Luzerne County’s 11-member council will undergo training next week to ensure its evaluation of 139 federal American Rescue Plan applications is objective and merit-based as required.
Presenting during Tuesday’s council meeting, county consultant Robin Booth recommended the training and came up with a customized process for council to review and score applications, saying this is the first municipal entity of many she’s assisted that is opting for the entire elected body to handle the screening.
Typically, screenings are performed by smaller groups experienced in grants and regulations. The full council is taking on the task because there was a concern questions or disagreements would surface later if all 11 do not participate.
Rules of engagement and a documented process will prevent issues if the federal government audits the county’s use of the funding, said Booth, of Columbia, Maryland-based Booth Management Consulting.
Booth will complete an intensive budget review of each application next week to determine which requested expenses are allowable.
Outside requests total $218.9 million, which far exceeds the $94.3 million left for council to award after deducting prior earmarks. An additional $17.9 million in requests were submitted from within county government.
Under the plan proposed by Booth, council members would privately and individually score the applications through an online portal, with each member assigned an access code.
Council will be receiving weekly uploads of applications grouped by category and have a strict five business days to complete their scoring.
Evaluation of the batches should wrap up at the end of the year, which means applicants should not expect to receive notification on whether they were accepted or rejected until early 2023.
Council members must determine ahead of time what overall score must be received by each applicant to be deemed eligible. Booth recommends 80%.
Booth will compile the scores, using averages, after each batch deadline and promptly provide council with a list of applicants that met the minimum score.
Electronic review of submissions is the only option because paper copies of all applications and supporting documentation would be 3,000 pages — 33,000 pages for all 11, Booth said. The reports will include eligibility/risk assessments and budget reviews on each application completed by Booth.
“If we made paper copies, you would each have four volumes,” she said.
After all council evaluations conclude, Booth will provide a master list of all meeting the minimum so council can then determine how much funding will be approved in each category.
Council agreed to hold the training session at 4 p.m. on Nov. 1.
Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge
Several Nanticoke area officials attended Tuesday’s meeting to urge council to use a casino-gambling funded infrastructure pot to replace the county-owned Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge over the Susquehanna River.
The advocates argued a new bridge is needed to address public safety and economic development needs.
The way the program is set up under new state legislation, the county redevelopment authority will borrow to create the infrastructure fund and repay the loan with $3 million provided annually for 25 years from the casino-gambling Local Share Account (LSA).
A council majority voted last month to adopt an ordinance formally accepting a county loan guarantee, in the unlikely event casino revenue ceases, because the authority agreed to limit use of the borrowed funds to county-owned infrastructure.
Council members Kevin Lescavage and Brian Thornton said Tuesday they are still not satisfied the money is guaranteed. Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott said she further researched concerns that had been privately raised by members of the county administration, and those questions were answered to her satisfaction.
Majorities of both council and the county redevelopment authority had approved the infrastructure plan, but redevelopment authority members Scott Linde and Mark Rabo told council Tuesday they also still have questions about the terms of the borrowing.
Closing on the loan had been planned for Thursday but was delayed, officials said.
No council action was taken on the matter Tuesday because it was discussed during a work session instead of a voting meeting.
Without the casino funding, county Engineer Lawrence Plesh has said the only potential option to fund the span would be a new federal grant. The administration recently applied for a Bridge Investment Program grant through the Federal Highway Administration, which would require a county match, Plesh said. He is hoping to learn at the start of 2023 whether the application has been successful.
Replacement is necessary because there is no rehabilitation that can be completed to preserve the load-bearing capacity, Plesh has said. The bridge dropped to a 15-ton limit and could be further reduced or shut down at any point if warranted based on an inspection, he has said.
Nanticoke Fire Chief Mark Boncal told council the city is contracted by Plymouth Township to provide fire, rescue and emergency medical services to the township’s West Nanticoke section.
Without the county-owned bridge, his department’s response time to West Nanticoke likely would increase by six to eight minutes on a “good day” with nice weather and light traffic, he said. Responders would have to use Route 29 to cross the river and reach West Nanticoke, he said.