County approves payables, grants, contracts and roadwork awards in March meeting

The Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners voted March 19 to approve a slate of routine and major items including payables, grant submissions, farmland conservation easements, a tax-exemption designation under LERDA and construction contracts for road and drainage work.

The board approved payables presented in Resolution 25-0080, ratified modifications to Community Development Block Grant projects, accepted two farmland preservation easements funded by the Commonwealth, approved a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERDA) designation for a Penn Avenue redevelopment project in Scranton, and authorized multiple emergency-management grants. The board also awarded a Main Street resurfacing contract in Blakely and Archbald Boroughs and a Gordon Avenue drainage contract in Carbondale to the lowest responsible bidders.

The collection of votes advances infrastructure and emergency-preparedness work and continues county-level participation in state and federal grant programs. Officials said several of the grant items are annual submissions that support hazardous-materials and radiological response capabilities and that the farmland easements are paid entirely with Commonwealth funds.

Among the items approved: - Payables (Resolution 25-0080): The board approved the listed general-fund payables totaling $3,032,987.08 as read into the record,…