Luzerne County’s administration is asking county council to reduce the space it is leasing for a southern annex in Hazleton City Hall because the county’s court branch won’t be housed there.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo told council last week the court is still committed to setting up a magisterial central court in the Hazleton area but is searching for another location that will provide more space to adequately accommodate the services it is providing.
The original city hall lease was for $6,450 per month, or $77,400 annually, through the end of 2026, with options for four additional one-year renewals at a rate negotiated by both parties.
Under the proposed change, the lease would be $3,861 per month, or $46,335 annually, through 2024, with the option for four additional one-year renewals at a rate negotiated by both parties.
Crocamo has said she will have a satellite office in the building along with space for sheriff department gun permit servicing and representatives of the recorder of deeds, register of wills, prothonotary (civil court records/filings), clerk of courts (criminal court records/filings), treasurer’s, assessment and elections departments.
The southern central court would be modeled after one the county set up next to the county prison in Wilkes-Barre in October 2017. Its central processing of magisterial-level criminal cases allowed streamlined scheduling and immediate access to all parties involved in the criminal justice system, including representatives of drug court and other diversionary programs, officials have said.
The central court in Wilkes-Barre only involves magisterial district judges in the county’s northern half, and Crocamo has said a counterpart in the south would bring those benefits to the southern end.
The county court system also wants space for probation officers to perform drug testing and the Hazleton magisterial district court office.
Council is expected to vote on the lease alteration at its Feb. 27 meeting.
Flower Tent
As in prior years, council unanimously approved a lease agreement with Flower Tent Inc. to temporarily lease space at the county’s West Side Annex on Wyoming Avenue in Forty Fort.
The floral business will pay the county $7,180 to occupy part of the lot from March 20 through July 1 and Sept. 8 through Nov. 2.
Utility opposition
At the suggestion of Councilman Harry Haas, council adopted a resolution last week urging the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to deny a rate increase proposed by the Pennsylvania American Water Company.
The county’s annual water bill is approximately $27,000 and would increase an estimated $6,750 if the water company’s requested 25% rate increase is approved, the resolution said.
The PUC has extended the deadline until August for rate payers to file formal online complaints opposing the increase, and the council-adopted resolution asks the county administration to file a complaint and attend a future hearing on the matter.
The resolution also urges citizens to file complaints and indicates a link will soon be posted on the county website at luzernecounty.org.
Poll books
The administration is asking council to approve an annual software and maintenance agreement for new electronic poll books that have been ordered from Knowink for the upcoming primary election.
The bureau earmarked $427,300 from this year’s state Election Integrity Grant funding to pay for the new equipment and on-site training and support.
Council approval is needed for the $33,000 annual software/maintenance agreement in 2025 and 2026 under the county’s home rule charter because the expense exceeds $25,000 in a future calendar year.
The bureau plans to cover the two-year software/maintenance with future Election Integrity Grant funds.
Used for voter sign-in at polling places, the electronic poll books also instantly allow poll workers to search data for voters in the wrong polling place and streamline the process of crediting voters for casting ballots in the state’s voter database.
Both the county election board and a panel set up by the county administration had recommended the Knowink system.
Without council approval, the county would have to seek annually-approved software/maintenance agreements that no longer have prices locked in, which could lead to cost increases, the administration said.
Public meetings
Council’s Budget/Finance and Audit Committee will meet at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 20) in the courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions to attend remotely are posted under council’s public meetings online link at luzernecounty.org.
The county’s five-citizen Election Board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 21), also at the courthouse. Remote attendance instructions are posted under council’s authorities/boards/commissions online meeting link at luzernecounty.org.