Crawford County commissioners approve series of contracts, purchases, hires and grant actions

The Crawford County Board of Commissioners on March 12 approved a broad set of routine contracts, equipment purchases, personnel ratifications and grant-related payments covering multiple departments, the board said during its regular public session.

The board unanimously approved minutes from previous meetings and authorized payment of the regularly scheduled county bills. Commissioners also ratified dozens of department-level requests, including payments for coroner services, purchases for the correctional facility, acceptance of additional human services funding and several maintenance and technology contracts for county offices.

Why it matters: Most items were budgeted or grant-funded and carried by voice or roll-call votes, showing the board moving dozens of operational requests forward in a single meeting. A small number of items included discussion about funding sources or program value, but the meeting produced no unresolved policy votes requiring later action.

Among the key approvals the board recorded: the coroner’s office requested and received payment of its Pennsylvania State Coroners Association dues ($661.13), approval to add a per-diem assistant coroner position funded from the 2025 budget, and a $750 payment to Viva Medical Center for post-mortem radiology exams that the coroner said would bring that vendor’s account to zero. The clerk of courts presented a solicitor-approved agreement for $4,000 that the board approved.

Correctional-facility items the board approved included $2,475 for a new door opening to create a medication-assisted-treatment (MAT) room (to be paid from the opioid settlement fund), $432 for window tint in the MAT room, and an $800 purchase of a SidNet broadcast system and license for the facility’s medical waiting area to display informational content (to be funded from the commissary fund). The board also approved travel and lodging costs of $708 for Captain Renee McElhaney to attend a national forensic social work conference, with part of that registration cost paid by Slippery Rock University, and a $4,720.94 purchase for a hot-water booster for the jail kitchen (not budgeted).

Human services requested several training and program payments the board approved, including reimbursement to Titusville for officer wages and overtime tied to a crisis-intervention training, multiple requisitions for in-person supervisor trainings and trainer payments, and acceptance of $250,000 in additional statewide adoption-network funding the department said requires no county match.

The board ratified multiple county-maintenance and capital-related invoices: a small courthouse remodel invoice ($132.84); design work by EADS Group on the parking-deck project ($4,817.40); replacement of two courtroom panel boxes ($11,615); and an equipment repair at the fairgrounds ($2,135.80). Finance presented and the board ratified an array of departmental equipment purchases and vendor invoices, including laboratory test supplies ($6,630) and the ratified purchase of a 2020 Dodge Ram for the coroner ($28,000). The board approved a transfer of $6,022.09 from the general fund to the liquid-fuels fund to cover administrative costs that exceeded a 10% allocation cap in 2024.

Public-safety actions included the board’s adoption of the Crawford County 2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan and approval to buy six replacement dispatch chairs for the 9-1-1 center at a cost the public-safety presenter gave as $11,975.36. The board also approved a $5,500 payment to MCM for work on the hazard-mitigation plan; the presenter said that cost would be reimbursed by the plan’s funding source.

Personnel actions ratified by the board included an emergency salary ratification for Samantha Wozniak as deputy director of human resources at an annual rate of $48,500, and the emergency hire of Selena Dennis as a per-diem correctional officer at $17 per hour, both effective in March 2025.

During the meeting Penn State Cooperative Extension representatives and 4-H members joined the commissioners for a proclamation recognizing Pennsylvania 4-H Week March 16–20, 2025. Katie Gadowski, identified as a 4-H educator, introduced Kendall Rose, the county 4-H president; Rose told the commissioners, “I’ve been in 4-H since I was 8 … 4-H has helped me grow as a person so much,” reflecting youth participation in local Extension programming.

What the board did not do: The session included no executive-session action items requiring public disclosure beyond routine ratifications, and no vote was tabled or postponed for a future meeting.

The commissioners set their next work session for March 19 and the next full session for March 26; administrative logistics for an upcoming ballot lottery drawing were also announced.

Votes at a glance (selected items approved) - Approval of minutes: February 26 regular meeting and March 5 work session (approved). - County bills: payment authorized, amount reported on the agenda ($2,243,034.34) (approved). - Coroner: Pennsylvania State Coroners Association dues ($661.13) (approved); addition of a per-diem assistant coroner position funded from 2025 budget (approved); Viva Medical Center post-mortem radiology payment ($750) (approved). - Clerk of Courts: solicitor-approved agreement presented for $4,000 (approved). - Correctional facility: MAT room door opening ($2,475, opioid settlement fund) (approved); MAT room tint ($432) (approved); SidNet broadcast system/license for medical waiting area ($800, commissary fund) (approved); travel and hotel for Captain Renee McElhaney ($708, partially paid by Slippery Rock University) (approved); hot-water booster for kitchen ($4,720.94, not budgeted) (approved). - Human services: multiple training requisitions and reimbursements approved; acceptance of $250,000 additional statewide adoption-network funding (approved). - Public safety: adoption of the Crawford County 2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan (approved); purchase of six dispatch chairs ($11,975.36) (approved); $5,500 to MCM for hazard-plan work (approved). - County maintenance/finance: assorted invoices and contracts approved, including EADS Group $4,817.40 (parking deck design), Mark Johnson electrical work $11,615 (courtroom panel boxes), Greenhill Farms tractor repair $2,135.80, Dell hardware and other finance-department equipment purchases, and ratification of a 2020 Dodge Ram purchase for the coroner ($28,000) (approved). - Budget transfer: $6,022.09 moved from the general fund to the liquid-fuels fund to cover administrative costs (approved). - Personnel: emergency salary ratification for Samantha Wozniak ($48,500/year) and emergency hire of Selena Dennis ($17/hour) (both approved).

Speakers quoted or named during discussion included a coroner’s office representative, Patty (Clerk of Courts), Captain Renee McElhaney (corrections), Chief Assessor Mr. Galvao, Katie Gadowski (4-H educator) and Kendall Rose (4-H member). The commissioners conducting the meeting were recorded in roll-call votes as Commissioner Sealy, Commissioner Shell and Commissioner Henry.

The board’s routine approvals clear the way for departments to proceed with vendor contracts, training, small capital work and grant-funded initiatives. The commissioners next meet in a work session March 19 and a full session March 26.