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LEWISTOWN -- The Mifflin County Commissioners moved through a wide-ranging agenda at their regular meeting Thursday morning, addressing tax exonerations, intergovernmental agreements, service contracts, and ongoing infrastructure projects.
The Commissioners began the meeting by approving the exoneration of the 2025 county portion of per capita taxes for seven individuals in Kistler Borough.
All the taxpayers in question were deceased, as confirmed by county staff. In addition, the board approved the exoneration of delinquent real estate taxes on a parcel listed as 21,06-0145–,000, which officials noted does not exist and is a duplicate of another property. A separate 2025 real estate tax bill for Parcel No. 21-06-0145 in Wayne Township, also a duplicate, was also exonerated.
Turning to local redevelopment, commissioners approved a cooperation agreement with Burnham Borough for the demolition of a mobile home at 321 Fifth Avenue.
Planning Director Jim Lettiere explained the borough purchased the mobile home through the repository for unsold properties for $25 after determining it was "unfit for human habitation and a safety hazard in the community."
The county's contribution of $2,605 will come from the Demolition Fund Act 152. Lettiere clarified that, although the borough started demolition, the land remains privately owned and neither the county nor the borough holds title to the property. "This was an after-the-fact request," he said.
The board also approved an extension of its contract with RapidSOS to include UNITE translation services for the county's 911 system. 911 Supervisor Josh Pennepacker told commissioners the upgrade would streamline communication during emergencies involving non-English speakers.
"Currently, we use Language Line. If we have a Spanish-speaking person on the line, we try to get them to stay online until we get them to Language Line. This is going to be more streamlined and rather quickly," Pennepacker said. The contract runs for three years at $10,530 per year.
County Children and Youth Administrator Nicole Patkalitsky presented purchase-of-service agreements for the period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, with providers that deliver behavioral health treatment, foster care, and in-home services for dependent and delinquent youth.
Patkalitsky outlined the process for selecting placements, emphasizing the priority to keep children within Mifflin County whenever possible. "We are calling the different facilities to find out what options they have. Do they have openings? And then going from there. We try to keep our kids in Mifflin County," she said.
Providers under contract include KidsPeace National Centers, Cornell Abraxas Group, Clear Vision Residential Treatment Services, Perseus House, JusticeWorks, and Families United Network. Rates varied by provider and type of care.
On infrastructure, commissioners approved the final payment application number 10 for the Hawstone Sewer Extension Project, totaling $135,661.80, to C&R Directional Boring. The board also approved Change Order No. 3, which extends the contract deadline to August 8, 2025, and increases the contract to $2,479,331.80 to cover additional work.
The certificate of substantial completion for the project was issued, with seeding, mulching, and generator startup expected to wrap up in the coming weeks.
"They should be doing the generator startup next week. They've applied the seeding and mulching. That's just giving them a little extra time for that to sprout and make sure that it does grow," Grants Liaison Madison Price said. In addition, commissioners approved an $8,120 invoice from Mid-Atlantic Storage Systems for the Hawstone Water Tank Project.
The Commissioners accepted a $500 provisional ballot printing grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, intended to reimburse counties for the disposal of outdated ballot envelopes. The commonwealth is reimbursing counties for the disposal of the envelopes that they already paid for.
In personnel matters, the board approved the promotion of Nataleigh VanHorn from Caseworker I to Caseworker II, effective Aug. 11. John Cottrill was hired as a part-time fiscal consultant, effective Aug. 7.