Lackawanna County Commissioners 9 2 26

Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners regular meeting, September 2, 2026 (the date stated in the meeting resolutions; the metadata lists October 22). Commissioners approved several procurement and funding actions. They awarded the Swansea Field ADA-improvements construction contract to Saferski Paving Company, identified as the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, for $183,178 in CDBG funds, with no cost to the county’s general fund. They ratified four multimodal transportation grant applications seeking about $4.58 million in state funding with no local match, covering Montage Mountain Road, Lake View Commons, the Cliff Street railroad crossing, and Carbondale pedestrian improvements; a $2.75 million Montage Mountain Road award was also discussed. Other approved funding included a $749,544 election-integrity grant already awarded by the state, a recurring $420,000 treatment-court grant, and applications for $117,389 in RASA and $21,787 in VOJO victim-services grants. The county also approved fiscal-year 2026–27 homelessness-assistance agreements with Catholic Social Services, Telespond Senior Services, and United Neighborhood Centers, funded by a $39,000 allocation, and human-services development agreements supported by $196,000 in state block-grant funds.

The board approved a two-year extension of consultant Thomas P. Durkin’s agreement at $100 per hour, citing support for the CCI lawsuit and county financial work; the CFO said payments to him this year had totaled $2,300. Commissioners also approved a 10-year LERTA tax exemption on new improvements for 1802 North Washington LLC’s redevelopment project, planned to add 15 apartments and four commercial spaces, contingent on city and school-district approval. Public comments raised questions about oversight of rental assistance, and the Human Services director described provider monitoring and checks to confirm payments reach landlords. Separately, the emergency management director’s request for qualifications for an independent critical-infrastructure vulnerability and emergency-response assessment was mentioned as a forthcoming procurement effort; no award was reported.