Elk County commissioners approve appointments, MOU for food program and multiple EMA contracts

Elk County commissioners approved a package of routine items and contracts at their Feb. 12 meeting, including an appointment of a county Fair Housing Officer, an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding for a state food program, and several emergency-management contracts that cover regional 911 and hazardous materials response.

Appointments and intergovernmental agreements - The board appointed Kathy McClelland as the county’s 2026 Fair Housing Officer by voice vote. The record includes a prior reference that Catherine McPollock had served previously; the motion before the board named Kathy McClelland as the appointee. - Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding designating Northern Tier as lead agency for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) to support local food banks; staff noted dates in the MOU align with fiscal-year timing and that the document will be returned for final signatures.

Children’s services and community requests - The board renewed a contract with a regional children’s home for residential placement services at $90 per day for the period March 1, 2026–Feb. 28, 2027, to keep the facility available to county children-and-youth and probation services. - The Ridgeway Downtown Decorating Committee’s lawn-use request for March 21–April 11, 2026 for spring and Easter decorating was approved.

Emergency management and regional 911 contracts - As fiduciary for the Northern Tier regional CAD/911 consortium, Elk County approved a renewal with Mission Critical Partners for desktop software, monitoring and response support. The meeting record shows line items of $254,942 (short-term maintenance period) and $204,243 (annual support) for a combined presentation total of $459,185; staff said the state provides funding through the 911 revenue mechanism and the county acts as fiduciary. - Commissioners approved a $9,648 contract to add automated alarm protocol (ASAP-to-PSAP) integration for seven counties in the consortium, allowing alarm-company events to feed directly into dispatch CAD systems. - The board approved a renewal with FCM Consulting Group for CAD, CPE, and GIS consulting services for the regional consortium; transcript amounts were presented as $49,968 for CAD consulting, $49,968 for CPE consulting, and $117,860 for GIS services, for a total of $217,752.

Hazmat retainer - The board approved a retainer agreement with McCutcheon Enterprises to provide certified hazardous-materials response under Pennsylvania’s Act 165 obligations. The contract was presented as a retainer of $2,500 in year one and $7,500 in year two; staff explained McCutcheon maintains a truck and personnel in-county and is required to respond within statutory timelines.

Votes at a glance - Agenda approval: approved by voice vote. - Minutes (01/22/2026): approved by voice vote. - Resolution 2026-01 (appoint Fair Housing Officer): approved by voice vote. - State Food Purchase Program MOU (Northern Tier): approved by voice vote. - Children’s home contract renewal ($90/day): approved by voice vote. - Mission Critical Partners maintenance contract (regional CAD): approved by voice vote. - ASAP-to-PSAP contract ($9,648): approved by voice vote. - FCM Consulting Group contract renewal ($217,752 total): approved by voice vote. - McCutcheon Enterprises hazmat retainer (year 1: $2,500; year 2: $7,500): approved by voice vote. - Ridgeway lawn use request (Mar 21–Apr 11, 2026): approved by voice vote.

What’s next: most approvals are routine renewals or intergovernmental agreements; the county will continue to act as fiduciary for regional 911 funding and will return the SFPP MOU and the solid-waste ordinance for formalization.