Division head appointment on Luzerne County Council’s Tuesday agenda

Luzerne County’s last vacant division head position may be filled Tuesday, according to council’s meeting agenda.

County Manager Randy Robertson is asking council to confirm his nominee to oversee operational services.

As in Robertson’s two previous division head confirmation requests, he did not include the name and background of the nominee in his public meeting submission — a deviation from past practice under home rule.

Several council members had said this information should be publicly disclosed in advance, but Robertson has said he is concerned about jeopardizing the current employment of nominees if they are not confirmed, noting he still has the option to withdraw nominations before council votes.

Robertson has been personally contacting council members individually to discuss the nominee, several council members said.

The agenda said Robertson is prepared to offer discussion on the hiring process and decision at Tuesday’s meeting. The position was advertised locally and nationally, and a $94,500 annual salary is proposed, it said.

Operational services includes engineering, roads and bridges, planning and zoning, 911, emergency management, buildings and grounds, the boiler plant and solid waste management. Edmund O’Neill had resigned as division head in January.

Meeting details

Tuesday’s meeting is set to start at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

It will be preceded by a 5:50 p.m. public hearing focused on council’s proposed ordinance related to a new infrastructure program.

Under new legislation, the county Redevelopment Authority will borrow to create an infrastructure fund repaid with $3 million provided annually for 25 years from the casino-gambling Local Share Account (LSA).

Council had agreed to guarantee the loan because the up to $55 million in funding will be used for county-owned projects, and the ordinance is part of the process.

Council had identified replacement of the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge over the Susquehanna River as the highest-priority project to be completed with the funding.

Adoption of the ordinance is scheduled during the voting meeting.

Information on remotely attending the hearing, voting meeting and subsequent work session are posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.

Prison roof

A vote also is scheduled Tuesday on the administration’s request for $835,000 more to stop leaks at the county prison.

The project would address the parapet walls atop the prison’s older masonry section, which dates back to the late 1800s. Although roof-related leaks have been fixed, the parapet wall deterioration is causing water to infiltrate inside, mainly along two cell block areas, officials said.

Council had authorized $700,000 from the county’s federal American Rescue funding to repair the walls, but the lone bid from Bloomsburg-based C&D Water Proofing Corp. came in $835,000 above the allocation amount, officials said.

Other matters

Appointments to several county boards and commissions also are up for a vote Tuesday, including members needed to reactivate the advisory board that oversees the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort.

Council also will decide whether to introduce two budget amendment ordinances.

The first will establish a budget account for a new $1.04 million state election integrity grant designed to ensure counties across the state have their mail ballots counted by midnight on election night. A council majority had agreed to use a portion of the funds to purchase a mail ballot sorting machine designed to speed up processing.

The second ordinance would move funds so all division heads could receive at least $94,500.

If the ordinances are introduced, a public hearing and majority vote at a future meeting would be required for their passage.