Schuylkill commissioners reject bids
Winter’s grime will have to wait.
During a meeting Wednesday, the Schuylkill County Commissioners rejected two bids received for commercial window cleaning at the courthouse, Office of Senior Services building, Children & Youth building and 911 Communications building.
Faulcon’s Enterprise & Co, Harrisburg, and T&T Window Cleaning LLC, Plains, were the bidders for the three-year contract. On the advice of Glen Roth, county solicitor’s office, both bids were rejected as the proposals were “incomplete.”
The county will rebid the project, with submissions to be received by the controller’s office by 3 p.m. April 22, opened April 24 and awarded May 1.
On the request of Public Works Director Paul Fetterolf, change orders were approved for an ongoing major county project, renovations for the Human Services building, 410 2. Centre St. The original scope of the work expanded to include additional county-owned buildings, to improve security while creating a unified system.
Johnson Controls is the contractor involved, and workers have already done upgrades at the Human Services building, the Senior Services building on Laurel Boulevard and the Adult Probation building on North Third Street.
On Wednesday, the commissioners approved change orders for $16,409 for security changes, including card access to the courthouse library. The board also approved $17,315 for a change order to add more exterior cameras in courthouse and jury parking lots.
County officials and workers are poised to move into the Human Services Building, which will also house the county’s Drug & Alcohol and Mental Health agencies, the public defender’s office, and the office of District Judge James Reiley. The county had budgeted $2.9 million for renovations to the building.
Until 2016, the building was home for the county’s Children & Youth Services Agency. C&Y outgrew the building and moved across Laurel Boulevard to the former home of Empire Beauty School, a building that the county bought and renovated.
Other business
In other action the commissioners:
• Approved an agreement with LB Foster CXT Products, Spokane Valley, Washington, for a prefabricated restroom via the COSTARS cooperative purchasing program, at a cost of $57,410 for the unit and delivery. County Administrator Gary Bender said that the unit will be placed at Sweet Arrow Lake County Park.
• On the request of Human Resources Director Deborah Twigg, approved a contract amendment with Benistar for a retiree prescription drug plan at a monthly premium of $174.44 per person. Twigg said that is a reduction from the former premium, which was about $200.
• Noted that the seventh annual Youth Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 at the Schuylkill Campus of Penn State. Commissioner Gary Hess said that the students will present the results of a two-year project targeting the opioid epidemic, and introduce their new focus, “Positive Schuylkill.”
