Schuylkill commissioners approve change orders
The Tamaqua Police Department held its second Coffee With a Cop event on Feb. 23 at Hope and Coffee. Members of the department mingled with the dozens of residents who attended, answering questions and offering safety tips. Participants included officers Corey Herring Ryan Oldt and Michael Weaver, Tamaqua Mayor Nathan Gerace, Chief Henry Woods and officer Fred Lahovski, as well as Cpl. Thomas Rodgers and officer Tim Walsh, who were answering calls at the time of the photo. KATHY KUNKEL/TIMES NEWS
It’s not HGTV, but close — you don’t know what you’re going to find when you are remodeling. Renovations to the future Human Services Building — while still under budget — are continuing, although the scope of work has expanded.
During a meeting Wednesday, the Schuylkill County Commissioners approved about $200,000 in higher costs for reconstruction at the building, located at 410 S. Centre St. The county had budgeted $2.9 million for the work.
Until 2016 the building was home for the county’s Children & Youth Services Agency. C&Y outgrew the building and moved across the street to a building that the county bought and renovated.
In September 2018 the commissioners approved about $1.2 million in contracts to renovate the former C&Y building, which included heating, cooling, ventilation, plumbing and electrical work. The building will house the county’s Drug & Alcohol and Mental Health agencies, the public defenders’ office, as well as the office of District Judge James Reiley. The county is currently leasing space for Reiley and the agencies, paying about $100,000 a year.
The change orders approved by the commissioners Wednesday included:
• $218,537 to remove chimney block and brick on the building’s upper floor, and replace it with steel panels.
• $1,443 to revise hardware on 12 doors.
• $3,017 to install a partition and door, and a bullet-resistant panel for Judge Reiley’s office.
• $21,713, as a credit, for revised renovations for the public defender’s offices.
• $9,033 to change receptacles and install cable to the upper level and install two panels to replace two existing panels.
Under public comment, Palo Alto resident Jeff Dunkel asked the commissioners if the county had a policy regarding “nepotism.” Chairman George Halcovage directed him to speak to the county’s human resources director and county solicitor.
After the meeting, Dunkel spoke with the two and was told that the county does not have such a policy. Asked why he asked the question, Dunkel declined to get specific.
In 2001, at the age of 18, Dunkel became Mayor of Mount Carbon, a borough of 100 in Schuylkill County. He and his mother, Kathy Dunkel, both Democrats, served the borough for four years after Dunkel won the primary on a vote of 22-10, becoming the sole candidate in November, and his mother won a write-in vote for a council seat.
