Luzerne County Council to vote on opioid settlement fund earmarks

Luzerne County Council is set to vote Tuesday on three opioid litigation settlement awards totaling $359,063, the agenda said.

Council also will discuss a proposal to lease county-owned farmland to two outside entities.

The opioid projects were proposed by the county’s Commission on Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement, which was created to make recommendations to county council on how to spend the funds. The latest figures indicate the county should receive approximately $30 million over 18 years from the state’s settlement against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors.

The proposed award recipients and amounts, along with a synopsis of the projects based on information they submitted:

• Willow Foundation, $193,808

The foundation’s Heartwood Center in Hazleton is the first and only drop-in center and day shelter servicing the homeless in the county’s southern half, and funds would help meet the needs of those impacted by opioid use disorders.

Heartwood Center provides access to breakfast and lunch, personal hygiene items, a food pantry and support services.

“Studies indicate that drop-in centers provide short-term assistance, but empower long-term solutions. Individuals often come to the Heartwood Center seeking immediate relief from day-to-day struggles. Once there, they find stability, support, resources, education and connections that lead to continued engagement and relapse prevention,” it said.

• Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance, $81,305

The licensed Advanced Life Support EMS provider, which services the greater Pittston area and surrounding municipalities, would use the funding to implement a more technologically advanced system to track and audit opioids that it procures, stores and administers.

Its barcode labeling and electronic inventory management system requires manual verification and tracking, which increases risk and inefficiency.

“This investment represents a significant advancement in our commitment to patient safety, regulatory compliance and opioid stewardship in Luzerne County,” it said.

• Dress for Success, $83,950

This funding would provide a range of services to an estimated 200 women impacted by opioid use disorder, including evidence-based recovery strategies focused on empowering them to find purpose.

The program also provides appropriate workplace attire and support and training to help them find employment and acclimate to the workplace.

“By offering tangible tools and materials that make it possible for a woman in recovery to obtain and retain employment, Dress for Success Luzerne County is removing one of the major roadblocks to continued sobriety for women,” it said. “Many of the women we serve do not seek employment simply because they do not have the means to purchase the appropriate attire for the workplace. That continues a cycle of unemployment and risks a woman in addiction recovery from opioid use disorder relapsing.”

Opioid fund status

The three allocations would come from a pot of $1.7 million that must be spent by the end of June.

In addition to the proposed new $359,063 earmark, council had voted earlier this year to use $260,000 for outpatient substance use disorder treatment services provided through the county’s drug and alcohol department, including medication-assisted treatment.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Monday the commission has been reviewing other applications and is on track to propose additional project earmarks for the remaining funds before the upcoming deadline.

Separate from this portion, the county has received $7.4 million in opioid litigation settlement funds that must be spent by June 2026, county Budget/Finance Division Head Mary Roselle said Monday.

In addition to Crocamo, the following serve on the opioid commission: county Council Chairman John Lombardo, council-appointed citizen Mary Butera, county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce, county Drug and Alcohol Administrator Ryan Hogan, county Human Services Division Head Megan Stone and county Correctional Services Division Head James Wilbur.

Council voted last August and December to earmark $2.56 million for a range of internal and outside projects that met eligible uses, including programs that provide medication-assisted treatment at the prison, warm hand-off and recovery specialist services and treatment and prevention education.

Applications and information about eligible uses for the settlement funds are posted on the commission’s section at luzernecounty.org.

Farm leases

The county recently sought proposals from farmers interested in leasing sections of 146.5 acres of county-owned property in Butler Township for crops.

This property is part of approximately 530 acres tied to the county’s operation of the Kis-Lyn work camp for juvenile delinquents from 1912 to 1965. Portions are locked into long-term leases for the Ferrwood Music Camp (17.8 acres), and the Keystone Job Corps Center, which operates a federally funded, residential educational/vocational program on 122.9 acres.

The two proposed farm leases:

• Haz-Wald Farms LLC, two sections totaling 77.5 acres at $91 per acre for three years, or $7,052.50 annually

• Long Hollow Cattle Co., one section totaling 69 acres at $75 per acre for three years, or $5,175 annually

Both leases require use of the property solely for soil cultivation and crop production and indemnify and hold the county harmless from any claims, liabilities or damages arising from use of the land.

Council had contemplated subdividing some of the land so it could be sold and returned to the tax rolls, but a council majority expressed opposition to a sale last year, largely due to citizen complaints about additional development in the municipality.

The farm leases will be discussed during Tuesday’s work session, which follows the 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions to attend remotely are posted under council’s online public meetings section at luzernecounty.org.