2010 News
January 7, 2010
Martin Elected Board Chairman for a Ninth Time
At their first meeting of 2010, the Bucks County Board of Commissioners reconstituted, electing Charles H. Martin to his ninth chairmanship following a nomination by Jim Cawley, seconded by Diane Ellis-Marseglia.
The first official act of the 2010 board was to recognize January as National Mentoring Month with a proclamation accepted by Joanne Kozak of RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program), and Sylvia Lefcourt of Today, Inc. Joined by President Judge Susan Devlin Scott, the commissioners next recognized Bob Stanzione for his selection as the Pennsylvania Chief Juvenile Probation Officer of the Year, awarded by the State Juvenile Court Judges Commission. Stanzione, who is charged with overseeing a program serving 1,800 youths, told the crowd that the award is a reflection of the county system as a whole.
During the business portion of the meeting, commissioners approved contracts with 20 departments. The largest single expenditure, $179,629,508, covers behavioral health services for three years. Behavioral Health oversees mental health, and drug and alcohol services for county residents eligible for Medicaid-funded care. The county subcontracts with Magellan Health Services to provide administrative and management functions related to these services. It also serves as a coordinating organization for the county's Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation and Drug & Alcohol Commission.
Other resolutions included a home elevation in Bristol Township as part of the county’s highly successful flood mitigation project along the Neshaminy Creek. To date, about 80 homes have been elevated, with another 20 slated for completion within two years. Additionally, commissioners approved contracts for translation services for a variety of languages for the District Attorney’s office, elevator replacements for the Bucks County Courthouse, and a grant award to the Health Department for H1N1 response in the amount of $1.5 million. Kris Kern, Open Space Program coordinator, presented the commissioners with a 6.2-acre parcel of land in Newtown Township for preservation under the Natural Areas Program Grant. The county partnered with the township as well as with PECO’s Green Region program to fund the preservation effort. Commissioner Marseglia voted “no” on a pair of insurance –related items (9 a and c) as well as a contract focusing on the restoration of Stover-Myers Mill (18a), which is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
During the acting Chief Operating Officer’s remarks, Brian Hessenthaler encouraged maximum participation in a Regional Evacuation Survey that will be conducted through phone interviews over the next several months.
Nearly 3,500 residents who live in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery counties and the City of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, as well as residents in Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties in New Jersey will be randomly selected and asked to participate in a telephone survey to evaluate their evacuation needs and to assess their decision-making process as to whether or not to evacuate when officials give an evacuation order.
Typical questions that residents will be asked include:
- Whether or not they have had to evacuate in the past?
- Why they needed to evacuate?
- Where they would go if they have to evacuate in the future?
- What is the mode of transportation they will use to evacuate?
- Do they have a family emergency plan developed and have they prepared a family emergency kit? How are they most likely to hear about an emergency?
- How they plan to stay informed during an emergency?
Residents will also be asked if they ever chose not to evacuate when an evacuation order was given and why. Residents will not need to identify themselves during the survey and answers will remain confidential. The survey is being funded by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force through U. S. Department of Homeland Security.
“If you receive the phone call, please participate,” Hessenthaler encouraged. Lynn Bush, acting Chief Clerk, updated the commissioners on two items, the first of which is the settlement of 60 acres surrounding the Pearl Buck homestead, which preserves the land in perpetuity. “This is a really great project the county was able to complete,” Ms. Bush noted. The second item relates to the county’s stimulus team, which is working to manage the county’s $3.9 million in federal stimulus dollars. Bush informed the commissioners that they will soon see efficiency improvements in the courthouse using those federal funds.
Commissioner Cawley reported to his colleagues and audience members that, thanks in large part to the efforts of Ms. Bush, his goal of providing a preliminary Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB) report by the end of 2009 was met. The commissioners will now review the recommendations of the board, comprised of a diverse group of community and business leaders, formulated from nearly a year of fact-finding and course-of-action development. Cawley expects to join EDAB members to formally present the findings at a February commissioners’ meeting. Chairman Martin called the efforts to meet the deadline “commendable” and looks forward to hearing from the EDAB board members.
For a full audio account of the meeting and a copy of the business agenda, please visit www.BucksCounty.org. The next meeting of the commissioners will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 20 in the Bucks County Courthouse, Doylestown.