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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM - Meeting Minutes - 31 - 8-9-1984 - COMMISSIONERMINUTE BOOK BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA Metro Petrosky, Jt. FRANK R. MASCARA, EDWARD M. PALUSO. COMMISSIONERS .Minute No. 31 Washington County Commissioners Washington, PA, August 9, 1984 The Board of Washington County Commissioners met in regular session with the following members being present: Commissioners Mascara, Petrosky and Paluso. Also being present: Chief Clerk Dallatore; Solicitor Bassi; Administrative Assistint Davis; Lou Lignelli, Director of Administration; Linda Hands, Clerk -Steno II; Jim Jefferson, WJPA; Farrell Jackson, Coroner; Scott Myers, WKEG; Natalie Moore, Herald - Standard; Jon Stevens, Observer -Reporter; Joann Sarkett, Brownsville Telegraph; Linda Yelanich and Gary Guzzo, representatives from the The Feutic Horseback idin,D. for the Handicapped. Chairman Mascara called the meeting to order at approximately 10:00 a.m. and asked if there were any corrections, additions or omissions to Minute Nd. 30, each member having received a copy. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, that.Minute No, 30 be approved as read. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes, Motion carried unanimously. Special Order of Business: Chairman Mascara read the following Proclamation: WHEREAS, Therapeutic Horseback Riding of Washington County was organized in 1983 to provide handicapped citizens of the County a form of recreational therapy; and WHEREAS, the Association is part of a non-profit program and is operated solely by the efforts of volunteers, including a physical therapist, consulting physican, special equipment designer, volunteer director, riding instructor and executive committee members; and WHEREAS, any and all funding received by the Association supports the feeding and care of the horses and maintenance of equipment; and WHEREAS, Therapeutic Horseback Riding of Washington County has provided a service to over 50 handicapped persons in its first year of operation; and with continued support by the com- munity can reach hundreds of other handicapped persons in the County. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of County Commissioners hereby recognizes Therapeutic Horseback Riding of Washington County for the valuable service it provides and calls upon the citizens of the County to support the continued work and efforts by this Association for the betterment of the quality of life for handicapped persons of the County. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, adopting the foregoing Proclamation. Roll call vote taken: Mr, Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. 39'7 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA Retro Petrosky, Jr, FRANK R. MASCARA, '' LDWARD M. PALUSO, COMMISSIONERS C �l n Old Business: Solicitor Bassi recommended to the Board that the bids for the furnishing and delivering of paving material for the Cross Creek County Road Project be award- ed as follows: 1. Bituminous material - Russell Standard Corporation 2. Aggregate material - Commercial Stone Company, Inc. Moved by Mr, Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, that the bids for the pavir_g material for the Cross Creek County Road Project be awarded as above; these bids being the only bids received in accordance with the specifications, Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr, Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Solicitor Bassi noted that it has been requested that the PSSU Labor AgreE-�^ ment continue to be tabled for review. Moved by Mr, Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, that the PSSU Agreement be tabled for further review a ,a per above, Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Correspondence: Chief Clerk informed the Board of the receipt of the following checks: 1. Commonwealth of Pa, - $15,851.60 - Day Care Program - Month of May 2. Commonwealth of Pa. - Children & Youth - Foster Care, Title IV-E; $3,993.00, $5,548.00 and $140,523,00 3, Commonwealth of Pa. - $154,460.00 - Children & Youth, Period of 7-1-84 to 9-30-84 (advance) 4, Travelers - $60,394,20 - Jail fire New Business: Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval an Application for Federal Assistance in reference to the Washington County Air- port. Chief Clerk noted that the purpose of this request for aid is to continue the planned expansion of airport facilities by lengthening the runway and taxiway. The projects included in this proposed expansion include 800 feet of paved runway plus 300 feet of safety area, 1650 feet of parallel taxiway and an associated road and stream relocation, The proposed funding is as follows; Federal $4,007,205.00 State $ 222,622.50 Local $ 222,622.50 TOTAL $4,452,450.00 Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, authorizing the submission of the foregoing Application to the FAA. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara r Yes. Motion carried unanimously. M I N UTE Bo 0 K BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Metro Petrosky, Jr. WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA FRANK R. MASCARA, EDWARD M. PALUSO, COMMISSIONERS muwn�--dqww man- - - - —_ - - __V_ -_ Chief Clerk requested authorization to advertise for bids for the Runway and Taxiway Extension Project at the Washington County Airport, Moved by Mr. Paluso, seconded by Mr. Petrosky, authorizing the Chief Clerk to advertise for bids as per above. Roll call vote taken: Mr, Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr, Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval an Agreement with Pittsburgh Stained Glass Studios of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the amount of $980.00 for the general repair and cleaning of stained glass in the Courthouse. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing Agreement with Pittsburgh Stained Glass Studios. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval an Application for County Liquid Fuel Tax Funds submitted by South Strabane Town- ship in the amount of $2,000.00 for the purpose of reconstructing the roadway and replacing the bridge located on Sanitarium Road. Commissioner Petrosky made some comments on this matter and commended Coroner Jackson who was very active in ex- pediting this matter among the two townships (South Strabane and Amwell) and the County. Mr. Petrosky commended all parties involved for their participation in making a bad situation better. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing Application for County Liquid Fuel Tax Funds submitted by South Strabane Township, Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval a Personal Service Agreement with the National Benevolent Association Christian Church in reference to the operation of a senior citizens activity center program_ at the Thomas Campbell Christian Center located in Washington, Pennsylvania. Chief Clerk noted that the County will contribute the sum of $4,550.65 to the Church for personal services expenses. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the Personal Ser- vice Agreement with the National Benevolent Association Christian Church as per above. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr, Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. -■■ 399 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Metro Petroksy, Jr. WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA FRANK R. MASCARA. EDWARD M. PALUSO. COMMISSIONERS Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval Pur- chase of Service Agreements with the following agencies for FY84-85: Children & Youth/Juvenile Probation Programs 1, Family Counseling & Advocacy Services, Inc. 2. Three Rivers Adoption Council 3. Friendship House Children's Center 4. The Second Mile MH/MR Program 1, Pleasant Manor, Inc. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing Pur- chase of Service Agreements with the above agencies. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr, Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval an Agreement with the Mon Valley Health & Welfare Council, Inc. (AAA) in reference to the Day Care Program at the Washington County Health Center for FY84-85. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the agreement with Mon Valley Health & Welfare Council, Inc. (AAA) as per above, Roll call vote taken: Mr, Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval an Addendum of Contract Extension with the Mon Valley Health & Welfare Council, Inc., in reference to the Adult Services Block Grant for FY84-85. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing Addendum of Contract Extension with the Mon Valley Health & Welfare Council, Inc. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes, Motion carried unanimously. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval the following Resolution: WHEREAS, the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County has entered an Order at No. 116 April Term, 1984, A.D. dated 8-3-84 allowing the Commissioners the election to adopt a resolution fixing an hourly rate for the Solicitor to the Controller or permitting the fair and ressonable compensation to be determined by the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas assigned to case in which the Plaintiff is a party; and WHEREAS, it is the unanimous opinion of the County CommisstoTl,eXs, that they have determined a fair and reasonable compensation and have not now nor ever denied counsel to the Controller. NOW, THEREFORE, the Commissioners in this instance and for the purpose of expediting the needs of justice and in the interest of fairness, allow and permit the .judge of the Court of Common Pleas assigned the case inwhich the Controller MINUTE BoOK BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Metro Petrosky, Jr. WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA FRANK R. MASCARA. EDWARD M. PALUSO. COMMISSIONERS REMARKS: is a party to assess the fair and reasonable compensation of Plaintiff's selected counsel. Mr, Bassi: In explanation of that matter, if I may address that issue, Mr. Commissioner, this Resolution is recommended by me to the Commissioners for the single and sole purpose of attempting to resolve the impasse of the variety of cases that lie in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County that have been stagnant because of the claims that have been made that arose in the Order filed at the Number and Term suggested. I'm sure there is not a unanimous opinion that might be garnered from all of you regarding this Resolution, and I know there are deep philosophical dif- ferences that have been expressed by each of you regarding the suggestion that is made. I personally believe that there could be room for appeal in this matter because, in a sense, it does take away from your discretion and certainly impinges upon your authority and your ability to tax for which you were elected and for which you are solely responsible to the tax- payers of this County and you have already cast a judgment on the issue of how much to be paid for services rendered. The Court has in effect given you an alternative that could conceivably be argued they had no right to give you and that case could be taken on appeal and decided through the Appellate Courts because of the separation of powers and the legislative power that you have that certainly does not lie within the discretion of the Court. Some of you have expressed the idea that if you would agree to this type of Resolution that it would set a precedent, and the Resolu- tion is couched in such terms that the issues framed in this case apply only and singly for the Controller under the present circumstances. The reason that I recommend this is not because I feel there is an attempt on the part of the Court to rest the obligation and privilege that you have in setting compensation, but simply as a method of moving these cases off dead center and getting the issues disposed of in the most expeditious manner possible. The purpose and intent of the Resolution is to allow then, pursuant to the Court Order, the Judge of which the Controller is a party, to set a fair and reasonable compensation to her selected counsel. (Mr. Paluso requested that those remarks, verbatim, be made a part of the minutes) Chairman mascara then made a few remarks. Mr. Paluso quoted the following from the second paragraph of the Court Order_ "It is hereby ordered that the defendants, Frank R, Mascara, Metro Petrosky, Jr., Edward M. Paluso, County Commissioners and Members of the Salary Board of Washington County, Pennsylvania, within ten days of this order shall adopt an appropriate resolution..." He stated that he doesn't understand that statement and feels it is ambiguous-, anclear and illegal. Some discussion followed between Mr. Mascara and Mr. Paluso. Mr. Mascara - Well, I think this Resolution will not be enough for Miss Beharry and she probably will file another lawsuit saying that the Resolution is not sufficient and that the Salary Board should take action. Then the Constitu- tional question of the.... whether the Board of Commissioners has the right to be the sole contractors for the County which is spelled out very clearly in the County Code, and I will go on record as saying I will go no further. Thi> is as much as I'll do. 1 MINUTE _.. 401 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Metro Petrosky, Jr. WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA FRANK R. MASCARA, EDWARD M. PALUSO. COMMISSIONERS Kr. Paluso - I think that's the point I'm trying to make that the question here isn't whether Miss Beharry has counsel or not. There's no question that .she's en- titled to it and I've been in agreement to that since the very beginning. However, to order the Salary Board to make a payment or resolution of this Board.... to make a Resolution concerning money is an illegal order. There is case law to support that and right now I`'m very reluctant to enter into any such agreement. Kr. Petrosky commented on the Court Order and Resolution and also made reference to the Constitutional duties and responsibilities of the Board of County Commissioners. He stated that although he is in disagreement with the Court Order, he would support the Resolution in order to keep County government moving and hopes that many of the pending issues would be heard and resolved, more specifically,the retroactive pay raise and surcharge issues. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, that the foregoing Resolution be adopted. Chairman Mascara requested that the word "only" be inserted in paragraph 3 of the Resolution following the words "in this instance", Mr. Petrosky amended his motion to include the word "only" as per above. Roll call vote taken: Mr, Paluso -- NO; Mr, Petrosky - Yes; Mr, Mascara - Yes. Motion carried. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval a proposal from Price Waterhouse of Pittsburgh, Pa., to conduct an operations re- view of the Washington County Health Center. The estimated fees for this review is $22,000 including out-of-pocket and stenographic expenses. proposal. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, accepting the foregoing Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Chief Clerk presented to the Board for their consideration and approval the following travel requests, Commissioner Petrosky requested that a separate motion be made on each item. 1. Request for John Pettit, District Attorney, to attend the National District Attorneys Convention in San Diego, CA, on August 12-16, 1984. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing travel request and authorizing the payment of all necessary expenses incident there- to, Roll call vote taken: Mr, Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr, Mascara - Yes, Motion carried unanimously. 2. Request for David Suski, Geraldine Barbosky, Linda Bell and Dave Wheeler to attend a seminar on "Train- ing for Users of JTPA Microcomputer Network" in Harrisburg on August 21-22, 1984, Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing travel request and authorizing the payment of all necessary expenses incident there- to. 402 MINUTE :■■ BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Metro Petrosky, Jr, WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA FRANK R. MASCARA, s - EDWARD M. PALUSO, COMMISSIONERS Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Request for Ed DuJordan of the Commissioners Office to attend a Pa. Small Business/Procurement Conference in Pittsburgh on October 30-31, 1984. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing travel request and authorizing the payment of all necessary expenses incident there- to. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso -Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Request for Richard Brady, Merilyn Crouse and Patricia Zibel of Domestic Relations to attend the annual general meeting and Training Conference of DRAP in Harrisburg on September 9-14, 1984. ( A brief discussion was held.) Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing travel request and authorizing the payment of all necessary expenses incident there- to. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. 5. Request for Wayne Fleming, Chief Assessor, to attend the International Association of Assessing Officers Conference on Assessment Administration in Hollywood, FL, on October 28-31, 1984. Moved by Mr. Petrosky, seconded by Mr. Paluso, approving the foregoing travel request and authorizing the payment of all necessary expenses incident there- to. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr, Mascara --Yes. Motion carried unanimously, **NOTE: This motion is deemed necessary because of the position taken by the County Controller and is pending resolution of the Court case involving travel expenses. Chief Clerk announced to all those present that the Retirement Board Meet- ing has been re -scheduled from August 16th to August 23rd. 10:30 A.M. -- OPENING OF BIDS - FURNISHING & DELIVERING OF 1985 TAX NOTICES bids: Roger Metcalfe of the Controller's Office opened and read the following 1, NCR Corporation 355 Fleet Street Pittsburgh, PA 15220 Total amount of bid: $4,297.65 A Bid Bond in the amount of 10% accompanied the bid, MINUTE :■■ BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA Metro Petrosky, Jr. FRANK R. MASCARA, ` _ `EDWARD M. PALUSO, COMMISSIONERS 2. UARCO Inc. 1001 E. Entry Drive Banskville Center Pittsburgh, PA 15216 Total amount of bid: $5,447.40 * $4,424.70 - Alternate Bid A Cashier's Check in the amount of 10% accompanied the bid. 3, Moore Business Forms,.Inc. Suite 280 One Alleegheny Center Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Total amount of bid: $4,438.35 A Bid Bond in the amount of 10% accompanied the bid. Moved by Mr, Paluso, seconded by Mr. Petrosky, that the bids for the 1985 Tax Notices be tabled for further review. Roll call vote taken: Mr. Paluso - Yes; Mr. Petrosky - Yes; Mr. Mascara - Yes. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business, Chairman Mascara declared the meeting adjourned at approximately 10:35 a.m. THE FOREGOING MINUTES READ AND APPROVED: /J 1984 ATTEST : CHIEF CLERK 1