As in prior elections, Luzerne County’s election bureau is seeking applicants for 30 temporary positions assisting in the April 23 primary.
The positions pay $20 per hour, and applications will be accepted through April 8, according to a posting on the human resources career opportunities page at luzernecounty.org.
These workers are under the election director’s supervision and assist with various Election Day duties starting at 6:30 a.m. and possibly until 10 p.m.
Workers also must participate in a two-hour training session and take an oath the day before the election, the posting says.
Applicants must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Outside boards
Council’s Authorities, Boards and Commissions Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday (April 4) at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.
This committee publicly interviews applicants for the county’s outside boards.
Instructions to attend remotely are posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.
Council is seeking a Republican citizen for a vacant ethics commission seat that must be filled by someone from that party.
A list of all board openings and applications are available on council’s authorities/boards/commissions section at luzernecounty.org.
Opioid commission
Council Chairman John Lombardo said he expects an application and interview process will be announced later this month to fill a vacant citizen seat on the Commission on Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement.
This advisory body must identify and recommend the best uses for $25 million the county is expected to receive over 18 years from the state’s settlement against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors. Council has the final say on how the money is spent.
Also serving on the panel are Lombardo, the county district attorney, drug/alcohol director, human services division head, correctional services division head and county manager.
Budget amendments
Council unanimously approved two budget amendments last week.
The first was related to a $336,364 federal COVID-19 grant that came through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and originated from the Centers for Disease Control. This grant will fund the purchase and installation of county prison system units to control and neutralize contaminants and monitors that track the vital signs of inmates under medical observation so staff can be alerted to changes in inmate temperature and heart rate.
The other amendment stems from the administration’s decision to switch to in-house management of the county-owned Broad Street Exchange Building at 100 W. Broad St. in downtown Hazleton instead of paying an outside entity.
American Rescue
A council majority approved project completion extensions last week for three federal American Rescue Plan recipients:
• Pittston City/Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance, from June 30 this year to June 30, 2025. It received $200,000 toward a new emergency response facility.
• Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Mental Health and Developmental Services, from June 30 to the end of this year. Its $800,000 earmark will adapt property the nonprofit Northeast Counseling Services owns in Hazleton for a mental health crisis and stabilization center.
• Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank, from June 30 this year to June 30, 2025. Its $500,000 allocation was provided to renovate vacant/abandoned properties. The land bank authority said part of the project will renovate a property at 83 N. Main St. in Jenkins Township, and the authority has been unable to secure any bidders to complete the work — despite several attempts — due to “local contractor shortages,” its submission said.
Parking lease
There was no council discussion during last week’s work session on a lease for King’s College to continue using an upper parking lot across from the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre — an arrangement first enacted by prior commissioners in December 2003.
County Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene told council the parking lease renewals are usually five years, but this proposed one will be for two years because the county will be completing an asset study that could identify a county use for the property.
The lease agreement was $10,000 annually in the first decade and locked in two additional five-year renewals at $11,000 annually and then $12,000 per year. The proposed new agreement, which is expected to be on council’s April 9 agenda, will be $15,000 for 2024 and $16,000 for 2025.