Commissioners approve licensing for security measures
WAYNESBURG — Greene County commissioners on Thursday approved a customer installation agreement to make new security measures in county buildings effective for use.
The customer installation agreement with security contractor Stanley Convergence Security Solutions, which will cost $8,880, covers software licenses for doorway access devices and surveillance cameras. It is similar to a license agreement that a person might comply with upon installing a new software program on a home computer and the authentication key for the program which comes with the packaged disk.
The access client licenses and video client licenses allow the doorway security and surveillance cameras to be used, respectively.
County Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said that the doorway access devices are card readers that would allow security personnel to use their identification badges as “proximity cards” that gain access to a doorway with a simple swipe. Card readers have been installed at the entries to the offices of the county sheriff, information technology department and human resources.
The surveillance cameras are located throughout county office buildings and the county courthouse, according to Marshall. The $8,880 needed to pay for the customer installation agreement will come from natural gas drilling impact fee proceeds, he added.
County commissioners also approved a supplemental agreement for the consultation and inspection of construction for county Bridge No. 97, as well as a time extension for acquiring the right of way for construction of county Bridge No. 99.
The $67,146 supplemental agreement for Bridge No. 97, located over Craynes Run in Washington Township, covers construction consultation and inspection services by contractor Widmer Engineering Inc. of Connellsville that is needed to begin construction, Marshall said. The money comes entirely from the state department of Transportation.
The time extension for Bridge No. 99, located at Ten Mile Creek in Morgan Township, is a precautionary measure that gives Widmer Engineering until Dec. 30 to acquire the right of way for the bridge.
The right of way is jointly owned by the Clarksville Volunteer Fire Department and Norfolk Southern Railway, Marshall said. The time extension does not involve any fees or requisite payments.
In other matters, the commissioners approved various proclamations.
The commissioners proclaimed the week of May 6-12 as National Nurses Week; the week of May 18-24 as Emergency Medical Services Week; and the week of May 11-17 as National Hospital Week.
Nurses Week recognizes the nurses of Greene County who provide quality care especially as the demand for nurses increases because of the aging population, advances in life-sustaining technology and equipment, and the growth of home health-care services. This year’s theme is “Compassion, Innovation, Dedication: The Commitment Continues” in celebration of the ways in which registered nurses strive to provide safe and high-quality patient care and map out ways to improve the nation’s health care system.
EMS Week acknowledges the members of emergency medical services teams who are prepared at all times to provide lifesaving care. Those professionals and volunteers also engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their lifesaving skills. This year’s theme is “EMS: Dedicated for Life.”
Hospital Week recognizes the people, facilities and technologies at Southwest Regional Medical Center in Waynesburg that make trustworthy, reliable health care possible in the community. This year’s theme is also “Compassion, Innovation, Dedication: The Commitment Continues.”
The commissioners presented their proclamations May 13 as part of a celebration at Southwest Regional Medical Center.
The commissioners also proclaimed May as Foster Parent Appreciation Month. The proclamation recognizes the love, security and guidance foster families provide to the 62 county children currently receiving foster care.
The proclamation states that “Greene County Children and Youth Services has a strong network of foster families, and those parents work closely with the agency to prepare children in need to meet the challenges they will face in daily life.”
Stacey Courtwright, Children and Youth Services administrator, thanked the commissioners for their support and reported that of the 62 children in foster care, 15 are in-county placements, 25 are with relatives and 22 are out-of-county placements.
CYS has eight in-county foster homes available, including the home of Michele Robinson of Carmichaels, who, along with her husband, have been foster parents for 14 years.
Robinson joined Courtwright on Thursday for the presentation of the proclamation.
In other matters, the commissioners heard from several residents and students from the Greensboro area, who thanked the commissioners for the county’s ongoing renovations at Mon View Park in Greensboro.
Mon View Pool is undergoing an $800,000 renovation project and is expected to open in July. New features at the pool will include a water slide, climbing wall and children’s play area. The county also recently installed new playground equipment at the park.
The commissioners heard from Greensboro Borough Council member Charles Mallory, resident Bobbi Antill and six students from Mapletown Junior/Senior High School, who presented the commissioners with a thank-you note signed by local children who use the park.
The commissioners also announced Thursday that they and the county department of recreation are partnering with the Greene County Library System to pilot a new summer reading program called “Canary Library.”
Throughout the summer, carts containing library books for all ages will be available at each of the three Greene County pool sites — Alpha Aquatic Center in Waynesburg, Carmichaels Pool in Carmichaels and Mon View Pool in Greensboro. Children and adults alike will be encouraged to take a book, read and enjoy it, then either return it to the pool or keep it — all for free and without a library card. The carts will have a variety of book interests for adult and child readers.
“Canary Library” will also serve as an additional learning experience for the recreation department’s summer day camp program, which provides free activities for county children ages 5 to 15. This year, day camp will be held June 16 through July 25 at various locations across the county. County children attending day camp pay a discounted rate of $2 a day to visit any of the pools during the camp hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Along with an afternoon swim, campers will now have access to a variety of books provided by the county library system.
For more information on “Canary Library,” call the library system at 724-852-5396, or the county department of recreation at 724-852-5323.
Following the commissioners’ meeting, the salary board approved various actions.
In the sheriff’s office, the board accepted the resignation of Zackary Martsolf, sheriff’s deputy, effective April 22; the promotion of Hannah Toski to regular full-time sheriff’s deputy, effective May 12; and the hiring of Dave Hromada as casual sheriff’s deputy, effective May 17.
In the transportation department, the board accepted the resignation of associate Emily Logan, effective June 20; and the temporary increase of hours for Sarah Humphreys, casual van driver, over the 29-hour limit as needed, effective May 12.
The board also agreed to rehire Donna Neino as temporary fiscal assistant for the children and youth services program on an as-needed basis from May 5 to Sept. 15. The position is not to exceed 14 hours a week, and Neino will be responsible for assisting the CYS fiscal manager with work on the department’s needs-based budget.
The board also approved the hiring of Jessica Harrison as a first deputy for the register and recorder’s office, effective May 12; accepted the retirement of John Riley, fairgrounds manager, effective July 1; approved the hiring of Kyrstyn Atleson and Kelly Higgins as regular part-time corrections officers for the county jail, effective April 27; and approved the hiring of Pam Blaker as a board member for the tax assessment board of appeals, effective April 24.