Blair County commissioners approve farmland appraisal, procurement and elections agreements

The Blair County Board of Commissioners approved a series of consent items Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, including a $1,700 appraisal contract for a proposed conservation easement on approximately 236 acres and multiple county procurement and election-related service agreements.

The most substantive item was the commissioners' authorization for a contract with a consultant to appraise the Biddle family property as the county pursues a farmland preservation easement. A representative of the Farmland Preservation Board said the appraisal contract for $1,700 will be reimbursed by the state after the easement closes. The board representative said the Biddle property is the top-ranked application for 2025 and is roughly 236 acres.

The Farmland Preservation Board representative said Blair County currently holds 63 easements covering 9,194 acres and that one additional 2024 easement of roughly 123 acres is expected to close with the state. The representative also said county funding for farmland preservation comes from Marcellus Shale funds and Clean and Green rollback tax funds; the combined funds available this year were described as $159,659.

Other consent approvals included:

- A purchase-under-bid-threshold agreement with Foster Wyland Inc. for county vehicle repairs and maintenance; approval was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote.

- An agreement between the county tax claim bureau and Infocon for electronic transfer of unpaid 2024 taxes from up to 25 districts, billed at $95 per municipality for a maximum of $2,375. A tax claim bureau representative said the office has already received 15 manual submissions and expects the actual cost to be less than half the stated maximum.

- Renewal of a victim-notification service with PA 7 for the Victim Witness Office covering Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2025, at no cost to the county. The Victim Witness representative said the service sends victims notifications by text, email or phone when an offender is released from jail.

- Two election polling-place lease agreements for the May 20, 2025, primary and the Nov. 4, 2025, municipal election; and a professional services agreement with NPC Inc. for data management, printing, mailing and other digital election services for the 2025 municipal primary and election.

The consent agenda also included ratification of payroll and warrant payments (Resolution No. 9-2025). The chief clerk summarized the payroll ratification as check dated Jan. 10, 2025, in the total amount of $933,779.78. During the vote on the consent agenda, one commissioner registered an abstention on a payment to Hollidaysburg Borough; the minutes did not record a roll-call tally for other items.

In other business the board noted a correction to its Dec. 31, 2024 consent agenda: the reappointments of Dawn Delosier and Cindy Bigelow to the Blair County Agricultural Land Preservation Board for terms from Jan. 1, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2028.

All motions and approvals reported at the meeting were moved and seconded on the record; where a vote outcome was announced it was recorded as approved by voice vote or unanimous voice vote unless an abstention was specifically noted.

The meeting opened with an executive-session announcement reporting that on Jan. 14 three commissioners, the chief clerk, assistant chief clerk and the assistant human resources director met about one open position; no action was taken at the Jan. 16 public meeting on that matter. The meeting adjourned with the next regular meeting scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at 10 a.m.