Lebanon County government expanded its working relationship with the American Red Cross by agreeing to a three-year license fee agreement at the new 911 Center for the charitable organization.
Lebanon County solicitor Matt Bugli presented the agreement, which was unanimously approved by commissioners at their Nov. 21 meeting, for the Red Cross to utilize about 300 square feet of shared office space and a small area for storage at the county’s new 911 Center.
The intended use is during collaborative efforts between the county’s Department of Emergency Services (DES) and the service organization in emergency situations. While the Red Cross would have 24/7 access to their newly leased space, their staff will not occupy it on a full-time basis.
Bugli noted the agreement includes a one-time licensing fee of $425. In response to a question from Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz, he said the proposal does not include monthly rental payments.
“This memorializes that they are able to come into the building and have access to two cubicles and storage space, as necessary, if they are assisting with our DES staff in natural disasters, emergencies and things of that sort,” said Bugli. “It’s a standard license fee, it’s not a lease agreement. This is just a standard fee to use the two cubicles.”
The agreement becomes effective Dec. 1 and expires on Nov. 30, 2027, he added.
In other county business, it was stated that commissioners were not going to add to the agenda a report from Sean Drasher, director of elections, concerning the recent state-mandated, 2-percent audit of the November election and the required recount in the Casey/McCormick race for the U.S. Senate.
Read More: Lebanon County officials conduct U.S. Senate election recount, mandated audit
It was hoped the recount would be concluded by Thursday and that a discussion concerning the audit and recount would occur at the commissioners meeting. However, two precincts had to be counted again Thursday morning since the vote-processing machinery required some minor maintenance work Wednesday evening.
Due to the volume of votes processed during the election and again for the recount, the machine needed repairs before the recount could be completed. That means Drasher did not have a final report ready for commissioners when their meeting commenced at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Drasher placed a request and commissioners unanimously agreed to include providing additional supplemental overtime for full-time election office staff. The approval provides overtime pay for elections staff for Nov. 11-15 for however many hours are needed to process election results.
At their Oct. 3 meeting, commissioners had unanimously voted to approve up to a maximum of 15 additional hours per week, with the first five hours at regular pay and overtime hours worked beyond 40 to be paid at time and a half, up to a maximum of 50 hours per week. Lebanon County full-time employees work 35 hours per week.
This particular motion request was effective Oct. 7 through Nov. 15. In a follow-up conversation with county administrator Jamie Wolgemuth, he said Thursday’s approval supplements the previously approved overtime hours.
Drasher told LebTown on Thursday staff had worked voluminous hours beyond their usual work shifts during this election cycle given the 78 percent voter turnout for it.
Read More: Lebanon County officials announce audit and U.S. Senate race recount results
One other point of business conducted by commissioners during the meeting seeks funding for a local association to obtain a Main Street designation for Lebanon city through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
The Main Street Matters program is designed to support downtown cores and surrounding neighborhoods with tools to create healthy, vibrant, and welcoming communities. Funding is available to support revitalization efforts in planning, business support, aesthetic improvements, and the increase of safety and security.
Commissioners agreed to ratify a letter of support that was previously signed by all three commissioners and sent on Nov. 12 to support the Community of Lebanon Association’s Main Street grant application with the state.
The CLA has applied to DCED for a $50,000 grant to create a strategic plan whose goal is to make key improvements to downtown Lebanon. Despite the letter being signed and already sent, Litz abstained from the vote since she believed commissioners had already ratified its support at a previous meeting.
After being informed that commissioners had agreed to send the letter prior to ratifying it, since there was a deadline to be met prior to this meeting, Litz decided to abstain from voting to approve or disapprove the motion. The motion passed 2-0, as announced by commission chairman Robert Phillips.
In other county business from a fairly light agenda, commissioners voted to:
- Move from a microfilm system for the Recorder of Deeds office for records retention to a digital platform.
- Receive a third quarter report from the Lebanon-based Stifel, the pension management firm for Lebanon County government. The report noted there is a balance of over $143.1 million in the retirement account, with an 11 percent-plus return on the county’s investments in the financial markets for 2024.
- Table a motion for a hotel tax grant request from the Singing Cedar Chorus for their annual show in September 2025 until commissioners obtain the current balance in the hotel tax grant fund account.
- Reappoint Jonathan Johnson and Bonnie Pietruch as members of the Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention advisory board for three-year terms through Dec. 31, 2027.
- Waive real estate tax exemption requests for two fully disabled veterans or their families.
- Approve the minutes of the Nov. 7 meeting and executive session on Nov. 20 to discuss personnel matters, the treasurer’s report and numerous personnel transactions.
Lebanon County Commissioners’ regularly scheduled monthly public meetings begin at 9:30 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 400 S. 8th St., room 207, Lebanon. Their next public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
More Top Stories
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
