LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County Commissioners met Thursday morning to discuss topics of new county business. Mark Sunderland joined the group via telecommunications.

Commissioners heavily discussed the agreement of sale with Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries to sell the land for Ohesson Manor Property.

Commissioner Robert Postal explained, “In 1976, Mifflin County, at that time, entered into a 99-year lease agreement for the 26 acres that now Ohesson Manor and its cottages now sit on. That lease agreement was for $1 a year for 99 years. It is still in effect.”

Diakon requested to purchase the land instead of leasing it to aid them in overall financing and operations. The motion on the table was to accept $750,000 for the purchase price for approximately 26 to 28 acres.

The board voted 2-1, with the dissenting vote coming from Kodish.

Commissioner Kevin Kodish explained his dissent by saying, “I understand the reasons for excepting it, but my issue is the price. We got an appraisal of $1.2 million for the land, and the offer is $750,000. I thought they could have done a little better than that. In my mind, I would like to see them come a little bit closer to that $1.2 million. That’s all I’m saying.”

Postal respectfully disagreed, saying, “It’s hard to predict the future. We know what’s on the table now.”

Sunderland interjected, “The $750,000 was their second offer. The first offer was $100,000. With that said, $750,000 at a straight 1%, with no compounding whatsoever, is $7,500 a year.”

Sunderland expressed his concerns that if they keep countering the offers, Diakon may stick to leasing the land for the next 46 years at $1 a year.

They also heard Nicholas Wolfkiel regarding expanding the Adult Treatment Court agreement with Clear Concepts Counseling, not to exceed $9,725, through Sept. 29 of this year which passed with unanimous approval.

Kari Coble, head of One Dog at a Time (ODT), was there to plead for funding and community support for the 501(c)(3) non-profit animal help organization.

Coble said, “We do not have an animal shelter in our county at all, so when there is an animal in need in our county, there is nowhere for them to go. Imagine getting up every day and coming in here, thinking about how you are going to raise the money to provide for the families that work here.”

Coble said, “Imagine that. That is what I have to do every day. I didn’t mean to start an animal rescue, but here we are, and honestly, there is such a need in the community.”

Coble continued, “We deal with any owned animal including cats, dogs, horses, cows and chickens.”

Coble also stated that ODT works with all police departments free of charge. The board thanked her dedication and for the work she and her volunteers do and agreed to take her pleas under consideration.

The Commissioners voted to approve the following bill payments:

¯Accounts payable in the amount of $758,208.01

¯Payroll in the amount of $429,749.08

¯911 telephone account in the amount of $10,799.10

¯Community Development Block Grant accounts in the amount of $1,913.76

¯LEPC account in the amount of $614.23

¯Liquid Fuels accounts in the amount of $73.78

Mifflin County Treasurer Diane Griffith joined the Commissioners to report finances from Feb. 16 to Mar. 1. She began, “We have a general account starting balance of $335,207.24.”

The total deposits for the period were $1,383,184.46. “We agree with the bills read by commissioner Postal.”

In other business, the board voted to:

¯Approve a request for exoneration of the 2022 county real estate tax bill and relieve the Tax Collector from collecting an $18,466.67 bill from Parcel No. 17,14-0400A in Granville Township. There is a payment in lieu of taxes agreement in place.

¯Approve a Short-Term Rental Agreement with the Lewistown Armory for Election Day on May 17 at no cost.

¯Adopt the Assessment Fee Schedule

¯Approve the Purchase of Service Agreement with Leslie McNemar for fiscal advisement and consultant as needed for Children and Youth at $70 per hour.

¯Certify the Cost Allocation Plan

¯Authorize signature card changes on the Mifflin County Records Improvement fund and Register’s and Orphan’s Court Automation Accounts with Kish Bank and authorize the Chairman to execute any necessary documents.

¯Approve the bids for the relocation of the Domestic Relation Services by Mid-State Construction Inc in the amount of $171,681.90.

¯Acknowledge the resignation of Deputy Coroner Alan Kratzer effective Feb. 15.

¯Acknowledge the resignation of part-time Corrections Officer April Vodopija effective Feb. 19.

¯Acknowledge the resignation of part-time Corrections Officer Dakota Wileman effective Feb. 24.

¯Acknowledge the resignation of Jennifer Hepner from Children and Youth fiscal supervisor effective Mar. 11.

¯Approve the hiring of Kaitlyn Xanthopoulos for income stability coordinator effective Mar. 11.

¯Approve the hiring of Whitney Yohn for human services fiscal manager effective Mar. 22.