Just like in previous elections, Luzerne County’s election bureau wants people to apply for 30 temporary jobs to assist with the April 23 primary.
The positions offer $20 per hour, and they will accept applications until April 8. The information is posted on the human resources career opportunities page at luzernecounty.org.
The election director supervises these workers, who help with various Election Day tasks from 6:30 a.m. to possibly 10 p.m.
Workers also need to attend a two-hour training session and take an oath the day before the election, as stated in the posting.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
Outside boards
The Council’s Authorities, Boards and Commissions Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday (April 4) at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.
This committee holds public interviews with applicants for the county’s outside boards.
Instructions to attend remotely are posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.
The council is looking for a Republican citizen to fill a vacant ethics commission seat.
A list of all board openings and applications are available on council’s authorities/boards/commissions section at luzernecounty.org.
Opioid commission
Council Chairman John Lombardo said he expects an application and interview process will be announced later this month to fill a vacant citizen seat on the Commission on Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement.
This advisory body must identify and recommend the best uses for $25 million the county is expected to receive over 18 years from the state’s settlement against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors. Council has the final say on how the money is spent.
Also serving on the panel are Lombardo, the county district attorney, drug/alcohol director, human services division head, correctional services division head and county manager.
Budget amendments
Council unanimously approved two budget amendments last week.
The first was related to a $336,364 federal COVID-19 grant that came through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and originated from the Centers for Disease Control. This grant will fund the purchase and installation of county prison system units to control and neutralize contaminants and monitors that track the vital signs of inmates under medical observation so staff can be alerted to changes in inmate temperature and heart rate.
The other amendment stems from the administration’s decision to switch to in-house management of the county-owned Broad Street Exchange Building at 100 W. Broad St. in downtown Hazleton instead of paying an outside entity.
American Rescue
A council majority approved project completion extensions last week for three federal American Rescue Plan recipients:
• Pittston City/Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance, from June 30 this year to June 30, 2025. It received $200,000 toward a new emergency response facility.
• Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Mental Health and Developmental Services, from June 30 to the end of this year. Its $800,000 earmark will adapt property the nonprofit Northeast Counseling Services owns in Hazleton for a mental health crisis and stabilization center.
The Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank is allocated $500,000 for renovating vacant/abandoned properties from June 30, 2021 to June 30, 2025. Despite several attempts, the land bank authority has been unable to find any bidders to do the work at 83 N. Main St. in Jenkins Township due to 'local contractor shortages'.
Parking lease
There was no council discussion last week about a lease for King’s College to use an upper parking lot across from the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre — a deal first made by prior commissioners in December 2003.
According to County Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene, parking lease renewals are typically for five years, but this proposed one will be for two years because the county is conducting an asset study that may find a county use for the property.
The original lease agreement cost $10,000 annually for the first ten years, with two additional five-year renewals at $11,000 annually and then $12,000 per year. The new proposed agreement, expected to be on council’s April 9 agenda, will be $15,000 for 2024 and $16,000 for 2025.
