County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

like to call to order the dolphin county board of commissioners for may 20th 2026 we'll begin with a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible

Chief clerk's report, Mr. Haggerty. Good morning, commissioners. An executive session was held on Monday, May 18th to obtain the advice of legal counsel regarding purchase or lease of real property, economic development, grant programming, and personnel matters. In addition to the April 15 and April 22 Board of Commissioners meeting minutes, the April 22 Salary Board meeting minutes, personnel packet, and purchase order packet, there are 31 items for board consideration today. We have three adoption assistance agreements, two fiscal management authorizations, one prison agreement, one recorder of deeds agreement, one amendment to our contract with Creole Consulting to cap travel-related costs, two adult probation and parole agreements, one MDJ offices agreement, three amendments to existing opioid remediation grant agreements, all of which extend the grant timeline by two weeks to align with the Commonwealth's fiscal year. 12 human services agreements, two parks and recreation presenter agreements, two satisfaction pieces, and the training packet. Thank you again to all of the staff and volunteers who worked around the clock yesterday to administer our elections. By all accounts, everything across all of our polling locations went really smoothly. So thank you again to everyone to help make all of this happen. That concludes my report. Happy to answer any questions you may have. Any questions for Mr. Haggerty?

i just want to add on to those last comments and thank mr hagerty for going out to ema yesterday on our behalf during the day i also want to give a special thank you to commissioner hartwick is chairman of the election board i know he went out there last evening and gave thanks to the volunteers i stopped out at 4 30 yesterday but i want to give a special thank you to the sheriff's department our public safety department information technology registration elections facility maintenance other county staff and those 1200 volunteers who worked throughout the day and i do want to let you know i did contact both Director Spackman and IT Director Evans as a result of phone calls I was receiving last evening after the polls closed we're very proud of the fact we roll out that first tranche of mail-ins right away at 8 30. but there's a been a delay uh we say every half hour on the hour we put those numbers out but I know the first grouping was just four precincts and then got up to 59 after two hours and then put in a huge amount at 1130 so I've asked them to get together and develop a process to streamline the closing the polls to putting in putting the cartridges and downloading to our County site and the reason I bring that up as a phone calls I was getting from a couple candidates and members of the public we did seem to process the numbers quicker during the presidential election where there were tens of thousands more votes so both Mr. Spackman and Mr. Evans said they're going to meet and develop a plan to try to get those numbers out there there were some issues with potentially software and downloading the cartridges that we need to work on so again thank you for being out there on our behalf yesterday

Any other questions for Mr. Haggerty? We'll move to solicitor's report. Mr. Owens. Good morning. All matters requiring review by my office for board action today have been reviewed and approved. Any questions for Mr. Owens? No. Oh, OK. We'll move to public participation related to agenda items only. I would just ask that you state the agenda item that you're referencing, and it's a three-minute cap, and we are being live-streamed, and you'll need to state your name. Agenda items only. Anyone for public comment on agenda items only?

Antonio Foster, we are talking about taxpayer money, period. So that's something that I just wanted to speak on. Sure. 594 Chamber Street. Taxpayer money is being put into businesses, room and houses, so on and so forth. I like that pen thing I told you. I really like that, especially from you, Mr. Hartley. It's just being dumped in a business that support a cause. As I have proven, and I'm gonna be specific in my situation with the Kevin Dolph situation, breaking the chains was supported by the taxpayers' money. But it is also a place, it is used for setting people up and taking lives. Mines was one that was on the line, which I think I have proven many times. The taxpayers' money is used to attack people who don't agree with the system, with things that have taken place and have gone on, which I've come down here and proven numerous times. Commissioner Hartwick refused standing firmly behind it. I'm having a problem with telling you that, looking you in your eyes and telling you that I am not owned by anybody. And that is what the issue is. The money is used to own control people. And if you do not participate in these situations.

Is there a specific agenda, Adam, that you're referencing?

I'm talking about the taxpayer money. I might not be talking about it the way you want me to talk about it. I am talking about the taxpayer money.

There is a time for public comment at the end of the agenda.

I am on that agenda, ain't I? I'm talking about taxpayer money.

Yeah, but is there an item on our agenda that you're specifically referencing?

No way. You can hold me up. I'll be back.

Okay. Yeah, there is a time at the end of the agenda where you can speak freely. I just didn't know if there's an item on the agenda that we need to reference. Okay.

Thank you.

Anyone else for public participation related to agenda items? Hearing none, we'll move to review and approval of the minutes. Oh, sorry. My apologies.

My name is Guzman Rodriguez. I'm sorry I didn't catch at the beginning. Is one of the agenda items the welcoming committee resolution? No.

No. There's a resolution in front of prison board today at 1.30. Okay. That'll be at the career link. Okay. It's a resolution on limiting transfers into ICE custody, but that'll be at 1.30.

Okay.

You can certainly speak during public comment to that item if you would like to, but this would be only for items on this agenda. Okay.

Was there a welcoming county resolution scheduled at any point and it got rescheduled?

No, that had already been something a little over a year ago that we had.

Yeah, I just received notification that they were going to be putting it forth again.

Probably my guess would be someone was referencing the resolution later today. Okay, thank you. Thank you.

I'm sorry, the resolution later today?

There's a resolution later today in front of prison board for limiting ICE transfers. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? All right. Review and approval of minutes. We have April 15th and April 22nd Board of Commissioners meeting minutes. Do I have a motion? So moved. Moved by Commissioner Hartwick. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Commissioner Priest. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. We have no directors or guests before us today. Salary board. We have salary board minutes from April 22nd. Do I have a motion?

So moved.

Moved by Comptroller Bateman. Seconded by Commissioner Hartwick. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Human Resources, Faye Fisher. Board of Faith.

Good morning, Commissioners. Are there any questions on the personnel packet? It's my understanding that all of the transactions are budgeted for it.

No questions for me. We have a motion for the personnel packet. Moved by Commissioner Hartwick. I'll second that motion. Seconded by Commissioner Priest. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you, Faye. Budget and Finance, Christopher Davis.

Good morning, Commissioners.

Good morning. I have no changes to the investment report that was sent out this morning. There's also no changes to the purchase order packet. It's ready for your approval. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Do I have a motion for the purchase order packet? So moved. Moved by Commissioner Hartwick, seconded by Commissioner Preece. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you so much. We have 31 items before us that require action. Does anything need to be pulled out for a separate vote? Not all entertain a motion for all 31 items. So moved. Moved by Commissioner Priest. Second. Seconded by Commissioner Hartwick. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Any new business?

Hearing none, Commissioner's remarks. Commissioner Harwood. First, I'd like to join Chief Clerk Haggerty and Commissioner Preece and thanking uh chris fackman the elections bureau uh and all of the volunteers um obviously their ability to deliver a free fair secure and accessible election is and which is the backbone of our democracy has been proven uh and they have um stood up and and continued to do a great job even to the staff and it nobody leaves until the job is done correct and despite running into i believe it was some some meta data issued yesterday um which was not on our end quite frankly uh and it was our staff that i believe was the one who provided the solution uh to some of the challenges but um those things i agree commissioner breeze have to be addressed in a timely way And I look forward to having a recap and ensuring that any issues from our vendor are addressed in an immediate and direct way. So I want to thank all of the volunteers, people who have participated, as well as those candidates who put their names on the ballot. It's never an easy thing to do, but being a part of the solution and being willing to put your name on the ballot takes a great deal of courage. And I want to thank all of those individuals who stepped up to provide options to the public. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend several outstanding events. The first was the Stilton Hill Community Day to talk about the revitalization of Cottage Hill football field. You know, the idea of bringing football to young men and women back in Stilton, but also a community center and a vision to a community that, quite frankly, needs a shot in the arm and deserves our recognition and support. That particular location means a great deal to me. I think I spend every day of my life at that playground and the ability for us to offer the same opportunity to kids in the future to have the same benefit of growing up in an environment where they feel seen, valued, heard, and have a constructive place to be able to go during the day. I remember going over there from when the Daylight started till the street lights came on and and even when I was the mayor, we offered a similar summertime playground program. But right now, the fences are closed. The playgrounds and disrepair and the field is not so. To see rollers past and present and other community folks rally to ensure that that happens for the future is still is heartening. And I know when faced with adversity, the character still will be real. Also at the honor of attending the 80th birthday celebration of Reverend Mim Harvey. Some of you may know her from Stop the Violence Ministry. Reverend Mim has been a stalwart friend and advocate who has put her own personal efforts, resources, and heart into serving this community. And it was an honor to be there to be able to recognize her on her 80th birthday and all the things that she's been able to do over the years in an unrecognized way in many cases to be able to serve this community. Also attended the NAACP Axel Award recognition for talented young men and women who are participating in science, technology, the arts, and being able to understand that pressure creates diamonds. And we have some extraordinarily talented individuals that are participating. at high level, and I suspect they will go on to be able to make national marks in their levels of competition. And finally, on Sunday evening, I attended the Eagle Scout ceremony honoring Lincoln Govelovich at Bishop McDevitt High School. He's the grandson of former coach of mine, Nick Govelovich, and Alex Govelovich. To be able to achieve that high-ranking Eagle Scout honor is truly a testament to somebody's perseverance and willingness to finish. and I know it will serve him well in life, and I'm extraordinarily proud of the young man. That's all I have. Thank you.

Commissioner Preece. Thank you. I want to start off by asking our Chief of Staff, Mr. Haggerty, to provide an update on where we're at with the tourism grant applications and the processes. Even as I sit here, I'm getting a text from a resident asking where we're at with that, so if we could just publicly let folks know what we're doing and where we're at in the process.

absolutely thank you commissioner last week we received the list of applications from our department of community and economic development we received over 10 million dollars worth of requests from tourism grants and have about three and a half million dollars available to award so obviously three times as much demand for the program as there is money available so we expect this to be highly competitive we've also shared the applicant list with our partners at VHH to ensure that we have additional sort of input and feedback from folks who are experts in this industry. So look forward to getting that feedback. And of course, the board will at some point determine how to appropriately award those funds.

Thank you very much. I also want to say that on monday was at the tri-county housing ribbon cutting in the 2100 block of north fourth street i joined mayor williams and other officials there and presented a county proclamation at the affordable housing project i want to thank gary lanker and his team for their support in the community and yesterday I attended the Dauphin County addictions conference at Penn State Harrisburg I know Commissioner Hartwick and Commissioner Douglas Douglas were there on Monday I was there Tuesday at 9 a.m. place was packed and I want to thank Kristen Varner and her staff for putting on another successful and on our behalf thank you

Yeah, I'll pick up from there. On Monday, I was at the Addictions Conference as well to kick it off and greet everybody there. Just want to thank all of our partners, certainly our drug and alcohol staff and all the partners that were in the room doing the work to aid and assist people here locally with resources. Thankful that they had the opportunity to gather for a couple of days, share ideas, support one another. Those relationships and those connections really matter. i want to also thank our election staff director spackman and all those who work in our elections department the 1200 volunteers i.t public safety all the work that went into this election i'm incredibly grateful for them and the way that they served dolphin county it's one of the few departments that has like a super bowl twice a year in the sense of all hands on deck kind of situation and and very grateful for their their uh preparations and their execution uh as i've been here election after election it's been uh it's something i'm very proud of and i think we should be very proud as a county for the way in which our elections office runs things I want to say that tomorrow we have a Veterans Memorial Day breakfast at Lawton American Legion Post 998, 4700 Derry Street. I believe all three of us will be there for that Veterans breakfast. And I'm looking forward to honoring our veterans there. And then today, later today at 1.30, we have a prison board meeting at CareerLink. And as I had mentioned earlier, there is a resolution that will be up for a vote at that at that meeting. With that said, we will move to general public participation. I would guess I have a list to go off of. Great. We'll begin with Antonio foster.

Antonio Foster, 594 Chamber Street. I felt like I was really interrupted, and I felt like I was on that agenda speaking on the taxpayers' money, but that's okay. I'm going to get into some other things, to some charades and just nonsense that goes on down here, because I guess I got to show characteristics. That is what we're going for, right? At least my character... was disrespected, you know what I mean? And I feel like you guys try to be the, Mr. Hartwick, I feel like you try to be the narrator of my character by using the systems, as I've spoken about in the past, understanding that you are completely behind it. I'm calling you out. With that being said, I want to go on to you, Commissioner Douglas. Just a long, just with you being a part of the charade, Even down to the news with Brian Proctor. I promise you if Commissioner Hartwick asked Brian Proctor to jump, he's going to say how high. So I promise you that whole issue is a charade. I mean, it's nonsense. And on top of that, I know his character. Nothing about him is tough. He's just tall. Now, going on, I just don't understand how, you know, with all the things that I presented in front of you guys, it seems like, you know, everybody plays completely dumb. We sit down here, we use this pen, we write things down all day, and the truth of the matter is people are protected. It is cleaned up under numerous circumstances. I'm able to just call out flat-out murder, which I have proof of, you know what I mean, which I can lay on the table, which nobody will never take the evidence because, as you see, I'm always denied when it comes down to these services. Rather, it's me going to CID, him lying to the witnesses, cleaning it up, and giving them new phone numbers. You know, some things I'm not even going to expose because I ain't going to do nothing but make that right to a certain extent. And, you know, when the timing is right, if it is ever right, hopefully justice will be served. We'll see how that goes. I want to speak on the Mayor Penn situation. Also, I don't know who Amy Musa is, but it seems like you're trying to bring me involved into a setup. So I'd like to speak about it publicly. Get mail, I guess, from her also her. I don't know if they would be her dead family members, but it seems she's alive and well, and I don't understand why the mail would be coming to my house or be in order that I'm going to be. you know, evicted on talking about she's a widow at the house. I don't know where that's going. I just wanted to bring it up because it seems like it's always a setup that you guys have behind the play. And I want to speak on the mid-pin thing being as though he sent me there. If you don't mind, I'd like to go over a few seconds, Commissioner Douglas. When it comes down to the mid-pin situation, it's like I was herded there, but I was treated wrong in all ways. That will come out, but it's not like I can file an issue with the ethics because you guys have that blocked also. So I just wanted to speak publicly about it. You know what I mean? The action that you guys take, the charades, the circus, so on and so forth. You have a nice day.

Thank you, Mr. Foster. Next up, Guzman Rodriguez. I believe that might be the gentleman that left. Not here. Okay. We'll open it to the floor. anyone for public participation.

Good morning, commissioners. Good morning. My name is Robert Williams, Sr. I'm a resident property owner, taxpayer of Harrisburg, lifelong. I'm here this morning to place a binding narrative into the public record regarding a profound institutional breakdown in county government, specifically the unlawful destruction of material, evidence, surveillance footage from the district attorney's lobby from February 24, 2025. The county ignored several independent preservation triggers to save that video. Sergeant Lloyd performed a manual review of the video at 1 PM, 30 minutes after the incident, proving that the data existed and was flagged as relevant evidence. Two days later, a formal CID investigation A formal complaint was filed by me and picked up by CID. Two days after that, Detective Wenner formally requested this footage under CID case number 2547. Yet on August 7th, 2025, the Commonwealth claimed to the court that the footage was never preserved because there was no reason to preserve it, even though the County Records Act says otherwise. That claim is flatly demolished by the county's own IT record. Help desk ticket INC 9525 confirms that the milestone archive servers utilize dynamic storage. They possess terabytes of available space well into March and April and require only a simple software command to lock and save this data. The hardware did not fail, and the system did not auto-purge it. The government actors actively sat by and let it disappear or erased it themselves, which will be able to be uncovered with the VMS or audit laws. commissioner douglas your own february 4th 2026 memoranda admits to a lack of formal policy governing video retention and explicitly states you believe that any footage related to my incident should have been retained so let's talk about the lawful disposal and explicit loss of immunity under the county records acts itself Under Title 16 PS Section 13005, county officers are granted immunity from civil or criminal liability for disposing of records only in strict condition that they do so in accordance with the schedules adopted by the committee. The moment that a record is material to an active investigation or a pending legal matter, the county records manual completely suspends those destruction schedules. Because the video captured a law enforcement use of fourth incident in an open administration inquiry, erasing it completely bypassed lawful disposal protocols, directly violating the County Records Act and stripping a citizen of its constitutional Brady and Giglio rights. By stepping outside of the law and destroying these files while formal investigation was open, the individual actors involved completely stripped themselves of their statutory safe harbor under the County Records Act. Furthermore, this willful misconduct completely breaks the protection under Title 14, the political subdivision torts. Section 8550, which completely strips away state law immunity when local employees engage in intentional violations of a known legal duty. I would like to ask for a little grace because I saw the last two meetings you allowed the lady to speak five and seven minutes. So I would also like to address the issue. I'll give you 30 more seconds. Okay, I appreciate it. I'd also like to address the issue with the nepotism policy. It seems like this body has a... issue with confusing policy with law because the state law ethics law supersedes the nepotism policy and under the law your policy was is what wasn't compliant with the state ethics law so when the sheriff's son was hired and at that same meeting he asked for a raise and you guys granted him a 40 rate you weren't here seller was you granted him a 40 raise at the same hearing that you removed his son or sons from that nepotism policy, which was in non-compliance with the state ethics law.

That's 30 seconds. Thank you so much, Reverend. Anyone else for public comment?

Good morning.

Good morning, commissioners. Beautiful day in central PA. Throughout our country.

State your name for the record.

Butts, Louis Butts.

I know your name, but I just state it for the record. Thank you.

Everybody's in one piece. That's all that matters. And we're going to try to move forward. It's important that we readdress what and who we are in central Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. We're not Louisiana, we're not Alabama, we're not southern states that had this thing about lynching men. It was heinous, it was insane. That's why we won the Civil War. But a lot of things have been forgotten. And it's important that a masculinity movement is revealed, a new masculinity, a new ring of freedom in which individuals like myself address men like you and talk about things like hydropower, education support systems like the Harrisburg International Aquarium, like the Bridge, the Freedom Memorial Bridge. These things are pillars and projects that can move our society forward more civilized. And that's why I'm here. I want to step to Yin's guise in a systematic fashion and present these projects. That will help our region. It's not about necessarily the black. Or the white man, it's about progress. Whether whoever the messenger may be. If it works, if it's snappy, and it can courage, I think we should go with it because there's not that many things that are being presented to you that are. Have the potential to to be a cure. um there's there's um decisions that we've all made um like parking issues that we're still boggled with these are these are things that we're faced with every day and if we don't come up with solutions that are um progressive um high tech but it's who will bless you, it's who presents it. I figure that we have a lack in acceptability. It's who presents the project, brings doubt and question into the forefront. But I'm willing to work with you three men and I'll bring these projects systematically and show you how viable these projects are with the state, the federal government, and we need these things to set the precedence throughout the country. We're Pennsylvania, we're the Keystone State. And if we can bring ingenuity, new technology, and fight for ethics, morality throughout the nation, that's what we do. That's what we do. And I'll talk with Hagerty. Mr haggard and so I can present these projects in a nice systematic way. So we can see the viability. Nobody else is going to come up. With you, whether it's a man or a woman with these type of, um. The this technology is nobody's going to do it. And I'll bring people that will support me, whether they're Asians, whether they're Indians. And their support is true. These things that I'm bringing up is true. And we need them. Thank you. And I appreciate it. And we will talk further. But it has to be in transparency. Thank you so much, Mr. Haggerty, for your patience.

Anyone else for public comment? Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion for adjournment.

So moved. Moved by Commissioner Priest, seconded by Commissioner Hartwick. All in favor? Aye.