$1.3 Million Grant to Address Affordable Housing Needs in Lycoming County

Lycoming County Commissioners recently approved a $1.3 million Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Improvement Grant Agreement with the state’s Housing Finance Agency.

Jenny Picciano, senior planner and community development, said the grant will be used for 11 projects designed to address affordable housing issues in the county. Some of the beneficiaries include American Rescue Workers, Asbury Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Lycoming-Clinton Joinder Board, Sojourner Truth Ministries, STEP and the YWCA, he said.

In other actions, commissioners awarded a bid for the compensation study to CBIZ Compensation Consulting in the amount of $114,995. The commissioners also approved:

• The 2025 Clean Water Community Action Plan coordinator’s grant request to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for $100,000

• The grant request for the implementation of the 2025 action plan to the DEP in the amount of $492,447

• An amendment to a subrecipient agreement with South Williamsport County Community Development Block Grant funds for 2021, which transfers Habitat for Humanity Procurement funds in the amount of $41,956 to the skills development program and North Central Sight Services preparation.

• Vertiv’s annual agreement with E-Plus in the amount of $7,380

• A three-year subscription renewal with Netwrix for $38,874 for data security

• A $103,000 grant to the West Branch Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission for a program at the county jail.

• A subrecipient agreement with United Way of Lycoming County in the amount of $195,505

• A 2024 emergency management performance grant agreement in the amount of $60,498

• An amendment to an agreement with Geo Drug Testing for a price increase of 45 cents per test for confirmatory testing.

Kenneth Smith, Sam Aungst, Jeff Passerrello and Joseph Miller were approved as members of the county’s Emergency Planning Commission.

As for personnel, the following people were hired for full-time positions: Rion Withers, prison correctional officer, a union position, $20 per hour; Thomas Fuller, recycling worker at Resource Management, $14.50 per hour; Ben Uccello, Resource Management equipment operator, $18 per hour; Megan Strassner and Adam Malek, telecommunications I at the 911 Center, $19.66 per hour each; Mark Miller, communications supervisor at the 911 Center, one transfer, $27,667 per year; and Mathew Yonkin, director of juvenile probation, a compensation policy correction, $81,140 a year.

The next commissioners meeting will be at 10 a.m. Oct. 31 in the Board of Commissioners Room, 3rd floor, Third Street Plaza, 33 W. Third St.