Luzerne County Courthouse
                                 File photo

Luzerne County Courthouse

File photo

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The wait is over for 113 outside entities seeking Luzerne County American Rescue Plan funding.

A council majority voted Tuesday to award a total $55.06 million to 113 nonprofits, businesses, municipalities and municipal authorities that had submitted applications last year and met eligibility requirements.

Of those, 77 entities will receive all requested funding.

The remaining 36 will receive less than requested due to category caps that had been set by council. These entities will have to submit revised budgets demonstrating how they would scale back their projects or provide additional funding through other means to complete them as originally proposed.

Council members had planned to approve only the 77 Tuesday and wait on the others. However, Booth Management Consulting, the county’s American Rescue consultant, advised council Monday it can proceed with approving all now because every applicant — fully or partially funded — must submit additional information to proceed with formal award agreements, council members said.

Specifically, all 113 applicants must submit a final budget based on awarded amounts, a final timeline, concurrence on the final scope, performance metrics and other data, Booth said.

“It is also very common that the total award amount may not be expended even once the awards are made. There will be ongoing grants administration adjustments/decreases to the total award amounts throughout the grant management process,” said the email from Robin Booth.

Councilman Tim McGinley emphasized this point before the awards vote, saying all projects must be completed by the end of 2026.

Council also voted for the awards in one batch, instead of individually, although members stated conflicts ahead of time and abstained from individual awards in some cases.

Councilman Brian Thornton unsuccessfully attempted to remove small businesses from the batch and vote on them separately.

Thornton said he supports small businesses but believes they should be addressed through at least $5 million recently set aside for a small business grant program that will be administered by the Greater Pittston, Greater Hazleton and Wyoming Valley chambers of commerce.

Thornton also said leaving the small businesses in the group forces him to reject the whole package, even though he supports 80% of the projects.

Only two colleagues supported his motion to separately vote on small businesses — Kevin Lescavage and Stephen J. Urban.

Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said some small businesses were in the current award mix because some of his colleagues had rejected a proposal more than one year ago that would have set aside $20 million for small business grants. Lombardo said the small businesses now eligible for awards have “been through enough.”

The small business program of at least $5 million that council unanimously approved earlier this month can assist those who did not yet apply, Lombardo said.

How they voted

Those voting for the awards package: Carl Bienias III, Lombardo, LeeAnn McDermott, McGinley, Matthew Mitchell, Chris Perry, Kendra Radle and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr.

Thornton, Lescavage and Urban were the lone no votes.

Urban disagreed with the voting format that allowed abstentions, asserting it should be an all-or-nothing package. Lescavage said he cannot support some of the entities and dollar amounts.

The final list of approved awards is posted as an attachment to Tuesday’s council meeting agenda at luzernecounty.org.

Other votes

In other business Tuesday, council unanimously approved a $390,000 payment toward the settlement of litigation filed by the estate of a county prison inmate who died of suicide while incarcerated in 2018.

Sarah Schiavone and Mickayla Meredick, administrators of the estate of Hailey Povisil, filed the litigation in federal court against the county and prison health care providers Wellpath LLC and Correct Care Solutions LLC, the resolution said.

The total settlement is $780,000. The county’s $390,000 contribution must come out of the general operating budget because the county had exhausted its coverage limits due to other prison litigation settlement claims stemming from this time period, officials said.

McGinley said the settlement was recommended by the county administration, and he suggested the county seek available funds within the prison budget to cover it.

Council also unanimously approved the county court’s request to relocate the Kingston offices of District Judge James Haggerty to leased space in Edwardsville.

The leasing of 4,500 square feet at 59 Russell St. would cost $1,100 per month in the first year and $2,100 per month in the four remaining years of the agreement. Relocation is necessary due to planned renovations in the Kingston municipal building currently housing the magisterial office.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.