2010 News

November 30, 2010

Commissioners Celebrate 2010 Bucks County Poet Laureate during Bi-Monthly Business Meeting

A two-hour Board of Bucks County Commissioners’ meeting that featured 53 contract approvals for 22 departments began with a bit of creative levity. The agenda opened with Commissioner Chairman Charles H. Martin proclaiming Langhorne’s Lorraine Henrie-Lins the 2010 Bucks County Poet Laureate. “I have a 37-page poem I’d like to read,” Ms. Henrie-Lins joked before reciting one of her brief works to the board and those assembled in the Courthouse Community Room. Ms. Henrie-Lins, a two-time runner up in the county Poet Laureate contest, was chosen from 82 entries. Sponsored by Bucks County Community College, the contest is the longest running competition of its kind in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Chairman Martin also offered words of remembrance for former Bucks County Poet Laureate Program Administrator Dr. Allen Hoey, who passed away earlier this year. “He’s here with us in spirit,” Chairman Martin stated. New Program Administrator Christopher Bursk thanked the commissioners for “fostering the arts in Bucks County.”

The resolution portion of the meeting featured the unanimous approval of a name change for the county’s former Mental Health/Mental Retardation (MH/MR) department, which henceforth will be known as the Bucks County Department of Mental Health/Developmental Programs (MH/DP). “Nationally, there has been a movement away from the term ‘mental retardation,’ “ noted county MH/DP Director Mary Beth Mahoney. “This may be a more inclusive term for the individuals we serve.” Commissioner Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW praised the name change, adding, “Even though I thought it was simple [to change the title], it really wasn’t. I think this is a huge step.”

For Purchasing, the board unanimously agreed to lock in electric heat rates for the first six months of 2011 at 7 ½ cents per kilowatt and natural gas rates through March 31, 2011. According to Ed Kolb of the Purchasing staff, the gas rate will take the county through the “peak winter season.” Overall, the rate lock-ins represent a “strategy to minimize what we are paying.”

The commissioners approved a $55,505 contract with Concate Technologies, Inc. of Warminster to provide access system enhancements for the Security department. These upgrades will include a card-access system for the hallways and elevators that connect to the Court of Common Pleas Judges’ chambers.

For Corrections, the board approved a pair of contracts with Honeywell Building Solutions, including $183,340 to upgrade five officer workstations in the residential section of the Bucks County Correctional Facility (BCCF), and a $151,230 contract to upgrade the video manager system at the Men’s and Women’s Community Corrections Centers. According to Chris Pirolli of the Corrections administration, the BCCF upgrade will replace 25-year-old technology.

Commissioner Marseglia voted against a pair of contracts, one an $11,750 payment to Steven Mawhinney of Langhorne for services to investigate fatal accidents, and a $23,340 contract to provide carpet replacement at the Perkasie Branch of the Bucks County Free Library. Commissioner Cawley voted “no” on a $2,313 payment for out of county travel expenses to the National Association of EMS Physicians National Conference.

Under Miscellaneous agenda items, the commissioners discussed the proposed dredging of the Fairless Turning Basin. According to Bob White of the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority, the project will cost an estimated $395,000 – of which $257,500 has been committed by a combination of public and private sources. Commissioner Marseglia proposed a county contribution of $100,000, which was not seconded. A lengthy discussion of the project followed, including comments from Charlie Myers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Myers stated that the project will deepen the navigable channel from approximately 35 to 40 feet. “Deep water brings business and keeps business,” he told the commissioners.

Commissioner Cawley posed the question, “What’s it going to take to move the project forward?” Commissioner Marseglia urged some form of financial commitment to the dredging venture. “I think we need to step up now,” she stated. Ultimately, Commissioner Martin suggested a $50,000 contribution from the county with the intent to meet with stakeholders to continue exploring funding sources and secure the $395,000.

During his chief operating officer’s report, county COO Brian Hessenthaler congratulated county Director of Corrections Harris Gubernick upon his receipt last week of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Award for Excellence. Mr. Hessenthaler also took exception with a “misleading [newspaper] headline” that characterized Bucks County government employees receiving a 3.4 percent salary increase for 2011. “Our non-represented employees will receive two percent,” he clarified, adding that many of the contracted 2011 cost-of-living adjustments were negotiated several years ago.

The next meeting of the Board of Bucks County Commissioners will take place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 15, at the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Center, 3207 Street Rd., Bensalem, PA 19020. For an audio account of the meeting, please visit the official county website, www.BucksCounty.org, and click on the commissioners’ meetings link.