Commissioners vote on plan for Federal Building
A plan to convert the second floor of the former Federal Building in downtown Uniontown to a staff-secured temporary shelter for juvenile delinquents passed by a 2-1 vote at Tuesday’s agenda meeting of the Fayette County commissioners. Commissioners Ronald M. Nehls and Vincent A. Vicites voiced support for the plan, noting that it fulfills a stipulation from the federal government that the building be used at least partially for a justice-system related function.
Failure to carry out that end of the bargain means the building, obtained by the county at no cost, would revert back to the federal government, Nehls said. Vicites said on that basis alone he favored the move, which the commissioners must formally approve at Thursday’s regular meeting.
Cavanagh expressed reservations about housing juvenile delinquents on the second floor of a building earmarked to also house various county-related offices on its first floor.
“My instincts tell me that’s not an appropriate place for a facility like that,” said Cavanagh. “I agree to disagree with my colleagues.”
Nehls said the temporary shelter does not equate to a detention center, where juveniles would stay for lengthy periods. He said Juvenile Probation staff would man the facility “when some youngster gets arrested at 2 a.m.” and has nowhere to go.
Nehls said the staff would place such a youngster in the center until his or her longer-term fate could be decided.
Cavanagh said one of his main problems with that plan is that the Federal Building has no elevator to reach the second floor, which means that any juveniles and staff using the second floor would interact with members of the public using the first floor.
In another matter, the commissioners quietly agreed to place on the agenda the termination of an accountant II in the county Human Services department. That position is the one held by Thomas L. Williams, whose recent employment status with the county includes the allegation that he doesn’t have the college degree he stated on his resume.
Cavanagh said a certified letter sent to Williams’ home, asking him to provide proof of having the degree, was returned to the county three times. “I hope the saga’s over, once and for all,” said Cavanagh, who has favored terminating Williams.
Also at Tuesday’s agenda meeting, the commissioners failed to act on a request from county Controller Mark Roberts, who wanted them to recognize the signature of his Chief Deputy Jeanine Wrona as an alternate signature on all county checking accounts.
Cavanagh flatly stated that he’s against that proposal, noting that Roberts made a big deal of him using a rubber stamp of his signature to approve voucher requests, which are less important documents than checks.
Cavanagh also said that Roberts has ignored a commissioners’ resolution that permits county Chief Clerk Judith M. Bodkin to affix her initials to voucher requests of less than $250, in lieu of Nehls’ signature.
“He (Roberts) is basically asking for something that he won’t let the commissioners do,” said Cavanagh, who termed the request “a double standard.”
Furthermore, Cavanagh said that Roberts refused to send a batch of vouchers to the commissioners’ office for Cavanagh’s signature unless the process was supervised by one of Roberts’ employees.
Cavanagh said those vouchers already contained Vicites’ signature and Bodkin’s initials as the signee for Nehls. “I’m talking about a controller who’s holding vouchers hostage,” said Cavanagh.
Nehls recommended tabling Roberts’ request pending further study. He said that it apparently is the legal opinion of Roberts and his office solicitor that Roberts can vest signature authority with his chief deputy – something Nehls wants the county solicitor to investigate as well.
Vicites said he favors giving Wrona the signature authority if it’s permitted under the county code. Vicites said his main reason for supporting the move is that employees’ pay checks won’t get held up when Roberts is unavailable or out of town.
Regarding the commissioners’ office policy, Vicites said he likes to personally affix his signature to all vouchers because it’s a way for him to monitor county spending at the ground level.
Nehls, however, said that Roberts began holding up the payment of vouchers after the county had done it that way for a year. Nehls said the county solicitor and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania approved using Bodkin’s initials for vouchers under $250.
“I don’t think you can see everything (that goes through the office),” said Nehls, who reiterated that as an administrator he can and does have faith that the people who work for him will conscientiously carry out their duties.