Separate from pending awards to outside entities, Luzerne County Council is set to vote Tuesday on $16.4 million in federal American Rescue Plan allocations to county government departments.
As with other applicants, county departments had to submit formal requests seeking the funding and were required to meet federal eligibility requirements.
The largest allocation — $9.96 million — would primarily address stormwater issues along many county-owned roads, which is one of the allowable uses under the federal program, county Engineer Lawrence Plesh has said.
This is an opportunity to widen shoulders and regrade and set back swales that collect water along many county-owned roads, he has said. Plesh expects the American Rescue funding also would cover associated paving of the sections requiring stormwater enhancements, which are typically the most deteriorated stretches due to water pooling or repeatedly flowing across.
Another $450,000 allocation for county roads and bridges also is on the list for approval. A past county American Rescue consultant report had indicated this would fund the “Nanticoke Bridge replacement study.”
Unless other funding is identified, county officials plan to fund replacement of the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge over the Susquehanna River with the lion’s share of up to $55 million in casino funding.
Based on authorizing state legislation, the county redevelopment authority borrowed to create the infrastructure fund and will repay the loan with $3 million provided annually for 25 years from the casino-gambling Local Share Account (LSA).
Plesh has estimated full replacement of the bridge linking Nanticoke and Plymouth Township would cost at least $40 million.
911
Another $2.98 million in American Rescue funding would cover two initiatives at 911 that enhance the new emergency radio communication system activated last year.
The first request for $1.4 million would add a feature transmitting the GPS coordinates of emergency responders, providing their current location when they communicate on the new system. Because it will improve responder safety, location identification was one of the most requested items when 911 held training and discussion sessions with outside agencies, county 911 Executive Director Fred Rosencrans has said.
The other 911 American Rescue request is for $1.6 million and would allow 911 personnel to remotely connect to the more than 4,000 emergency radios in the field so they don’t have to physically hold them to complete software and firmware updates. This would ease the burden on 911 staff.
DA
County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce is seeking $1.6 million, primarily to add two detectives who will largely focus on child abuse investigations. In addition to their compensation, the earmark would cover equipment, vehicles and technology necessary for them to perform their work.
Sanguedolce said the earmark also will help with expenses related to a new emergency services unit his office is creating through other grant funding.
This unit would provide law enforcement resources that are typically available only through state police or federal entities, including teams specializing in accident reconstruction and cell phone/electronic data analysis, he said.
Mental Health
An $800,000 allocation for the county’s Mental Health/Developmental Services department would allow the county to set up two “crisis receiving and stabilization centers” in the county instead of one, said agency Administrator Tara Fox.
Identified as a best practice through research, crisis centers are safe environments that help deescalate the severity of a person’s distress level by providing continuous 24-hour observation and supervision for those not requiring in-patient service, she said.
The agency has access to other Managed Care Reinvestment Funds to operate one center in the county’s northern half, but the American Rescue earmark would allow the purchase and establishment of a site in the southern half for residents so they would not have access issues due to the travel distance, Fox said.
Behavioral health care has been recognized as a significant need, and Fox said her agency has witnessed an increase in those seeking mental health services.
Crisis centers also reduce the volume of patients seeking mental health services in emergency rooms, Fox added.
Other departments
The county’s GIS/Mapping Department requested $225,000 in American Rescue funding to obtain aerial imaging of the entire county, said department Director Daniel Reese.
When loaded into the county’s computerized mapping program, these fresh images allow the assessment office to remotely pinpoint new construction to ensure it has been added to tax rolls, Reese said.
Updated images also enhance mapping programs used by 911, planning/zoning, the engineering department and many other county departments in addition to the general public, he said.
The last high-resolution aerial imagery project was completed in 2016, he said. While helpful, two subsequent statewide aerial updates included some imagery containing shadows and snow cover. Like the one completed in 2016, the new American Rescue-funded flyover would be an “oblique bird’s eye view” that photographs structures and bridges at an angle for more clarity, which is needed for the assessor’s office and 911 emergency assistance, Reese said.
County Engineer William McIntosh, who oversees county buildings and grounds, said a $126,732 American Rescue allocation would allow the county to replace locks and doors in various buildings that have worn out from heavy use.
The county’s tourism bureau is slated to receive $200,000 in American Rescue funds that will help compensate for the loss of hotel tax revenue that sharply declined during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tourism Executive Director Alan Stout said he was pleased and not surprised the application met eligibility requirements because the American Rescue regulations contain specific language allowing use of the funding to help with tourism.
“Should council approve this, we will be able to better market Luzerne County as a destination place, resulting in more business for our hotels, restaurants, venues and attractions,” Stout said.
The county’s Emergency Management Agency also is slated to receive $127,855 to enhance its pandemic/endemic response capabilities.
The only internal request not recommended for funding was $1.5 million for HVAC system replacements, which was deemed ineligible by the consultant, officials said.
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance posted under council’s online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.