Monroe County commissioners approve contracts, budget adjustments and opioid-settlement grants

Monroe County commissioners on Sept. 17 approved multiple service agreements, budget adjustments and grant submittals, including a $653,837 Medical Assistance Transportation Program allocation and county disbursements from the PA opioid abatement trust.

The board voted, by voice, to accept contracts for fire-alarm inspection, site cleanup, hydrogeologic services and actuarial work; to ratify two budget-adjustment packages totaling $72,191 and $168,950; and to approve opioid-settlement allocations consistent with the settlement’s permitted uses.

The approvals matter because they allocate county funds and outside grant dollars to operations that county staff said support court services, public safety, children and youth placements and county infrastructure. Several approvals also implement requirements tied to state programs such as the Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) and the PA opioid abatement trust reporting cycle.

Most motions carried on unanimous voice votes recorded in the meeting. Key approvals included:

- A service agreement with Pyle Baker Safety LLC, doing business as Keystone Fire and Security, to provide building fire-alarm system inspections for $3,153.30 for the term Dec. 1, 2025, through Nov. 30, 2026. The board approved the contract after a motion and voice vote.

- Ratification of two budget-adjustment reports dated Sept. 17. A $72,191 package reallocated funds across the commissioner's office (including $2,600 for conference expenses), utilities for county facilities ($5,855), a $30,000 contingency for maintenance electricity through year-end and $25,000 for court interpreter expenses. A second adjustment, $168,950, included $120,000 to pay current and future invoices for the county drug program (funded through Highmark PPO, Highmark HMO and Geisinger) and transfers of $24,775 and $24,475 to human services for grant management and contract oversight.

- Children and Youth Services purchase-of-service agreements for July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026: Clock Tower Schools (contract limit $200,000) and Holly Care Home Care LLC (contract limit $160,000) for residential placement and related services; the board also approved amended/approved adoption-assistance agreements noted in the meeting record.

- Fiscal and grant actions: ratification of an initial MATP allocation for FY 2025–2026 totaling $653,837; ratification of a $200,000 grant application under a state/local solicitation for behavioral-intervention funding; execution of a memorandum of understanding for a crisis-intervention team; and approval of the PA opioid abatement trust report for the period ending June 30, 2025, totaling $878,781.11.

- Vendor and procurement approvals: addition of several vendors to county lists (including West Pan Healthcare and Sharinda Brownlee Knights for aging services, and Access Control Systems Inc. for the sheriff); approval of a Datum Products Inc. agreement for cleanup and disposal of items in the county barn next to the Monroe County Correctional Facility for $21,800; approval of Reed and Associates LLC for hydrologic/well services at the correctional facility for $30,725; and approval of an actuarial-services agreement with Foster & Foster Actuaries and Consultants Inc., with rates and fees effective Oct. 1, 2025.

- Office of Emergency Management and related safety contracts: a service agreement with Kistler O’Brien Fire Protection for building fire-alarm inspection for $2,452.60 (term Dec. 1, 2025–Nov. 30, 2026) and the sheriff’s purchase of HS scanners through Access Control Systems Inc. for $3,859.90 (period listed as Oct. 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026). The meeting record describes the scanners as the metal-detector units at the main courthouse entrance.

- Governance and local-use approvals: acceptance of bylaw amendments for Pleasant Valley Manor Inc., including a registered address change to the Monroe County Administrative Center and revisions to board-meeting provisions; approval for Monroe County Transportation Authority (MCTA) as a medical-assistance subrecipient for MATP trips at specified per-trip rates for July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026; and ratification of opening a checking account with “Pligot” for 2025 capital projects.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in the meeting): - Pyle Baker Safety LLC (Keystone Fire and Security) service agreement — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Budget adjustment report dated 09/17 — $72,191 — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Budget adjustment report dated 09/17 — $168,950 — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Children & Youth purchase-of-service agreements (Clock Tower Schools; Holly Care Home Care LLC) — outcomes: approved (voice vote). - Ratify MATP allocation FY 2025–26 ($653,837) and opioid abatement trust report (period ending 06/30/2025; $878,781.11) — outcomes: approved (voice votes). - Datum Products Inc. cleanup agreement ($21,800) — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Reed and Associates LLC hydrologic services ($30,725) — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Foster & Foster actuarial services agreement (rates effective 10/01/2025) — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Kistler O’Brien fire protection agreement ($2,452.60) — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Access Control Systems Inc. HS scanners ($3,859.90) — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Pleasant Valley Manor Inc. bylaws amendments — outcome: approved (voice vote). - MCTA MATP subrecipient monitoring contract (per-trip rates) — outcome: approved (voice vote). - Opening of Pligot checking account for 2025 capital projects — outcome: approved (voice vote).

Discussion and context

Most items were handled as routine consent or individual motions with brief staff explanations; the board repeatedly called for motions, and the minutes record unanimous “Aye” voice votes on the listed items. For the Datum Products Inc. cleanup contract, a later public comment question (see separate article) elicited that Pennoni Associates solicited three quotes and recommended the low bidder; the county representative stated the bids ranged from approximately $21,800 to about $90,000.

No recorded roll-call tallies or named dissenters appear in the meeting minutes for these actions. Where program names were used by staff (for example, MATP and the PA opioid abatement trust report), the board approved submittals and receipts consistent with the program names shown in the meeting record.

Ending

The meeting adjourned after a public-comment period that included countywide-community remarks and outreach requests. Commissioners noted upcoming county events and additional board meetings scheduled later the same day.