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Reacting to a comment submitted virtually during the public comment portion of their meeting this week, the Lycoming County commissioners addressed the issues raised pertaining to the leadership at the county's landfill.
The person raised the question of why the commissioners had hired a management company run by the same family that heads the Clinton County Municipal Waste Authority, which the author of the comment claimed is the Wayne Township landfill, a competitor of the county's landfill.
"We hired a management firm, which you can say is Wayne Township landfill, but the agreement is with the Clinton County Municipal Authority, Clinton County's Municipal Waste Authority. So it's an authority," said Commissioner Marc Sortman.
"We looked at a total of three organizations. They had the best ability to help us and make changes...in the short time that Wayne Township management team has been part of our management team, we have saved money at the landfill, which is the direction that we needed," Sortman said.
"We entered into a two-year contract. It may end in two years. It may extend after that, depending on what's actually accomplished. But the concept of Clinton County being our competitor, I disagree 100 percent with that. Clinton County is our partner, our partner in other things besides a landfill, and we will continue to work with our neighboring counties to do what's right for all the citizens of both counties," he said.
"I hope that I can say, in the next two years, the taxpayers are no longer supplementing the Lycoming County Landfill, and I hope it's because of our agreement with the Clinton County Municipal Solid Waste Authority, not with an individual landfill," Sortman said.
Under action items the commissioners approved: a five-year agreement with Motorola in the amount of $6,825 for the camera upload system in the sheriff's vehicles to be paid out of operating expenses; the purchase from Flag Zone in the amount of $17,337 for flags to be paid out of operating expenses; an amendment to the agreement with Dr. Frank Dattilio, for forensic pathologist services for the Public Defenders Office to extend it to Dec. 31, 2029 and for a changing fee structure to be paid out of operating expenses; the resignation of Cameron Koons from the County Farm Advisory Committee; the appointment of Matthew Cowden to the County Farm Advisory Committee with an effective term of 7/16/2026 through 12/31/2027; and a change order with Larson Design Group in the amount of $6,162 to be paid out of grant funds.
Under personnel internal changes, Corinna Meisel was hired as a full-time administrative case officer in Adult Probation at $20.97 per hour.
New hires approved were: Consolidated Services - Daniel Zellers, full-time records retention coordinator in Consolidated Services at $16.85 per hour; Hailee Ashelman, full-time correctional officer, a union position at $21.50 per hour; and Leslie Ingram, full-time administrative support specialist at $23.38 per hour.
The next commissioners' meeting will be at 10 a.m., July 23 at the Commissioners' Board Room, 3rd floor, Third Street Plaza, 33 West Third St.