Approval of a cooperatative, idemnification and reimbursement agreement with Schuylkill County Industrial Development Authority (SCIDA) and Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) related to a grant of $500,000 from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Program was given by the Schuylkill County Commissioners at their work session held Wednesday at the courthouse in Pottsville.

Mark J. Scarbinsky, county fiscal administrator, announced the grant will be used to construct a travel plaza along the Gordon Mountain Road for the Schuylkill Highridge Business Park located in Foster Township, just off Interstate 81. This will serve as a rest area for truckers and allow them to relax and rest and also and have a place to park their trucks.The 2,000 acre business park opened in 1997 and is now the home to 10 companies with 2,922 people employed.Lowe's Distribution Center, Fanelli Trucking and Warehouse, and Wegman's three warehouses are three major occupants. The estimated tax benefit to the county, school districts, and municipalities is $2.8 million.Scarbinsky also received approval to reduce the county budget by $182,500 with the removal from the county payroll salares of nine employees in the business office at Rest Haven Home, who transferred to work for Service Access and Management Inc (SAM), which entered into a contract with the county to operate the home and hospital.The commissioners also approved a budget transfer of $450,000 from its budgetary expenditure account to Capital Reserve Account to cover the costs of a contract recently approved for purchasing and installing a VOIP phone system and computer network in the courthouse, prison, adult probation office, and Human Service Complex, along with upgrading the 9-1-1 administrative phone system.They also approved the transfer of $5,900 from the Capital Reserve Fund to the Rest Haven Enterprise Fund to cover anticipated legal expenditures.Other actionThe commissioners approved vehicle purchases for Schuylkill Transportation System (STS) and Juvenile Probation Office.STS will use $227,150 from its capital assistance grant from the state to procure two shared ride vehicles to replace older equipment also provide state funds for its fixed route line.The Juvenile Probation Department seeks to purchase via (CoStar-13), a state contract program, two vehicles at a cost of $27,987. There will be no cost to the county the commissioners were told by Juvenile Probation Officer Ken Porter, who sought permission because the funds to pay for the vehicles was secured from administration fees and under Act 148 (mileage reimbusements).Porter said, "We need to replace several vehicles in our fleet as three of them are 10 years old or older and several have well over 100,000 miles clocked." The juvenile officers use the vehicles to transport delinquent juveniles sent to various institutions located all over the state.Bids were opened for replacement of 446 feet of waterline in Keffers Village, Porter Township.Four bids were received as follows: Dallago Backhoe Service Inc., Marlin, Norwegian Township, bid $76,622.56; Dudash Pipeline Company Inc., Pottsville, $92,108; Furnace Steam Farms Excavating Company, Hamburg, $105,511.12; and Arthur "Pat" Aungst, Pine Grove, $128,929. The bids were referred to a committee for recommendation.The payments will come from the county's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.William Liptok, director of maintenance, received approval to hire Miller Brothers Construction Inc., of Schuylkill Haven, to make repairs in the work release area in the county prison at a cost of $60,030.Inmates convicted of non-violent crimes, who have steady job are usually qualifed by county judges to be placed in the work release program so they can maintain their jobs, are housed in a separate section of the prison. They leave the prison for their job in the morning and when their day of labor is done they must report back to the prison and not to their home until they complete the sentence imposed by the court.An employee assistance program services agreement with In Roads At Family Guidance was approved for the period retroactive to July 1, through June 3, 2013. Under terms of the agreement the county will pay an administrative fee of $10 per covered employee and an additional fee of $65 for each authorized counseling session. The cost for 683 covered employees will be $6,830.A proclamation was adopted designating the week of Aug. 1 through 7 as "National Clown Week" in the county to honor those who wear baggy trousers, oversized shoes, red bulb noses, and perform silly antics as true ambassadors of joy and good will who bring happiness and a kinship to both children and adults.Personnel matterA personnel matter dealt with Rest Haven Home employees.The hiring of Kathleen Law, Reading, as a part time graduate practical nurse, and Antonio Lesher, Pottsville, as a per diem nursing assistant and the transfer of Christne Mavricz, New Ringgold, from part time nursing assistant to full time nursing assistant was requested and will be acted at the commissioners public meetng next week.Change meetingThe commissioners public meeting next week will be held on Thursday, Aug. 9, instead of the regular Wednesday meeting date because the commissioners will be attending the annual commissioners convention which will be held next week in Hershey.