County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call to order the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners meeting for March 18th, 2026. We'll begin with a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. We'll begin with Chief Clerk's report, Mr. Haggerty.

Good morning, Commissioners. An executive session was held on Tuesday, March 17th, to obtain the advice of legal counsel regarding an RFP, public safety, insurance, human services funding, and personnel matters. Today, we have a guest presentation from Dauphin County 4-H educators, as well as a Board of Elections meeting. In addition to the February 25 Board of Commissioners and salary board meeting minutes, there are 24 agenda items for board consideration today. We have one adoption assistance agreement, one public safety agreement, one prison agreement, one risk management agreement, one juvenile probation agreement, one work release center agreement, one community and economic development agreement, one application for state grant funding, seven human services agreements, one parks and recreation presenter agreement, five repository bids, one satisfaction piece, one request for tax forgiveness, and the training packet. This coming Friday, we will hold our quarterly department heads and directors meeting to discuss ongoing implementation of the 2026 budget approved by the Board of Commissioners this past December and begin discussions about preparing for the 2027 budget. That concludes my report. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Any questions for Mr. Haggerty?

Hearing none, we'll move to solicitor's report. Mr. Owens.

Thank you, Commissioner. All matters requiring review by the solicitor's office have been reviewed and approved for board action.

Any questions for Mr. Owens? Hearing none, we'll move to public participation related to agenda items. This is for agenda items only. Public respondents will have a three minute time limit and they'll need to state their name prior to speaking. Anyone for public participation on agenda items only? seeing none we will move to review and approval of the minutes do i have a motion for the approval of february 25th 2026 board of commissioners meeting minutes to move moved by commissioner hartwick do i have a second second the motion seconded by commissioner priest any discussion hearing none all those in favor aye opposed motion carries move to directors and guests we'd like to welcome uh dolphin county 4-h pam brody brittany chapman and heather freeland come on up thank you for being here and anyone else who's here who's here that might not be listed certainly is welcome pull a chair up feel free to feel free to rearrange the chairs thank you all for being here today

Commissioners, thank you for having us here today. I don't know if we've ever done a 4-H proclamation here in Dauphin, so Commissioner Hartwick, thank you for sponsoring us today. We are just so delighted to have a wonderful, robust 4-H program here in Dauphin County, and I do not want to waste any of your time with me speaking. We have some wonderful educators here today, as well as some really lively club members that are going to tell you a little bit about the activities here in Dauphin County. I do want to thank Jennifer. She did a great job helping us. Ruby has come down to the office and has seen all that Extension has done. So we hope to bring you a little bit more programming over the next year.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Pam Brody. I've been a 4-H educator with Dauphin County for five years. I actually celebrated my anniversary on Sunday. Congratulations. And my responsibilities are programming in urban Harrisburg. And so I've been programming with, if I can get the name, Wesley United Zion AME Church. I think it's on Camp Burton.

It's Wesley United Methodist.

Yes, and so I programmed their last summer topic. Guys about circuitry and cooking a little bit and I also program at steel high. We did financial literacy programming in the fall. And I'm currently doing health rocks, which is a. a curriculum to help children make proper decisions as regarding tobacco, drugs, alcohol, and things like that. And so I am in urban Harrisburg. Hope to do more.

Great. Thank you, Pam.

Good morning commissioners. My name is Brittany Chapman. I am the other primary extension educator within Dauphin county and I've been with the county since June of 2024. As Pam mentioned her and Heather kind of do some of the programming within the schools and I kind of focus on the more traditional 4 H clubs, which are monthly evening for each clubs, which is what the kids that we have here today are members of to kind of give you a little bit of. A background of an impact the numbers that we have for the proclamation where our recent program year of last year, our enrollment started for this year in October. So, as of right now, we have 163 for each members enrolled in traditional clubs and we have 41 adult volunteers and club leaders that help us, which is a huge help. 4-H spans, it's really a multifaceted program. We do anything, kids can choose to do anything with livestock, but we also have a fiber arts program, shooting sports programs, a lot of STEM programming. So there's really a lot of different opportunities that kids can get involved in within 4-H. But I'm gonna let Heather take the floor.

Thank you, Brenda.

Thank you. My name is Heather Freeland. I've been with the Dauphin County 4-H since 2008, and I am primarily working in the school enrichment programs, and that is every school within Dauphin County. We offer many courses of what 4-H has to offer to let the youth know that there are opportunities available to them. One of the most popular programs by far is the school enrichment embryology program, where we take fertilized avian eggs, usually chicken eggs, and hatch them in the classroom. A lot of children will carry that memory throughout their lifetime, and you'll often hear that as sort of our gateway program to get kids excited and interested in what we have to offer. I think we're going to let our 4-H members that work in our clubs have the floor next. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Haley Coble. I'm a student at the Lower Dolphin High School. I've been in 4-H my whole life. I show market cattle and market lambs. I also compete at the farm show with the Felicia Shaw with Fiber Arts. I was the weaver on the team, and we actually sold our scarf. to representative tom hathi um forage has done so much for me in my life it's really gotten me to do so many things that i would have never thought of doing i'm also part of the exchange club and we exchanged with different states over the summer i've only been to minnesota so far but we're going to idaho next year so it's fabulous

uh my name is hunter brocious i am the vice president of the dolphin county 4-h club i show market cattle and market goats i am also in the dolphin county exchange club this will be my first year attending it that's great thanks honey good morning my name is peyton coble i am the treasurer of the lower dolphin livestock club and i show um

market cattle and market lambs. And I am also one of the members of the lower of the Dauphin County Exchange Club.

Great. Thank you all so much. I'm going to let Commissioner Hartwick maybe make some comments to begin.

Well, first of all, outstanding job by all three of you. I think some people get more nervous to public speak than they do anything else. And I think all three of you represented yourself very well here in front of a lot of people in a difficult situation. I think that's just another example of the way that you have shined. We always get really proud in Dauphin County about the incredible things that folks are doing in our communities from playing instruments to high school athletics to all different kinds of accomplishments. And one of the things I don't know if we've ever highlighted in the way that we should have has really been the 4-H contribution and the level of involvement and engagement that we've had in 4-H. I know that you all take a great deal of pride. I see your parents are with you in being able to both be in competition, take care of your animals, be prideful in learning and being some of the most conscientious and best presenters in all of your areas of 4-H. I know every time I hear from your director and the people that work at 4-H, they're like, you should see the excitement from the kids. They come out and they shine and their ability to present and to be a part of something a lot bigger than themselves uh is is uh something that's ingrained in you i think from early on but all of you have an extraordinarily bright future i think the experiences that you've learned both in science stem agriculture uh what was this the school enrichment fertilizer pro or uh what was it called fertilizer program embryology all of those things are critical as you go out and dolphin county is a very diverse place we've got rural urban and suburban communities and farming is still one of the top industries in this county so for us to be able to continue to encourage highlight and to showcase our future leaders in those areas is something that i know this board takes a great deal of pride in and i do as well and i know when it comes to the dolphin county kids that participate in 4-h They've got a track record and a history of great success. So we wanted to bring you here today to say thank you for your efforts. Thank you for the way you've presented yourself. Thank you for becoming engaged in a worthwhile and meaningful endeavor where I think it could provide a basic foundation for either your future plans, but ultimately the ability to both grow and showcase what I believe the light is that God's placed in each one of you. So thank you for all you've done, and thank you for being here this morning.

Thank you, Commissioner Hartwick. I was very, very detailed. I appreciate you covering all that for us here this morning, and you were spot on as always. I want to thank Pam, Brittany, and Heather for everything you have done, are doing, and will continue to do on behalf of the county with these young men and women. I think everybody here will agree with young men and women like this here leading the way of the future of this great nation is in very good hands. And as George had mentioned, the amount of work that you're doing and You're all at the farm show. You're all participating in the farm show. The two young ladies on the outside are in the Lower Dolphin School District. What school district are you in, young man?

I'm in Lower Dolphin, but I do the CCA.

Okay, very good. So we got three Lower Dolphin. Your kids are in the Lower Dolphin School District as well. Yeah, this isn't rigged, is it? That's fabulous. That's fabulous. Geographically, the Lower Dolphin School District is the largest. I mean, it literally goes from Grantville, where the casino is, all the way down into Londonderry Township, and that's a pretty large area. So thank you for being here today. It took a lot of courage to say what you said, but you're getting things done at your early age, and I know Commissioner Douglas has a proclamation to reading the record, but also want to, as George said, thank the parents because behind all the kids and success are parents who are there and being supportive all day, every day, all year. So thank you, parents.

Yeah, so I grew up very active in 4-H, so I think y'all are setting yourself up for a lot of success. Look, I grew up on a farm, and I showed lambs, I showed pigs, and also was very involved in 4-H. I did photography, and I did electricity, that whole path as well. I was a nine-year 4-H-er. I started one year late to be a 10-year 4-H-er, which I know is a great honor if you're able to be that, but My best memory was every year our county fair, and we would basically, it was like camp. It was like you would go and you would stay the whole week. You would literally sleep in the area where the animals were. And it was like a reunion of all my friends from around all over the county and and getting to know that and getting to like do hard work all year and then see it pay off when you when you showed your animal. And so I know the dedication that you've shown and the things you're learning right now. are really things that are going to set you up for success in the future. You know, 4-H, head, heart, hands, health, like, you know what I mean? That kind of mindset, but also just the experiences that you're having of starting something, having a goal, working toward it. It's really important. So just continue to put your all into what you're doing in the program. And I really do think it's going to pay off for your future, the connections you're going to make, the network that you're going to have. And ultimately, whatever you decide, whether you stay in farming or go a whole different way, the principles you're learning in this space are going to be so helpful for you in the future. And so I want to say, stay the course, keep investing in 4-H as it invests in you. And I want to thank all the leaders, all the volunteers who show up for students across the county every single day, every single month as they're helping lead. And certainly the parents, I know my parents were very engaged in 4-H as well as leaders, but also just making sure they could drive us to the meetings and have us available for that. You know, our 4-H leader, Pam was her name. She's great. Every time I go home to Indiana and I get a chance to connect with her, I do. And we share. I was in, do you guys know dairy judging? Do they still do that where you like can judge dairy? So we won Indiana State. Our team from our county won the state. And so I got to go to Madison. And when I was in junior high, I got to go to Madison and be part of the like Dairy Expo that happened in Madison and do nationals. And if you don't know what that's like, you literally will like sip. milk and be like, it tastes oxidized or it tastes like it's a very interesting thing. It's not just on Napoleon Dynamite. It's a real thing. And but you also got to eat ice cream, which was my favorite part of the tests, right? Testing ice cream. But but it opens you up to all kinds of opportunities. I would have never had the opportunity in junior high to go to Madison. Wisconsin for a whole week and connect with farmers from across the country and make connections that ultimately, you know, we're to the benefit of our family farm in Indiana. And so continue to go through the open doors that this program, you know, will open for you. And again, thanks to everyone who makes it possible. I do have a proclamation to read into the record on behalf of the Board of Commissioners. We, the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners, celebrate the passion, passionate, life changing work that 4-H does with the youth of the county. Whereas 4-H is America's largest youth development organization, supporting nearly 6 million kids across the country, 4-H has helped 3,918 youth in Dauphin County to become confident, independent, resilient, and compassionate leaders as they learn by doing. Whereas Pennsylvania's 4-H Week showcases the incredible ways that 4-H inspires kids to achieve and highlights the remarkable 4-H youth in Dauphin County who work each day to make a positive impact on those around them. Whereas 4-H in Pennsylvania 4-H in Pennsylvania are served by a network of staff members and more than 6,000 adult volunteers who engage and mentor them in learning activities and hands-on projects in topics such as animal science, civic engagement, STEM, and health and wellness. Whereas 4-H's networks provide youth ages five through 18 with opportunities for leadership development, career exploration, problem solving, friendships, community involvement, passion, and purpose. Therefore, we join the 293,000 residents of Dauphin County in supporting the tremendous work of 4-H and supporting them in their efforts to empower youth, and we do hereby proclaim March 15th through the 21st as Pennsylvania 4-H Week in Dauphin County.

You guys are in the

Y'all want to get in the picture? Get in the picture. Everybody, come on in.

You guys can hold this. Up on the end.

You go on. You go on.

We'll stand on the end.

They make her the only one I'm telling.

Thank you all for being here.

Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Of course, yeah, thank you.

All right, I'll see you guys . Good to see you.

All right. Next on our agenda is the election board meeting. I will be stepping off as court reports. Tina Nix will come up.

Good morning, Tina. that's okay you you stand out and your suit looks great so second here i'd like to call to order the board of elections meeting march 18 2026 and the first order of businesses for public participation related to agenda items only is there any public participation related to agenda items only today Seeing none, our first order of business is review and approval of minutes. Do I have a motion to approve the February 18th, 2026 Board of Election meeting minutes?

So moved. Second.

Moved by, I call you clerk? Tina. Well, I want to give you your official title. Clerk, of course, Tina Nixon. Seconded by Commissioner Prees. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it. We have matters requiring board action. Mr. Spackman.

Good morning, commissioners. Today, we're requesting the several polling place changes throughout the county. In Middletown Borough's second ward, currently they vote at Lyle J. Fink School and were proposed to the Evangelical United Methodist Church. In Lower Paxton Township's 17th Precinct, they currently vote at Harrisburg Bible Chapel, and the proposed location is City East Middle School. Lower Paxton Township's 25th Precinct is at the Village of Laurel Ridge, and the proposed location is Blue Ridge Apartments. Lastly today is West Hanover Township's 6th Precinct, which voted at the old former West Hanover Township building, and proposed is the West Hanover Elementary School. All necessary postings and notifications have been made. All sites were surveyed for ADA compliance. And if approved by the Board, the Bureau will be issuing new voter ID cards to all voters affected to notify them of the point of place change. Additionally, they will receive postcard reminders two weeks prior to the election. We'll also post notices on the former locations as well, just on the off chance voters show up there too as well. Two other things. There is one other likely home place change that we'll wish to make before the primary, and that is in Dairy 6. We are just waiting on final approval from the proposed location. Lastly, just want to make a notice, Conoway, go 1 and 2, which votes as the historic acres. was not moving that location um but the location within the property is changing so there's two buildings um they're just having us move to the other location just temporary we're going to make sure there's plenty of signage at all throughout the location to ensure the voters don't know where where they need to go it's the same parking lot so i believe that the disruptions if any will be very vulnerable

So, all the legal requirements have been met. Yes. Has there been any comments made by any residents or folks that we should be aware of?

No, no comments that the only comment I received was from the Middletown school district. Just thanking us for. being as a common place at the building.

And I know as a matter of business, we attempt to try not to make the adjustments. I know we went through the Department of Justice required changes related to ADA accessibility, which was extraordinarily challenging. But for the most part, we want to stabilize them. But there were specific reasons. All of these were required to be changed.

Yes. So Middletown, too, Low Pax in 17, West Hanover 6, all the properties were no longer going to be available to us. In the case of West Hanover 6, they physically moved their building, so that home place wasn't accessible. And LP 25, that location, it just is necessary to better serve the voters. The location is very small in Crantham. The voters vote in a Jim workout room, they have to move the weights to get in. Yeah. So it's just not extraordinarily inconvenient. Correct. Yep. Um, we've seen, we've received numerous complaints over the years from, um, both poll workers, voters and, uh, and elsewhere.

Great. So is there any questions of any election board members related to these changes?

yes just verifying that you also have communicated this with the the borough of middletown lower paxton township and west hanover township yeah we've been in communications um specifically with west hampton township uh we will be in communications with um both lower paxton township middle and middletown borough of the palm place change um i have been in constant communication with uh the county party officials uh the chairs as well as uh the associated uh pawn places

Is there any other additional questions? Hearing none, I'd entertain a motion to accept the recommendations of our election director to move the polling places as presented. So moved by Commissioner Preece, seconded by Clerk of Courts Nixon. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign. The ayes have it. Is there any former business? Any new business? Is there any public participation on any election-related matters? Seeing none, I'd entertain a motion to adjourn. Second. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? All those in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Meeting adjourned. Thank you.

We'll continue with our Board of Commissioners meeting for salary board. Do we have a motion for the February 25th, 2026 salary board meeting minutes?

So moved.

Moved by Comptroller Bateman. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Commissioner Priest. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Human resources. I don't believe we have anything today. Are there any questions for human resources? Hearing none. No faith. We'll move to budget and finance. Mr. Davis.

Morning, commissioners.

Morning. I have two small revisions, not necessarily small, but two revisions to the purchase order packet. I'm going to ask to pull the first purchase order listed, 102.160, and then the middle one on the second page, 102.163. Those are actually training items that need to go through a conference training packet so that they can actually get paid once approved. But everything else remains the same. I might ask you please disregard the budget remaining column as we continue to work through getting the integrations of the Oracle fixed.

Do I have a motion for the purchase order packet as amended by Mr. Davis? So moved. Second. Moved by Commissioner Priest, seconded by Commissioner Hartwick. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Davis. We have 24 matters requiring board action before us. Is there anything that needs pulled for a separate vote? Do I have a motion for the 24 ayes? So moved. Moved by Commissioner Hartwick. Do I have a second? I will second that. Seconded by Commissioner Priest. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

former business i don't believe we have any former business any new business nothing under new business we'll move to commissioner uh remarks uh commissioner uh just briefly i i wanted to thank danny albert and the hero in the fight uh for putting together one heck of an event this weekend for the recovery community uh it was called rolling for recovery uh i took um my son camden down and uh there was about uh between three to 500 individuals that were there. It was packed throughout the day and I thought it was an excellent event that was very well attended and I think a great addition to the recovery sort of schedule and calendar. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues across the Commonwealth for entrusting me again to serve them at the national level. That's all I have.

Thank you, Commissioner Hartwick.

I'll continue what you just said there, George. That's a pretty remarkable thing that occurred the other day at the C cap convention. Commissioner Hartwick was again reelected to be 1 of 2 commissioners serving the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and representing C cap at the national level. All 67 counties get together and only 2 are chosen. Christian line ball was reelected and George Hart was reelected both unanimously by the full body. So that was very impressive and keep up the great work that you do on our behalf at the national level. I also want to say thank you to the friends and neighbors and Wildwood Park. I received an update from Chris Rebert and Anthea Stebbins. This past Saturday was the annual litter cleanup. There were 57 volunteers on site from a one-mile stretch along Industrial Road parallel to Wildwood Park. they gathered 71 bags of litter that came out to one ton of trash in that area a big thank you to the city of harrisburg's public works and their parks department for the trash pickup and all the partners who were involved it truly was a collaborative community effort Capital Area Greenbelt Association, the Harrisburg Bicycle Club, the City of Harrisburg Public Works and Parks Department, Dauphin County Department of Solid Waste Management and Recycling, Friends of Wildwood, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Also, whenever things happen with our row officers or departments, I like to call that out as well. I received a request from a resident on behalf of her 100-year-old grandmother who was in search of a marriage license. I contacted the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans Court Department and Jean Barfizo King. They got on right away, helped her. get a copy of her marriage license and help navigate that process. So when the residents call, the residents need something, our elected officials and our department heads get on it right away. And I want to thank her and her staff again.

Thank you. That's great. I also want to extend congratulations to Commissioner Hartwick on being the representative for Pennsylvania to NACO. I think that's a great honor and you've done a great job with that. Certainly always bringing back that information to the entire collective of county commissioners in Pennsylvania. But I think it's a value to us here in Dauphin County to have that knowledge as well and that connection. We are in National Women's Month and just want to take a moment to spotlight a couple luncheons that are happening next Wednesday. There's a First Ladies luncheon and panel on Wednesday, March 25th, right here, right down the road at the Whitaker Center. The panel will feature Pennsylvania First Ladies, Lori Shapiro, Frances Wolfe, Kathy Schweiker, and Michelle Ridge. with a very special guest, Dr. Jill Biden, will be there as well. So we're thankful to have that and to see that great leadership of the First Ladies of Pennsylvania and the former First Lady. I also want to say on the same day, there is a Leading the Change, Women Shaping a Sustainable Future Women's Luncheon as well. which has Dee Allen, Phyllis Bennett, Pastor Veronica Dixon, and Tracy Vareno Garrison. I just want to acknowledge all the women throughout Dauphin County. We honor all women in Dauphin County and the contribution they make to our community. It's a great time to celebrate this month all the extraordinary women in our county. With that, we will move to correspondence. I see no correspondence. And then we'll move to general public participation. I have a sign-up sheet coming to me now. I will call from the sign-up sheet, and then we will open it to the floor. Just a reminder, you have a three-minute time limit, and we are being recorded and livestreamed, and you'll need to state your name prior to beginning your comments. We'll begin with Pamela Parson. Okay. We'll open it to the floor. Anyone for public participation? Seeing none, I'll entertain a

Good morning. Good morning. Antonio Foster, 594 Chamber Street. As I said in the past, I really don't like to come down here because I understand that it seems to me, that's my personal view, everything is a hoax and a show. That's just my personal view. I could be wrong. But I do have proof of some things just being just a show. You know, I have proof. When I say I have proof, I do. But there's some lies that I just want to clean up today. Starting with the Social Security disability, I know you guys say you have no control over it, but I just want to present it to the public because I am allowed that with my three minutes. You know, the report that I got is ridiculous. I don't understand how you can't, how you make the decision without an MRI. but that's not what I'm going to get into today. Cause that's, I'm not going to waste my time with that when I can just appeal it. I just wanted to mention it publicly. Um, Systems used on me. I guess they're to impose fear, stop me from speaking. I don't know. But either way, I just wanted to say I'm going to speak whenever I want to because that is the right that I am granted. So to try to stop me is wrong. When I stop speaking, it's because I choose to. Dealing with Dauphine County probation. I'm disrespected under so many levels. I should not be arguing with my PO about coming to commissioner meetings. So evidently somebody had an issue with me being here and speaking the truth. There's also other Stilton family practice. I don't know. I haven't read no files, but I don't understand how that one would be on my social security disability when I've done nothing but go there for a medical marijuana card. That's it. I don't understand how you can get that one, but you can get my MRI. or anything else. Also, I had an issue while on probation. You know, I was put in the treatment. Me, you know, I like to figure things. I like to ask questions. I didn't understand how I got put in this kind of treatment, so I was told that it was the judge's recommendation, but, you know, I asked for that paperwork. I never received it from the PL. You know, that's all the arguments, and You know, things like that took place. So, you know, while in treatment, of course, you know, the system was used against me. I'm sure that whatever this guy's typed up, because all me and him do, they always have issues that didn't make any sense. And, you know, I was crushing with complete logic, as I always do, which I've done in the past. And I also like to make publicly that mid-pen is... I'm going to say they're not my lawyers. I've tried to get them to represent me, but they choose not to. They choose not to call me back under any circumstances. I just wanted to mention that publicly because due to the past, my name has been played with and dragged in many situations. and identity fraud and theft and all this is going on, and I believe that people are showing up at appointments in my name and doing things in my name, and it's not me, but that is what camera is for. Thank you, man. Y'all have a nice day. Thank you, Mr. Foster.

Anyone else for public participation?

Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Moved by Commissioner Hartwick, seconded by Commissioner Priest. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye.