Auto auction business Copart-Scranton has agreed to fulfill Luzerne County Council’s request to plant trees and install opaque fencing to serve as a buffer at the site of its business expansion in Duryea, officials said recently.
Residents living in that area were upset when the business cleared out a wooded area along their properties as part of the expansion.
Council members had said they don’t have authority to stop the expansion but sent a letter urging Copart to consider a tree buffer zone along the portion of its site fronting McAlpine Street residences.
County Planning/Zoning Director Matthew Jones recently told council Copart-Scranton has agreed to create the fencing/tree buffer, hopefully by the end of the fall. The work must be completed in a way that won’t compromise the structural integrity of a required stormwater basement and related embankments and swales, he said.
County Councilman Kevin Lescavage thanked Jones for his assistance during the last council meeting.
“That’s great news, and I think it will make those residents happy,” he said.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo told council she also met with Jones and other members of the administration to discuss the possibility of amending county planning/zoning regulations to require buffer zones for industrial and commercial projects bordering residential areas.
Job posting
The county has publicly advertised the community development executive director position that will be vacated when current director Andrew Reilly starts a new position as the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority’s chief executive officer on July 6.
Applications for the community development position will be accepted through July 5, and the job is advertised at a salary range of $75,000 to $85,000, according to the posting under the human resources “career opportunities” section at luzernecounty.org.
Information technology
As the search for an information technology director continues, the county has temporarily retained the oversight services of the prior IT director as a consultant.
Ray Kase resigned as IT director the end of 2022, and the position has been posted since then at a compensation range of $85,000 to $90,000.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo informed council earlier this month Kase has agreed to work with the IT department as a consultant.
“As you are aware, stabilizing the IT department is critical,” wrote Crocamo, who started work as manager on May 25.
Posted in the manager’s online contracts page, the agreement with Kase’s company, K12 Tech Solutions, is effective through Dec. 31, and either party may terminate the agreement with or without cause by providing at least 14 days written notice to the other party.
The consultant will perform the IT director duties on an interim basis as scheduled by the county, except for duties related to personnel actions, the contract said. The payment will be $500 per business day for services provided during normal business hours and $100 per hour for after-hour services, it said.
K12 must provide detailed invoices and, upon request, backup documentation, it said.
Ethics code
Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said he is taking on the work of developing proposed ethics code revisions following complaints about the current version of the code in place since council last revised it in 2014.
Some county Ethics Commission members publicly raised concerns last week that the code’s reliance on outside attorneys to handle the initial assessment of complaints keeps commission members in the dark about complaint details and automatically forces the county to pay outside attorneys.
They also noted the code does not bar people from publicly disclosing that they have filed complaints before their allegations have been scrutinized.
Lombardo said he is seeking feedback from commission members and performing other research and eventually will present his suggestions to council for its consideration.
Council has a code review committee, but it has not held a meeting since Councilman Stephen J. Urban was made committee chairman in January 2022, agenda postings show.