Mount Gretna Borough switches to county emergency management agency

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Mount Gretna Borough Council appointed an emergency management coordinator through the Lebanon County Department of Emergency Services during its May 12 meeting.

Brianna Laliberte will be the borough’s contact. She will be responsible for emergency planning, along with providing resources and getting external help in the event of an emergency.

The decision comes after the news that the Western Lebanon County Regional Emergency Management Agency might be shutting down because the volunteer running the organization plans to retire at the end of the year.

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Gary Verna, deputy director of emergency management for the Lebanon County DES, attended the meeting to answer council members’ questions. He told them one benefit of going to a county organization is that the staff is made up of full-time workers rather than volunteers, and they’re able to attend the mandatory trainings. These trainings, he said, often happen during the day when volunteers might have to be at work.

Verna said there isn’t a cost associated with coming on board at this point, but he can’t ensure that will always be the case.

“I cannot guarantee what this is going to be in the future, and that’s because the amount of municipalities that we’re undertaking, there’s going to have to be a point where we have to start assessing a fee or something like that,” Verna said. “I can see that as being per capita.”

Bill Care, director of public works, said council should take action at this week’s meeting because of the summer events that bring more people into the region. He said even if the Lebanon County EMA charges a fee in the future, it would still make financial sense.

“That makes a lot of sense for us to do that. We couldn’t afford to hire somebody to do that job,” Care said. “I did some of it for a little while, and there are so many classes you have to take. Between water, sewer and everything else, I can’t do it. I don’t want to do it either — it’s too much work, and they have the infrastructure for it.”

In other business, council:

• Voted to purchase a fabric roof not to exceed $12,000 for the salt storage structure with liquid fuels money. Care said he received a quote for $11,000 but needed some additional documentation before he could move forward. He said the borough crew will do the work themselves.
• Approved a waiver allowing an artist to work this Sunday and after 7 p.m., if necessary, to finish a statue being installed outside the playhouse. It will be unveiled on May 24.

Mount Gretna Borough Council will meet next at 6 p.m. on June 9 at the Hall of Philosophy.