The Lycoming County commissioners are expected Thursday to provide collateral for a $2.5 million line of credit for county Children and Youth Services.
On Tuesday during a commissioners work session, county Fiscal Services Director Robert Noll asked the commissioners to consider backing a line of credit with Citizens and Northern Bank, which the agency can use to cover operating expenses.
Because the agency has no hard assets, it requires county backing to receive the credit, Noll said.
This is the second year the county has helped the agency secure a line of credit, Noll said.
The action is needed because the state changed the way it reimburses human service agencies, Commissioner Ernie Larson said.
The state previously made lump sum quarterly payments to county Mental Health-Mental Retardation. Children and Youth Services borrowed some of that money to cover operating expenses, then paid it back with interest when state and federal funds came to that agency.
The arrangement was necessary because Children and Youth funding required the submission of data and invoices from service providers, which takes 45 to 60 days to prepare. Counting review and processing time, it could take three to four months for the agency to receive governments payments.
However, last year the state ceased making quarterly payments to Mental Health-Mental Retardation in lieu of making direct payments to service providers. This left Children and Youth Services without a pool of money to borrow from.
In other business, the commissioners are expected to approve an agreement with Larson Design Group to perform the design work for parking upgrades for the Susquehanna River Walk.
The design work includes upgrades for a park-and-ride on Commerce Park Drive, installing pedestrian safety devices and fencing off a SEDA-Council of Governments Joint Rail Authority loading dock, according to county Transportation Planner Mark Murawski.
The agreement calls for the company to receive $12,000 for the design work. Construction is expected to be about $80,000, Murawski said.
Most of the cost will be covered by federal funding, he said.
Murawski said he hopes the work can begin early next spring.
The commissioners also are expected to consider a grant application to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
If approved, the $7,500 grant will be used to install a conservation education program at the county farm in Loyalsock Township, said county Environmental Planner Megan Lehman.
Along with a $4,800 county match, the money will be used to install exclusion fencing to keep deer out of a wood lot on the farm, Lehman said. The matching funds will be raised through a timber sale at the farm, she said.
The project will show how forests can regenerate if not destroyed by deer, she said.
The county will seek involvement in the program from scouting groups and hopes to use the project for educational programs for schools and youth organizations, she said.
The commissioners will consider a professional services agreement with Mackin Engineering of Pittsburgh. The company has provided consulting services for the county regarding the development of corridor plans in the City of Williamsport and Borough of Montgomery, according to county Community Development Planner Rachelle Ricotta.
The agreement will allow the firm to be on hand to answer questions during plan adoptions by City Council and Borough Council, Ricotta said.
The firm will attend the meetings at no cost, she said.
