Numerous vacant board seats to be filled by Lucerne County Council

A Lucerne County Council committee is due to meet Tuesday to publicly question citizens interested in open seats on boards, authorities and commissions.

More than 30 candidates are expected to be interviewed, said Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo, chairman of the Council’s Bodies, Boards and Commissions Committee.

Numerous seats are open, including some filled by members with terms that have expired by the end of 2022. Applicants must pass a public interview to be eligible for consideration, including candidates for reappointment.

The Council intends to fill most or all of the vacancies in its next vote on January 24, Lombardo said.

Tuesday’s interview begins at 5:00 pm at the River Street County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, instructions for remote participation are available at the online council meeting link at luzernecounty.org.

Further information on applying for seats can be found at the Council Bodies/Boards/Commissions link on luzernecounty.org.

The courthouse is closed

Non-emergency county government offices are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Election Committee

The county’s five-member election committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 5:00 pm at the county courthouse.

Instructions for remote participation will be posted at the link to the online meeting of council bodies/boards/commissions on luzernecounty.org.

Executive sessions

County Councilor Brian Thornton called for more detailed public disclosures after the council’s closed executive meeting, such as identifying the specific lawsuits that were discussed.

Thornton raised the issue at the beginning of last week’s board meeting. He said the council should cite what court cases are coming to them so that the public is better aware of the lawsuits filed against the county.

He named both legal issues discussed last week, stating that one involved an airport hanger and the other was filed by Judicial Watch Inc.

Last week, the Board unanimously approved a settlement of the Judicial Watch case that would not require any cash payment from the county.

The conservative, non-partisan educational foundation Judicial Watch has filed a complaint against Lucerne and other counties, alleging demands to purge inactive voters have not been met. The agenda states that $15,000 in damages will be paid by the State on behalf of all County Defendants. County officials said purges are now on the table.

infrastructure projects

Introducing the Unit Chief’s Monthly Report last week, Acting County Superintendent Brian Swetz stressed that it contains detailed information on road and bridge projects available to interested residents.

He noted that the most recent report describes 22 projects in progress.

“There’s a lot of work being done, although it’s not talked about in every meeting,” Schwetz said.

The report is published in the January 10 Council Working Meeting agenda at luzernecounty.org.

elevators

According to the Department’s latest report, a project will begin this spring to replace two heavily used elevators at the Water Street County Jail in Wilkes-Barre.

Last January, the Council authorized $300,000 in American Rescue’s federal budget for the elevator, in addition to $350,000 in county capital funds already committed, making $650,000 available. In July, American Rescue awarded an additional $235,000 to the project based on a single bid from Otis Elevator.

The prison’s two elevators were built in the 1980s. Some repairs were completed after the base’s fifth-floor elevator door burst open in 2016, resulting in the deaths of a corrections officer and an inmate, but officials say the propulsion system and controls need to be upgraded, largely because replacing components is now difficult. find.

The report states that another elevator project is under consideration at the Bernard S. Brominski County Building next to the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.

While the contractor has repaired the operation of the building’s elevator, the outdated control system is scheduled to be replaced this month, the report said. The Council provided funds for this project in last year’s capital plan.

Contact Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or tweet @TLJenLearnAndes.