Bradford County commissioners' plans for 2010 are outlined

TOWANDA - The Bradford County commissioners' plans for 2010 include, among other things, making a series of upgrades at the Bradford County Library, implementing energy-saving upgrades at county-owned buildings, and the possible purchase by the county of the Bradford County Human Services building in Towanda, Bradford County Commissioner Mark Smith said.

Smith outlined the Bradford County commissioners' plans for 2010 in his "Chairman's Report to the Taxpayers on the State of Bradford County," which he released on Thursday.

Printed below are the highlights of the Bradford County commissioners' agenda for 2010,

County infrastructure

As part of the county's large-scale "guaranteed energy savings project," a detailed audit is being conducted that evaluates how energy costs can be reduced at seven buildings owned by the county, and that audit is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009, Smith wrote in the report.

Johnson Controls Inc., a company hired by the county to work on the audit, will also be working with the county throughout 2010 to implement energy-saving upgrades to the county's buildings, Smith said.

A series of long-overdue upgrades will be made to the Bradford County Library in West Burlington Township in 2010, including the replacement of its roof at an estimated cost of $100,000 and renovations to its restrooms, which will make them handicapped-accessible, Smith wrote in the report.

The roof has had to be repaired numerous times in recent years, Smith noted.

"The county is in the process of pricing and planning for the implementation of both permanent water and sewer at the Bradford County Library," Smith wrote in the report. "This will eliminate the daily maintenance of the sewer system and the non-potable water at the library."

The parking lot at the Wysox District Court, which has been patched and repaired many times, will be completely repaved in 2010 at an estimated cost of $20,000, Smith wrote.

Renovations will also take place in 2010 at the three-story building at 200 Main St. in Towanda, which the county recently purchased as a new location for Towanda District Court and several county offices, Smith said.

220 Main St.

The county has entered into negotiation to possibly purchase the Bradford County Human Services Building at 220 Main St. in Towanda, Smith said.

"Currently, the county is leasing the entire second floor (of 220 Main St.) at a cost of $71,000 per year" and also has to pay maintenance, taxes and insurance on the property, Smith said.

Under the lease, which the county entered into nine years ago, the county has the option of purchasing the building this year, he said.

"If the county fails to purchase the building, the rent is increased to $78,000 automatically plus the additional costs," Smith wrote. "Needless to say, purchasing the building would be in the best long-term financial interest of the county."

Bradford County Parks

The master plan for improving the county's three county parks is expected to be completed in the spring of 2010, and a number of improvements to the parks are expected to take place in 2010, Smith wrote.

New computer software is being implemented in the Bradford County Assessment Office, he wrote. Once it is implemented, the public will be able to look at the information from the Assessment Office on the Bradford County Web site, he wrote.

Audio recordings of the meetings of the Bradford County commissioners will begin to be posted in 2010 on the "open government page" of the Bradford County Web site, Smith said. Minutes and agendas of county meetings, as well as press releases, are already being posted on the open government page.

Other improvements planned in 2010 are the implementation of the Community Workforce Inmate Program, where non-violent inmates will perform community service projects in area communities; the implementation of wireless Internet access for residents of the Bradford County Manor, and an expansion of a county recycling program to all county offices, Smith wrote.

There is a complete copy of the "Chairman's Report to the Taxpayers of Bradford County" posted on the Daily Review's Web site, www.thedailyreview.com.

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or e-mail: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.

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