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Commissioners recognize Victorian Christmas with proclamation

CHRIS MORELLI/THE EXPRESS The Centre County Commissioners honored Bellefonte’s Victorian Christmas with Proclamation No. 37 of 2019 at Tuesday’s meeting. From left, commissioner Mark Higgins, commissioner Michael Pipe, Victorian Christmas chair Sally Houser and commissioner Steve Dershem.

BELLEFONTE — It was a busy Tuesday for the Centre County Board of Commissioners.

During one of their longest meetings of 2019, they made a proclamation and moved several items to next week’s consent agenda.

Proclamation No. 37 of 2019 proclaimed the weekend of Dec. 13-15 as Bellefonte Victorian Christmas. Victorian Christmas chair Sally Houser was on hand to accept the proclamation and also had a bit of news about the annual event, which is now in its 38th year.

Houser informed the board of commissioners that due to predicted rainy weather on Friday night, opening ceremonies have been moved from the steps of the Centre County Courthouse to the Bellefonte Elementary School.

“We decided with the long-range forecast that we didn’t want people to stand in the rain, so we are moving back to the elementary school,” Houser said.

Opening ceremonies are slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.

The commissioners will formally present the proclamation at that time.

Houser noted that Bellefonte Victorian Christmas has been recognized as one of the top 10 holiday events in Pennsylvania.

“Those are the results from 2018. The results from 2019 won’t be in until next week,” Houser said.

The commissioners praised Houser for her work and dedication to the annual event.

In other business on Tuesday, the commissioners:

— Awarded the contract for the RFP for comprehensive healthcare services for the Centre County Correctional Facility. The county will now enter into contract negotiations with Primecare.

— Awarded the contract for the RFP for janitorial services to Nittany Professional Cleaning. The company is based out of Port Matilda.

They also moved several items to next week’s consent agenda:

— Resolution No. 18 of 2019, which authorizes submission of the application for funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant of $2.5 million for redevelopment of the Titan Park Plant 1 and Plant 4 buildings.

— Contracts with seven attorneys to provide court appointed counsel: Ronald McGlaughlin, Steven Trialonas, Karen Muir, Justin Miller, Charles Kroboth, Stephanie VanHorn and Julian Allatt. Each individual contract is for a one-year period for up to 25 cases in the amount of $18,750, which is to be divided into equal monthly payments. The contract total for all seven attorneys is $131,250 for the period of Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020 and an additional $750 per appointment beyond the first 25 cases.

— A data sharing agreement with the Pennsylvania State Geospatial Coordinating Board.

— A contract amendment with Tyler Technologies to provide an existing software upgrade. The total cost is $2,560.

— 2019 Emergency Management Grant Agreement (EMPG) through the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). This provides a 50 percent reimbursement for salary and benefits of staff in Emergency Management during the period of Oct. 1, 2018 through Sept. 20, 2019. The amount being reimbursed is $105,342.59.

— A contract renewal with Corman Home Sales and Property Management LLC for the 134 E. Pike St. and 127 E. High St. properties. The contract management fee is 10 percent of the agreed collected monthly rent and for each new tenant/lease written; the agent fee is one-half of a full month’s rent. The term of the contract is for the period of Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020.

— Contract with Service Access and Management, Inc. to provide assistance and administrative support for the PHARE Rental Assistance Program. The contract total is $52,000, which is funded by the state ($22,000) and country ($30,000) for the period of Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020.

The commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the Willowbank Building. They announced that they will not meet on Tuesday, Dec. 24 and Tuesday, Dec. 31, for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, respectively.

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