Pike County commissioners approve payments, hires and contracts; table correctional food bids and adopt two resolutions

Pike County commissioners on May 5, 2025, voted to approve county bills and several personnel actions, authorize multiple contracts and grant documents, and adopt two county resolutions, while tabling award of correctional facility grocery and frozen‑food bids for further review.

The votes covered several routine financial and personnel items that the board combined into a single meeting agenda. Commissioners approved payments from multiple funds, set new hourly and annual pay rates through the salary board and authorized contracts and grant‑related documents for county projects and services.

Commissioners approved payment of general‑fund county bills totaling $402,215.75, a bridge repair account payment of $24,929.53, a liquid fuels payment of $1,140, a debt‑service payment of $128,022.50 and a SRCP debt‑service payment of $15,869.50. The board also approved several human‑services voucher payments tied to Home Program and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) items as presented during the meeting.

On personnel matters the board approved hiring and hour‑change requests as recorded. Motions approved hiring Elena Plotkin as an Agent Care Manager I (Protective Services Investigator) for the Area Agency on Aging for a 40‑hour week retroactive to May 1, 2025; changing Sherry Bland’s senior‑center operator hours from 35 to 30 per week retroactive to May 5, 2025; hiring Desiree Data as a 9‑1‑1 dispatcher trainee for a 40‑hour week effective May 12, 2025 (benefits after 90 days); and hiring a part‑time driver, recorded as John Landersson, for transportation retroactive to May 5, 2025 (the motion included an amendment on annual hours). The salary board set Elena Plotkin’s annual salary at $47,840 for the Agent Care Manager I position and set listed hourly rates for other staff decisions made that day.

The board moved to award bids for the sale of several surplus transportation vehicles. The record lists awards to John Lombardo for three 2016 vehicles totaling $9,009 and additional awards to a purchaser identified as “Jersey 1 order sales” (multiple 2016–2020 vehicles; the transcript lists individual dollar amounts for each vehicle). Commissioners also approved a separate contract for professional services between MHY Family Services and the county on behalf of Children & Youth Services and authorized the chairman to execute a service agreement with Maximus US Services Incorporated for human‑services work as presented.

A multi‑vendor procurement for tri‑annual groceries and frozen foods for the county correctional facility drew extended attention. The transcript records multiple bidders and amounts as read into the record: Bernard Cruz (total bid reported as $17,313.74), Briscoe Foods (reported as $183,887.81), a bidder identified as “Foods Go” (reported as $142,715.05), a bidder reported as “the villa” (reported as $236,742.54), and “Cisco” (reported as $231,057.22). Commissioners noted the record lacked a bid bond or documentation about a bid bond for at least one bidder and moved to table award of the correctional food‑service contract until the bids could be reviewed by the correctional facility; the board set a review date of May 21, 2025.

The board adopted two resolutions: Resolution No. 2514 declaring Corrections Employee Week (May 4–10, 2025) in recognition of correctional staff, and Resolution No. 2515 designating May 2025 as Tick‑Borne Diseases Awareness into Action Month. Commissioners who spoke about the corrections proclamation thanked the warden and staff for long service and noted the range of correctional positions beyond officers, including counseling and medical staff. On the tick‑borne resolution, the board recorded the county’s 10‑year history with a Pike County Tick‑Borne Diseases Task Force and encouraged public awareness and clinician engagement for early recognition and treatment.

Other routine approvals included a motion to submit a request to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development to modify federal fiscal‑year 2021 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding (Resolution No. 2516), approval of the PennDOT Agility Program agreement relating to maintenance of Pike County Boulevard (Resolution No. 2517), and authorization to execute documents tied to a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program project and project‑management proposal for the Forest Hall Event Center improvement. The board also approved Community Development Block Grant program payment vouchers and a 2023 CDBG payment voucher to Pro Solutions Home Renovations LLC as presented.

During the meeting the warden and assistant warden addressed the board and accepted the county’s recognition for correctional staff; the warden said, as recorded, “I appreciate you taking the time to recognize our entire staff,” and emphasized that correctional work includes counselors, food‑service, maintenance and medical teams. A member of the public, Christina Valance, used the public‑comment period to introduce herself as a candidate for Magisterial District Judge (Delaware-Palmer [district name in transcript unclear]) and asked residents to vote in the municipal primary.

The board recessed only briefly that day to convene the salary board for ratification of the pay decisions noted above. With the exception of the correctional groceries and frozen‑foods awards, the motions voted at the meeting were approved by voice vote with commissioners answering “Aye.”

The commissioners adjourned after routine miscellaneous business and public comment.

Votes at a glance (motions recorded in the meeting transcript): - Approve agenda and minutes — approved (voice votes: Aye). - Approve general‑fund payment, bridge repair, liquid fuels, debt service and SRCP debt service payments — approved (voice votes; amounts as recorded above). - Personnel hires and pay‑rate decisions (Elena Plotkin, Sherry Bland hours change, Desiree Data, part‑time driver John Landersson, hourly rates for staff including Christopher Murphy and Kirk Keller as recorded) — approved via salary board and motions. - Award surplus vehicle sales to listed bidders (John Lombardo and others) — approved as read into record. - Open bids for tri‑annual groceries and frozen foods (corrections) and table award pending review — tabled until May 21, 2025. - Adopt Resolution No. 2514 (Corrections Employee Week) — adopted. - Adopt Resolution No. 2515 (Tick‑Borne Diseases Awareness into Action Month) — adopted. - Adopt Resolution No. 2516 (CDBG funding modification request to Commonwealth) — adopted. - Adopt Resolution No. 2517 (PennDOT Agility Program agreement) — adopted. - Authorize execution of RACP documents for Forest Hall Event Center improvement and related project‑management proposal — authorized. - Execute contract for professional services between MHY Family Services and Pike County on behalf of Children & Youth Services — authorized.

Ending — The board scheduled the correctional bid review and closed after final miscellaneous business and public comments; no new public‑policy decisions beyond those listed were recorded for action that day.