BELLEFONTE — The Centre County board of commissioners proclaimed March 2016 to be American Red Cross Month in Centre County during its regular monthly meeting on March 1.
“The American Red Cross is an amazing organization here in Centre County,” said Chairman Commissioner Michael Pipe. “They have done so much good work here for us. This proclamation is important to recognize just how much the people at the American Red Cross do.”
The official proclamation was read aloud by Kimberly Smeltzer.
“I have a lot of friend and colleagues involved in the Red Cross and they all should be commended for their hard work,” said Commissioner Mark Higgins. “Many people don’t understand all the trainings these people have to go through. It’s an important group that’s very valuable to the residents of Centre County.”
Commissioner Steve Dershem said many people who think of the Red Cross think strictly of blood donation. He said the group is much more than that.
“Blood donations are important, but the Red Cross also does a lot more, especially when natural or manmade disasters occur,” Dershem said. “I think we take those folks for granted. I’m glad we’re are making this proclamation. The Red Cross deserves it.”
Also during the meeting, the commissioners heard a short update on the Temple Court courthouse annex renovation in Bellefonte from county administrator Denise Elbell. She said the renovations are “pretty much done,” noting the third and fourth floors were recently completed and the security and lighting system are set to go out to bid soon.
“We don’t anticipate moving anyone in there until September,” she said.
Elbell said the original cost of the project was $3.1 million. However, about $1 million was made in change orders, thus pushing the project costs to about $4.1 million.
A brief discussion was held about the space, which will become available in the top floor of the courthouse when the Temple Court building is complete. Suggestions for the space included holding cells, conference rooms or office space.
In other business, the commissioners:
■ Adopted Resolution No. 5 of 2016 urging the general assembly and Gov. Tom Wolf to restore funding for human service programs and to put mechanisms in place to assure any future budget impasse or budget delay does not become a burden on Centre County and its constituents.
■ Approved a letter of support for Bellefonte EMS, on behalf of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, for a power load cot fastener system and a new ambulance.
■ Corrected the original approval of a contract between the county and Schadler-Yesco to provide maintenance for the hardware and software for security computers. The contract was originally approved for a one-year period. The correction is to approve it for a five-year period at a total cost of $23,186.25 annually.
■ Approved agreements between the Nittany Mall and the Office of Aging, Office of Veterans Affairs and Office of Transportation to participate in theAdult Health and Lifestyle Expo. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 19, at the Nittany Mall.
■ Approved a contract between the county and Stenograph to provide software support for three court reporting programs. The contract total is $1,857.
■ Approved a contract between the county and Smart Horizons to provide maintenance support for the APCO MEDS/9-1-1 Advisor software at a cost of $3,600.
■ Approved a contract addendum between the county and the Brockerhoff House Corporation to allow for money to provide additional representative payee services for mental health service recipients. The contract total is $17,000.
■ Approved an agreement between the county and Central Counties Youth Center to utilize the regional juvenile detention facility. The youth center is jointly owned by Centre, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Clearfield and Clinton counties.
