Commissioners OK aerial photos of county
WAYNESBURG — Greene County commissioners on Thursday approved a contract that will allow a company to take aerial photographs that will be used in tax assessment, emergency planning and development.
Commissioners approved a two-year, $75,427 contract with Pictometry International Corp. of New York that will allow the company to fly over and take aerial photographs of the county. The photos will be used by several county departments for various purposes.
County Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said the commissioners have been pleased with Pictometry’s work and added that the company has been taking aerial photos for the county for at least the past eight years.
Pictometry will begin taking photos in late fall or early winter when the absence of foliage provides unobstructed views, he said.
“They won’t fly until the leaves come off the trees in November or December,” Marshall said.
The contract will be paid for through impact fee money that was allotted to the county this summer, Marshall said.
In other business, commissioners approved an agreement between the county and EADS Architects Inc. of Somerset to conduct investigations and planning to address the condition and improvements to existing metal roofs on buildings at the county fairgrounds.
Marshall said the agreement, which will cost the county $2,500, will allow EADS Architects Inc. to survey five metal roofs and determine the “best case scenario” of what needs to be done to improve them.
Marshall said several of the metal roofs are rusted and leaking and are in need of repair or replacement.
Commissioners also approved an agreement between the county and Keller McIntyre and Associates of Washington, D.C. for government relations services from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.
Marshall said the agreement, which will cost the county $7,000 monthly, will allow Keller McIntyre and Associates to serve as consultants to help county departments write and prepare federal grants.
The $28,000 contract will be paid for through the general fund, Marshall said.
Commissioners also approved a settlement statement for property acquisition and temporary easement of construction between the county and Norfolk Southern Railway Company for Bridge No. 99, which is located across Ten Mile Creek in Morgan Township.
Under the agreement, the county will acquire .99 acre of property and .312 acre of temporary easement at a total cost of $13,690, which will be paid through state funding. The county-owned bridge is being rebuilt, and a bid for construction has not yet been awarded. Construction is slated to begin sometime next year.
Commissioners also approved an agreement between the county and Pennoni Associates of Uniontown for preliminary and final design of an access road entrance extension at the western end of the county airport as well as the design of the development area on the eastern end of the airport.
The agreement will cost the county $177,500, which will be paid for through impact fee funding.
In other matters, commissioners proclaimed Sept. 9 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day. The proclamation is designed to raise awareness about the disorder, an umbrella term describing a range of mental, physical, learning and social/emotional behavioral disabilities and birth defects directly resulting from alcohol use during pregnancy.
According to the proclamation, FASD affects approximately one of every 100 live births. The proclamation emphasizes that the disorder is the only birth defect that is 100 percent preventable and that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The date of the awareness day reflects the ninth day of the ninth month of the year to represent the nine months of pregnancy.
John Fox, director of drug and alcohol services, reported that FASD is more prevalent than Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, SIDS, cystic fibrosis and spina bifida combined. Healthcare costs for a child with FASD were nine times higher than for a child without the disorder, and the lifetime cost of caring for a person with FASD is estimated to be at least $2 million, Fox said. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the awareness day.