Centre County commissioners approve change orders, grants and agreements; several items added to next week's consent agenda

The Centre County Board of Commissioners voted on multiple routine and substantive items during Tuesday's public meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Community Services Building change orders: Commissioners approved change orders for GM McCrossin ($20,005), Holstram Clark Electric ($1,047) and Ainsworth Incorporated ($24,730.57) to address coordination and ceiling-height adjustments tied to ductwork. The board's staff said the number of change orders has been reasonable for a project that includes building sections nearing 100 years of age.

- State Homeland Security Grant (FY2024): The board approved a grant agreement with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for the South Central Mountains Regional Task Force. The grant total is $409,295 (federal) for the period 09/01/2024–08/31/2027; participating counties listed in the packet are Bedford, Blair, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Snyder and Centre. Emergency Management staff said the funding will support training, equipment and administrative needs for the region's task force.

- Chipotle memorandum of understanding (Shops at Paradise): Commissioners voted to add a three‑party memorandum of understanding (developer, township, county) related to a proposed 2,325-square-foot Chipotle at the Shops at Paradise to next week's consent agenda. County staff said the MOU would reimburse the township engineer for plan review/inspection; the board did not approve the restaurant plan itself.

- Conservation District landowner grantee agreement (Willowbank): The board approved a landowner grantee agreement allowing the Conservation District to convert up to 0.2 acres of turf at the Willowbank complex to native meadows, shrubs and trees. The project cost will not exceed $35,000 and is funded from the Countywide Action Plan grant; HRG will serve as the Countywide Action Plan coordinator and oversee bidding and construction.

- Housing Transitions contract (emergency shelter): Commissioners voted to add a $5,046.01 contract with Housing Transitions for emergency shelter services to next week's consent agenda. Staff said additional homeless assistance funds (HAP/ESG) enabled the reallocation to cover existing shelter costs.

- Addendum with All Pro Fleet Services LLC (vehicle maintenance): The board approved Addendum No. 1 to continue fleet and paratransit vehicle maintenance with All Pro Fleet Services LLC (formerly Extreme Towing LLC) through July, at existing contract rates. County transportation staff said the vendor provides maintenance across a fleet that includes buses and paratransit vehicles; total fleet size was described in the meeting as roughly 132 vehicles with about 25–32 buses.

- Consent agenda and check run: Commissioners approved the week's consent agenda and a check run dated Feb. 14, 2025. The check run included repair work at the Centre County Public Safety Training Center's burn building.

- Letter of support for PROTECT grant application: The board approved a letter of support for a Centre County Municipal Planning Organization (MPO) federal PROTECT grant application to develop a countywide resilience improvement plan addressing multimodal transportation vulnerabilities to flooding and extreme weather. Staff said the plan will help municipalities move toward design and construction and implement actions in the county hazard mitigation plan.

Vote-taking format: Most items were approved by voice vote with commissioners answering "aye." Specific roll-call tallies and movers/seconders were not recorded on the transcript for many items; where recorded the board announced voice majorities.

What happens next: Several items were placed on next week's consent agenda for final formalization. Staff will proceed with procurement, grant paperwork and project coordination as directed by the commissioners.