Monroe County commissioners approved the printer of ballots for 2024 at their meeting on Wednesday.

“This is something that is not new,” said Chief Clerk Greg Christine.

Christine said the commissioners have been doing this for the past three years. The difference is that the cooperative purchasing agreement, also known as CO-STARS, was with a different company.

The commissioners approved going with Phoenix Graphics Inc. in Rochester, N.Y. The company will print the mail-in ballots and mail them to Monroe County residents who completed an application requesting one. The agreement is effective from Nov. 8 through Dec. 31, 2024, with two one-year renewals.

Commissioner John Christy said the machinery they use is a printer with the ability to mail as well.

“They will be printing the ballots and mailing the ballots out,” he said.

Christy said that when people get an application for a mail-in ballot, it comes back to the election office. The election office compiles a list of people who want to receive a mail-in ballot and this data is dropped to the company that prints the ballots. In this case, that would be Phoenix Graphics. The printer prints the ballots and mails them to people who requested them.

If requests come in too close to the date of the election, the election office will mail the ballots to those late requests to insure they get there in enough time, he said.

The company only handles printing and mailing the mail-in ballots. They are not involved in the counting the ballots.

In other business, the commissioners approved the following:

• Vouchers payable - $1,395,400.19 for the week ending Oct. 6;

• Gross payroll - $1,325,640.23 for the period ending Oct. 6;

• Authorize the grants manager to electronically submit the 2023-2024 County Adult Probation and Parole Grant Program application in the amount of $78,258.00 to be used to offset salaries;

• Healthcare benefits payments - Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield: $162,157.51 on Oct. 3 and $43,837.52 on Oct. 10; Geisinger: $83,679.14 on Oct. 2 and $134,854.06 on Oct. 10; dental claims: $2,816.08 on Oct. 3 and $4,395.83 on Oct. 6;

• Monroe County Children and Youth Services - service agreement with CHOR Youth and Family Services Inc. for $225,000;

• Budget adjustment report dated Oct. 12 totaling $18,161;

• A Local Recipient Agency agreement for the Emergency Food Assistance Program with St. Matthew’s Church Soup Kitchen;

• A Memorandum of Understanding with the Salvation Army East Stroudsburg Corps to outline the responsibilities of the parties for the USDA food commodities and for the storage and distribution of county coordinated food pantries;

• The 2023-2024 State Food Purchase Program sub-recipient contracts for the 2023-2024 fiscal year as follows: Bushkill Outreach, $15,500; Christian Awareness Ministries, $5,500; New Perspectives, $12,000; Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network, $40,000; Pocono Mountain Ecumenical, $40,000; Salvation Army-Pantry and Soup Kitchen, $49,500; St. Matthews Catholic Church, $12,000; Top of the Mountain, $40,000; and Women’s Resources, $9,000;

• Accepting a proposal from MCM Consulting Group Inc. to develop the Countywide Hazard Mitigation Plan Update. They will be paid $98,222.25, which is grant funded;

• Request from Freyja Stormegarden to hold a community festival at Courthouse Square the evening of Oct. 28 and during the day on Oct. 29;

• Grant agreements - 2023-2025 Victims Of Criminal Acts Grant Agreement, $157,272; and 2022 Continuum of Care Program, $254,529;

• Amendment No. 1 to Operating Agreement with Aramark to extend the food service contract at the Correctional Facility an additional year to Jan. 5, 2025;

• Three year lease renewals for Children and Youth, Penn State Extension and RSVP (monthly and annual costs) - C&Y at 730 Phillips St., Stroudsburg: $11,023.67 and $132,284.04; C&Y at 720 Phillips Suite 100: $3,444.90 and $41,338.75; C&Y 720 Phillips Suite 101: $1,722.45 and $20,669.38; C&Y 720 Phillips Suite 102: $2,829.74 and $33,956.83: C&Y 720 Phillips Suite 103: $1,722.45 and $20,669.38; Aging 724 Phillips Suite 102: $6,920.55 and $83,046.60; Penn State 724 Phillips Suite 201: $4,675.22 and $56,102.64; and RSVP 411 Main Suite 102A: $1,015 and $12,180;

• Additions to the list of approved vendors - Aging: Annalise M. Cole, and;

• Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority - appointment of Taylor Munoz and Lawrence Kopp to the Solid Waste Advisory committee.