At the Schaffner Center you are doing the HVAC system in 3 phases. I'll make a time to see the roof.
Bid Award - Bulk Storage Roof Replacement Project
Mr. Baratucci: The last thing I have is you should have received something from HRG about the bid for the roof replacement for the Bulk Storage Building. They are recommending going with the low bidder for Alternate #2, which is David M. Maines Associates, Inc. at $167,000.00; which I understand is less than what was anticipated. I would concur with their recommendation. I believe the Solicitor's Office was reviewing it for legalities.
It was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Board award the bid for the Bulk Storage Building Roof Replacement Project to the low bidder for Alternate #2 - David M. Maines Associates, Inc. at a bid price of $167,000.00; motion carried.
TRAINING PACKET
Mr. Haste: We have one Item under the Training Packet that needs to be approved for Security.
It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board approve Item #1 on the Training Packet; motion carried.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
Mr. Haste: Items for Discussion. Items C and D require a vote. Item C, for everyone's information, is increased storage space for the Prison. $22,734.14 is a quarterly payment.
Mr. Hartwick: Explain this to me again. Sorry.
Mr. Haste: C is for additional storage space for the cameras out at the Prison. This is for the additional cameras that we are putting in. The $22,734.14 is a quarterly payment not a monthly payment.
Mr. Hartwick: So, the expenditure to County taxpayers is going to be?
Mr. Haste: None. This comes out of the fund.
Mr. Hartwick: Gotcha.
Mr. Haste: Item D is York County has a vehicle that would be great for Weatherization.
Mr. Hartwick: I'm aware of that one.
It was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Board approve Items C and D, listed above; motion carried.
SOLICITOR'S REPORT - BRUCE FOREMAN, ESQ.
Mr. Foreman: The Report has been circulated for action at the next meeting. I believe there are two items on the Agenda for action.
CHIEF CLERK'S REPORT - CHAD SAYLOR
Mr. Saylor: Another week has gone by and we still have received nothing from the City Authority in terms of their plan for the incinerator. Unless you have any questions of me that is all I have.
Mr. Haste: I don't think we will get anything until November 1st. With the most recent action, they are required to have a plan before the 1st.
Mr. Hartwick: It would be nice to see a plan prior to November 1st so we can take action at that time.
Mr. Haste: I doubt that we will.
COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS
Mr. DiFrancesco: I was going to ask Dan to give introductions. Last week at the close of the meeting, I had the pleasure of announcing to the Board that Schaffner was honored at the recent JDCAP Conference with several nominations and actually two top awards that came to folks involved either direct employees or people that work with the Schaffner Center. It was a very big honor for us to win those awards and once again it just speaks to the high quality of people that we have working for us. Some of them are here today so I have asked Dan if he would give an introduction and also tell specifically what it was that won them the award. There was also a program that received an award.
Mr. Kern: Thank you for making time on the agenda. A couple weeks ago, as Commissioner DiFrancesco noted, we were at our annual JDCAP Conference and it was a good haul for Dauphin County. We have three people here representing Schaffner today. Laura Kempton, a treatment supervisor, was acknowledged as the most distinguished person within the field of detention for 2007, which is a wonderful honor. Her commitment to the Center is certainly there everyday.
We have Sandy Krevksy who was awarded with the most prestigious award for somebody outside the field of detention for his services within our field. As a hearing examiner, he is very well connected with the kids. He is part of our Advisory Board and a very active member in the community. It was an honor to have him receive an award for his efforts.
We also have Gary Grenoble present here who has received special acknowledgement for all the donations that he was able to capture throughout the year and every year, which he turns back to provide services for the kids within the facility. It is a great honor. Please come up.
Mr. DiFrancesco: It is an opportunity for the Board to say thank you to you for the work and efforts that you put forth everyday. Just to put a little more on to what Gary does, the donations that we are talking about give kids opportunities. Gary is responsible for lining up the donations that will allow kids to go on field trips. Gary, was it an Orioles/Yankees game that the kids went to?
Mr. Grenoble: Yes.
Mr. DiFrancesco: He was able to line up bus transportation and tickets to allow the shelter kids to go see an Orioles/Yankees game. Probably taking them to an Orioles/Yankees game is not the best choice to show adults behaving properly, but. The kids in the facility in general benefit from these individuals because it is when you see them out of the spotlight that matters. You see the amount of passion, emotion that goes into truly caring about the kids and trying to do what is best for the kids. In a lot of ways I never want to put any other facility down, but the Schaffner Center and the people associated with it are just light years ahead of all the other centers throughout the Commonwealth. There are a lot of good people working in the industry, but I think our people really have a level of commitment, dedication and professionalism that is just above and beyond everybody else. I'm very proud to have oversight and work with these people on a regular basis. I was honored to be at the conference to see you get the awards.
Mr. Hartwick: I think the most valuable service you can provide is service to kids, particularly those who have been in a position where they have made a mistake or two. Ultimately it is our job to be able to figure out ways, not by the grace of God all of us have made mistakes, some of us have been fortunate enough not to get caught. Some of us have certainly been in a position of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and some kids, based upon their family background and a number of things that happened in their life in social and economic situations, have made some pretty bad choices. To be able to provide an opportunity to try to put them back on the right track, to give them the feeling and sense that they are not alone that people do care, people do love them and people are willing to step out on their own time with their own effort, and I suspect all of you would do your service, knowing the reputation of all three of you, would probably do it without pay to try to affect the lives of our young kids here in Dauphin County. You are truly doing God's work. I know it is really making a difference. On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, I really appreciate all your good intentions and efforts with those troubled youth.
Mr. Haste: I won't belabor the point. I would just like to say thank you and I know the task that you each serve is not always easy. I think oftentimes the three of you exemplify this, it is hard to realize the good in some of the youth with some of the actions and activities they have taken. However, I think inside of everyone of those young individuals they want to do right and they want to be a good person. They have just been misguided. I think the efforts that you have taken to go above and beyond helps to draw that out of those children and if in fact we are ever going to have a safe and good community it is with folks like you that make that occur. I just want to say thank you for what you have done.
(Applause and pictures were taken.)
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mr. Haste: We are again at the point in time for public participation. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to address the Board? (There was none.)
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, it was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Meeting adjourn.
