Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

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We'll call to order the April 9th, 2026 Florida Commissioners meeting. Uh, Commissioner Devel and I are present. Commissioner Wider cannot make it today. Um, as it happens, push Commissioner Dello also asked me to add one item to the agenda, which is to decide uh by ordinance who gets to have Commissioner Winders's corner office. So, we're going to vote on that later, and we'll see how that vote goes. But, um, that I will ask, uh, who do I want to ask today? uh our new uh what's your title again? community engagement specialist uh in external affairs, Jojo Dawati to leave lead us in the pledge of allegiance, please.

He doesn't even know. He doesn't know the tradition.

I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Great job. I don't know Jojo a little slow on the uptake there. Is this your first is this is your first meeting too? Yes.

So the uh one of the great powers of the chair is to spring the pledge of allegiance on people and so yeah you'll be prepared next time but uh welcome everyone. Uh a couple things that I'll have opening comments before I turn it over to Commissioner TL uh is that the primary elections coming up. We have an election board meeting right after this. Uh if you have any comments on that, please save them for the election board meeting. But uh one of the things that we want to highlight is our I voted sticker contest which is fast approaching. And this is an opportunity for anyone in this county particularly. We're emphasizing high school students uh and the students uh of any age who want to apply. uh you can design the sticker the stickers uh that are going to be worn by all of our voters uh on election day and in the mail. So, it's a really great opportunity. Up to 600,000 people, depending on our turnout, could be wearing your sticker design and you can still apply. The deadline is Thursday, April 30th at the end of this month. Uh the contest is open to all residents. We're encouraging uh youth to apply. So far, we received 50 designs. So, right now, there's a one out of 50 chance that you could uh be the winning uh design, although we may choose multiple. We're likely to choose multiple. And we've got 28 different communities around the county that have someone who's applied. So, uh please spread the word. Uh we're excited to see your designs and celebrate create like an award for it. Like you know how there's Oscar Emmy call like a Leon award or something like that.

Sure you can come up with any award you want. Leon that sounds like a good Leon. Who's Leon? I don't know. Just vote on this proposal for the not what it's going to look like. So now you have to design something. What's that? probably these tall slender type award. Go from there. Okay.

So, April 30th. April 30th is the deadline. You may win a yet to be named award. Uh if it's a particularly good sticker. Uh second thing wanted to highlight is uh our first ever Montgomery Countyy's first ever looking at our chief sustainability officer uh Earth Day community marketplace. So April 22nd. Yes. Thank you David for your work and putting this together. This marketplace is going to show residents uh what kinds of sustainable businesses are out there uh local makers and those who are environmentally conscious uh in their commerce. Uh it's going to include businesses that range uh a wide range of activities from uh what uh the wardrobe which uh seen them before but they help uh get kind of like interview ready clothing for folks who uh would appreciate access to that affordable way or do they is it also the giveaway or is just

that's business clothing that's recycled. Uh, rabbit recycling is another business. Back to earth compost, shift sustainable goods and services. I see them in Narbor. Uh, they provide all sorts of uh we go there sometimes for soap. Uh, and there's Earthware sustainable goods in from in the food sector. We've got Weaver's Way Co-op, Perrystead Dairy, Growar Food, Happy Bear Coffee Company. Sounds fun where they're located. Um, and then Solar States and Clean Up Clean Energy Co-op for energy. And you'll get a sense of what you can uh either purchase or uh, you know, a number of different uh, offerings that you can engage with as a resident. can. It'll be a full fun uh marketplace activity with food trucks, a scavenger hunt, prizes. It will be here just on Sweet Street. It's going to be right across the street in front of the courthouse. Uh 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd. So, this is a great example of how we're uh trying to increase sustainability, not only through the county's operations and all the things that we do to run more efficiently and sustainably here, but getting a larger community uh engaged in efforts that uh that they can um that they can practice or exercise uh individually as as citizens. So, looking forward to it. Thank you. So this week is also public health week, April 6th through April 12th. Nationally, uh it's the week where we highlight national and local efforts to improve health outcomes and advance health equity. Our office of public health is every day on the front line of

prevention and preparedness to keep residents safe and healthy. uh you see their work in a number of different ways including overseeing the code blue and code red extreme weather responses uh thousands of food safety inspections each year if you go to a restaurant uh and uh you know anytime you enjoy a restaurant it's in part because of the work that our public health staff do to make sure that uh they're operating safely. Uh uh they also conduct CPR and Narcan training, vaccine clinics, and completed our first ever community health assessment which was which was just done last year. So most of this work is behind the scenes. Every now and then you hear from them when there's uh an incident of a disease uh that we are uh taking action to prevent and alert the public about. Uh, but I'm very thankful to Christina Miller, our office of public health. She's here right now, but she might hear about this. And Christina, you're doing a fantastic job uh with your entire team year round preventing uh illness, infection, and accidents in our community. So, thank you for your work. And finally, I'll note again, we have a board of elections meeting at the end of this meeting. will be voting on uh physical polling location changes, dropbox location changes uh for the primary election on May 19th. And with that, I'll turn over to Commissioner Gal.

Actually, there's a uh salary board meeting, then election board. Right. True. So, they'll have to hang through the long, very long salary board meeting that lasts three to four minutes. Let me go for 90 seconds. We'll see.

Yeah. All righty. So, let's uh got some good stuff going on. As you know, in McGomery County through our HHS uh department, we have we always have a lot of very important initiatives that are uh underway throughout our county. And one of those is our spring clean drive, which is running now through May 30th. Um, this drive collects hygiene projects and toiletries for individuals and families that are served by our uh, amazing HHS department. Donations can be dropped off during business hours at the Cobb Center, Nortown, uh, 14:30 DOB Street at the main entrance across from the parking garage. Uh, we have a list of, um, items that could be donated up on the screen. Uh so any way you could help out get us some of those uh uh toiletries and hygiene products would be very much appreciated. I know the families that are HHS department uh serves day in and day out would also be very appreciative of your uh generosity. So please uh uh find some extra stuff at your house or maybe make some purchases and and make those uh donations. Um, also we have uh our uh county support for children, our uh our court care and earning learning resource center. Um, it's another program that's underway or it's in place uh and it's related to serving our youngest residents. Uh, next week our court court our court care program will celebrate its 30th anniversary. So, for anyone who doesn't know, Court Care provides free child care for anyone using our courtrooms either here at One McGomery Plaza or across the street at the courthouse. That includes plaintiffs, defendants, jurors, and

people coming to apply for protection for abuse orders or PFAS. So, we're proud to offer the service for our families and their children uh for 30 years and counting. It's another uh program. Um, so please, uh, you know, use that, um, if and when you may need it. Um, another program I'd like to highlight is our Early Learning Resource Center through HHS. Uh, the Early Learning Resource Center actually works with daycare centers across the county to help working families find those resources. Anyone who's been a parent knows that a lot of important development happens before kids reach the kindergarten age. So again, we want to make sure Monco kids have access to strong development programs regardless of their family income. Um, keeping on the the kids, I was in Harrisburg uh last week uh for a very special award ceremony uh which was put on by the Pennsylvania Support Alliance um and state lawmakers. It's part of the National Child Abuse Prevention Month and each year uh they present blue ribbon awards to community members who do who are doing a great uh job of work to protect and support our kids. Um this year McGomery County was well represented and we had two uh individuals that were honored uh and rightfully so and very welld deserving. One was Jane Kim as you can see there. She is with Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center. Uh Jane not only has been working at Mission Kids, but she's pretty much dedicated her whole entire adult career towards um you know helping and working uh for kids. Um and so she

brings a lot of experience and uh expertise to mission kids and I know they're really excited that she's there. Um and she's been doing a great job and so she was uh honored. And then we also had uh Detective Ernie Morris uh from actually from Limmerch Township Police Department. I've known Ernie for many many years um as a police officer in Limmerch. um he over the last several years has dedicated um his career towards being part of uh being a resource and and part of the whole uh team that's out there working so hard to protect our young generation, our kids. Um so I was had the honor to present Do we have a picture of Ernie also or not?

No, I'm sorry. Well, we sent it.

Did we not send it? Oh, all right. That's unfortunate. Um, so we'll um we'll one minute make sure that we show um both of those receiving their awards. But um you know I I when I spoke in Harrisburg about this, I said it's it's unfortunate. I mean it's fortunate that we recognize individuals that are working so hard to protect our children. Um it's unfortunate that we have have so many individuals working so hard to protect our children. And hopefully someday um with all the work that everyone's doing um this will uh eventually go away. Um they you know as a side they they planted over 4,000 uh flags at the capital. Um and part of the 4,000 I don't remember the exact number but it was over 4,000 kids or reported cases of child abuse. And within that there were 60 kids. is that these numbers go back to 2024. So, they're still accumulating numbers for 2025, but there were 60 uh kids uh as young as three days that were tragically killed uh related to child abuse. It it was it was heartbreaking because they recognized um they didn't actually state the child's name, but they did say the age uh and uh I believe it was gender, age, and where they were located, where where where they were from. Um and it was heartbreaking to see that there were 60 kids that lost their life so young, especially three days old. I mean, it's just horrible. Um, so and then another, you know, part of what I was uh attended the week before that as well was there was a a uh Senator Dash um from actually Center County has got a grant and they're going

to uh a few different counties and they're u gathering up uh people that are in law enforcement or part of uh um county HHS departments or whatever it may be. Uh and we and it was all geared towards talking about the anti-human trafficking uh which was a forum that was put on. Um, and it's and I talked at this event as well and you know I brought up it's like it's it's one of those things that no one wants to talk about uh here in McGomery County or across Pennsylvania, but uh human trafficking is a real thing. Uh it happens day in and day out. um we um hi see high numbers throughout different regions here in Pennsylvania and uh part of what's actually happening is there is a bipartisan group that's been put together in Harrisburg um of I believe it's just state senators and their sole focus is going to be looking at the current human trafficking laws and and I believe they want to make um recommendations to put new laws or enforce or uh not enforce but put uh updated to certain laws um to address this uh issue. We and unfortunately we see it right here in Nortown. Just uh a few weeks ago, there were two individuals that were in the country illegally that came down from New York that uh were in a situation where they're trafficking women and they were arrested. And that's just one instance uh that goes on continuously um not only here in Nortown, McGomery County, but it's going on across Pennsylvania and

across the country. And it's a global issue and I was really happy to be there because the more awareness that we could bring uh to human trafficking the better. Um and it happens it could be happening you know right down your street and you you may not even know it. So and then finally I will talk about let's see we got autism awareness month is going on. Um this is uh another uh unfortunate thing that we see growing uh in our our young generation today. Autism uh cases is up. Um but it's it's it's definitely uh something I saw when I was on the school board. Um the number of kids that are coming in uh that are diagnosed with autism. And for those that are familiar with autism, there's the spectrum. So you could be anywhere on that spectrum um as far as being affected by autism. Um so uh the county HHS department has a wide range of programs for individuals with autism uh and other mental and behavioral conditions. Uh there are early intervention programs for children with developmental disabilities. And of course, uh there's resources for families that could be accessed and help family members deal with uh autism. Um so these are again these resources are available through our health and human services uh and you can find more information on our our county uh website. So if you know personally anyone either within your family or friends f friends neighbors whatever it may be if you know that they may need um help uh please uh please reach out and let them know that the services are available. I know many of the school

districts in McGomery County also have amazing autism programs uh and as well as the McGomery County IU. So, it is definitely something that is here and it's it's a it's growing. Um, at one time I think it was one in like 24,000 kids were diagnosed with autism and it's down to um not one out of 24,000. It was one out of 2400 or something. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it's it's actually less than one out of 24 now are uh diagnosed with autism. So, um hopefully someday we'll be able to figure out why it's growing. Uh but you know, we got to do whatever we can to help these children and these families uh deal with uh with autism. And that's all I got.

Great. Thank you. Reminds me actually yesterday we had a great meeting with higher education leaders

because St. Joseph Scott, Kenny Center on autism that we discussed along with a number of different issues that higher ed is facing and how work together to serve not only the current students but uh coming through and give them the confidence in their future by supporting the kind of curriculum that is tied in with our workforce needs and other issues. So that was good enough. Um, with that I will turn it over to our first presenter, Lori Triber, clerk of courts. Tell us about Second Chance Mon.

Thank you. Good morning, commissioners and everybody. I want to thank you for again giving us the opportunity to to talk about Second Chance Month in general and then our upcoming resource fair. Um, it's our fourth resource fair and so we're very proud of it. and um again grateful for this opportunity to speak about it. So can I have the next slide please? So you might remember from last year we talked about this a little bit but um in 2017 April was nationally recognized as second chance month. So this has been um a something that's been going on for a while now. The purpose is to raise awareness and reduce stigma for people who may have been incarcerated or are criminally justice involved. And um our hope is that people who were incarcerated or have criminal records can have a fresh start. Our governor, excuse me, our governor has signed an annual proclamation. And again, we want to thank the McGomery County Commissioners who have also provided local recognition for Second Chance Month. Can I have the next slide, please? So, um, you'll see here our event flyer, and I just want to point out that it has the date, which is next Monday, coming up soon, Monday, April 13th, from 3 to 5 at the George Washington Carver Center right here in Narstown. Um, you'll notice on there there's a QR code down at the bottom, and that is to um, will take you to our newsletter registration. So, if you want future save the dates or vendor registration or event reminders, things like that, you can access that from our QR code. Um, we do have a full list of vendors available

on our website and that's listed at the bottom of the page there, the website. And I do want to share some other information about the event. But before that, I want to introduce our partner in this sitting right over here, Alyssa McBride. She's from the McGomery County Re-entry Initiative. They've partnered with us for the last couple years. And um MCRI has a very important role in our community and so Alyssa is going to give you a brief overview of their organization and what they do. So, thank you. Come on up. Thank you.

Good morning. Thank you for having us today. Um, MCRI is the McGomery County Re-entry Initiative, which was formed in 2017 by Family Services, the McGomery County Correctional Facility, McGomery County Adult Probation and Parole, McGomery County Public Defenders Office, and the Criminal Justice Advisory Board. We now have grown to over 150 members who are all dedicated to coordinating our efforts for pre and postrelease support and helping individuals successfully return to McGomery County following incarceration. Our goal is to help everyone coming back to McGomery County to be successful. Um we are data driven. So every three years we conduct a strategic plan. We have a risk and needs assessment that we provide to individuals who are incarcerated at the McGomery County Correctional Facility, key stakeholders with a special emphasis on those in our community who have lived experience in the criminal justice system. And we also do focus groups at MCCF to ask people what are the existing and needed resources. So every five three years we have um we figure out five action teams that we want to focus on and they're dedicated to the five priority barriers to successful re-entry that we identify in our strategic plan. And you probably aren't surprised by the five that we have now. Housing is number one, career development, accessing timely mental health, medication and drug and alcohol services postrelease, parenting and child care, and natural supports. Our large collaborative gathers quarterly at the Lower Providence Presbyterian Church. We have a meeting coming up on May 7th if you're interested in coming and our action teams meet in between. And there is my contact information if you have any questions for me. Thank you.

Thank you. I just have to say that meeting is one of the best meetings too. It's always really well attended. There's a lot of people there. A lot of different services are identified. So big shout out to you. All right. Can you bring slide please?

So I just wanted to uh provide this collage to you to show some of the vendors that we had last year. Um it's very interactive as you might see. We have a very diverse group of vendors. We have county offices, government services, educational um organizations, health and wellness. You mentioned that's uh health week or whatever health prevention week. We have some of those providers there. We also have returning and expungement clinic coming. We have um free notary services. And in the health and wellness area, we always have chair massage, which is always a favorite for everybody. So, you can come by and get a quick chair massage while you're there. Um, I also wanted to say that we uh last at the end of the last event, we surveyed our participants to find out what they might want to see more of. And it it goes with the pillars that you were just talking about, those five things that are needed. The um services is what people wanted to see more at our resource fair. So we worked to get some more um both educational opportunities, training and um career related services to come out to talk to people. We also have several row offices that will have tables including the pthonetary Noah Marlier uh register of wills Tina Lawson and treasurer Jason Salis. And um the one other thing I wanted to just take a minute to talk about. I know um commissioner you spoke about the upcoming election and I know you have election board today. So with the incoming with the upcoming um primary election a lot of times people who have a criminal record don't think that they can vote and can you go on the next slide please? You'll see this flowchart here. Um it

doesn't have all the information on there, but um I do want to make note that um we do get questions in our office about people with criminal records, if they can vote or not. We actually made a video which is available on our social media to give more detail on that. But um a key point is that if someone has a felony conviction and is in as and is currently incarcerated, they cannot vote. But if they've been released from incarceration, they can vote even if they're on probation or parole. Some situations like pre-trial isn't on this particular flowchart. Again, we have a video and voter services will be at our resource fair next week. So, if somebody has a question, can they vote or not with their criminal record, please come next Monday and visit their table. um having the you know take away from this is having a prior criminal record does not automatically mean you cannot vote. And in closing again I want to thank you for the time here today. We appreciate it. We appreciate you recognizing Second Chance Month. And for everybody that's here or listening at home, please spread the word about the event. We do have some flyers by the door. And again, the event is next Monday, April 13th, George Care Center from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Questions? Questions? No. Just thank you for your commitment and your work and glad we're at number four now. So, yeah. Number four. Great to see. Yep. Number four. Oh, and we have a proclamation if you want to come up for a photo and Okay.

Do that. You want you want me? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, thank you. All right. One, two, three. Perfect.

Thank you. Thanks so much.

All right. Next up, we'll hear about the Monco Trail Challenge from Laura Williamson, our community traffic safety program coordinator. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Laura Williamson and I am the community traffic safety program coordinator for the Montgomery County Office of Public Health. I'm here today to talk about our 11th annual MONCO trail challenge. So to start, let's talk about what the MONCO trail challenge is. It's essentially a scavenger hunt along 18 participating parks and trails all throughout the county. The goal is to visit as many parks and trails as you can within the time frame. And you're searching for one of those trail symbols um along the trail. It's going to be like a fox, a bunny, a deer, some kind of animal most of the time. Um, participants visit the trail, they find the symbol, and then you write down what the symbol is, and we give out prizes for going to five, 10 or 15 or more trails. Um, there are also free spaces which allow you which allow you to fill out um a park and trail in or outside of the county um for for more um free spaces so you can achieve that five, 10 or 15 trails. This year, the challenge runs from April 25th until December 7th, so you have plenty of time to hit all the parks and trails. If this is a new you're new to the challenge, this is a great way to get physically active and to explore the county and have fun. It's free and available to all ages and capabilities. Last year, we had people um sign up their infants for the program, and we had someone who was 92 complete the program. So, it's really available for all. We want to encourage people to enjoy the trails however they want. You can walk, bike, run, push a stroller, do whatever you want. And I also want to

point out some of these trails are very long. You do not have to walk the entire length of the trail to to get um credit for going to the trail. Okay. I have some reasons why you should get out and go. First of all, it's free and accessible to all. Um, it supports mental and physical health. Every year, Trail Challenge participants report improved mental health. Last year, about 77% of surveyed participants said that being outdoors and more active improved their mental health. It offers a more varied way to be physical. Um, last year feedback survey reported that 78% of respondents walked more, 25% of respondents biked more, and 10% of people ran more. It helps you connect with your community and you can discover new places. Um, this is a great way to get out and about, maybe check out a park or trail that you aren't as familiar with, but it's also a great way to learn more about our local businesses. 69% of survey participants learned something new about the county last year. And finally, it showcases how beautiful Montgomery County is. Last year, Montgomery County celebrate the 100mile milestone of trails. Um, we also have township trails and historical sites. The challenge is always growing and changing and so are so is our parks department. New to 2026. This year, in celebration of America's 250th anniversary, we added four of Montgomery County's historical sites. So, we added Penny Packer Mills, Peter Wentz Farmstead, John James Autobon Center, and Potts Grove Manor. Participants are are um encouraged to explore the historical sites, mansion, and the estates. Guided tours are available at each location and participants are encouraged to learn more about our beautiful history and

find that trail symbol while you're there. I also want to provide some information about our trail challenge kickoff. This year it's scheduled for Saturday, May 2nd at Penny Packer Mills. We will have a free helmet distribution um for all kids and adults who are in attendance. We will also have safety resources, information about our historical sites, activities for families. We'll have light refreshments, and a little bit more. Um, you can scan that QR code on the flyer to register for the event. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. You can scan that QR code to register for the trail challenge kickoff. Thank you so much for having me. Um, oh, and you can also go on our website, montgomery countypa.govmonco trail challenge to um access our trail head map which will help um navigate you to where the trails are, where you can park. Um, we also have tips for completing the trail challenge, how to stay safe on the trails, scavenger hunt sheets for kiddos to keep them entertained on the trail, and so much more. Um, I also have flyers and trail cards on that table for you. If you have any questions, we have an email address, trail challenge montgomery countypa.gov. Thank you so much for having me. And I also want to shout out that is my dog Marvin on the Chester Valley Trail

in King of Russia. It's a really great trail. You should check it out. How old Marvin? Marvin. How old is Marvin now? He's one he just celebrated one year. That was on Father's Day last year. He was like three months there. Very cute. Nice. Here's Marvin for the Leon Award. Or it could be the Marvin one. All right. My name is actually wondering like, oh yeah, I totally forgot that. They only gave me so many letters and you can see my last name takes up all the letters. So we go with Nice. Awesome. Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah. Thanks for the presentation. Uh I got through a few of them last year. Not quite the entire challenge. Okay. Over the course of a four-year term, I think I could make for sure. For sure. Four years to get it done. Yeah, it's a good strategy. Where are you? Well, I did it last year. I forgot to register. And you joined our kickoff. Well, I did. I was at the kickoff, so I did get one trail. I'm going to put the QR code back up. So, you hear that? Great. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Okay. Next up is first public comment section limited to three minutes only on the subjects that we are voting on today.

We don't have anyone signed up right now. No comments on agenda items. Great. So first resolution uh is consideration of an ordinance regarding the eight floors corner office of uh with south southern and eastern exposures. Um do you have any comments on that? Do we have to make a motion? Is there a motion to It's up to you. I'm not making a motion. You make it. Uh who the ordinance could be. Whoever finishes the trail challenge at the end of this year. Yeah,

just kidding. All right, we'll move on to approval of minutes. Uh, is there a motion to approve the March 19th, 2026 minutes of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting? So move. Moved by Commissioner Dell. I'll second any board comment. All in favor? I. I. The minutes are approved. Next up is the personnel list presented by Tony Brew.

Good morning, commissioners. How are you read today? You have in front of you the personnel list. of the commissioner's department. It is a three-page document dated April 8th, 2026 with a time stamp of 10:02 a.m. All positions have been reviewed and accounted for for your consideration. Is there a motion to approve the April 9th, 2026 personnel presentation as given by Mr. Tony Brown? So moved by Commissioner Dello. Is there a second? Second. Um, any point comment? All in favor? I I the personalist disapprove.

Thanks. Uh, I'll just start making the motions. Yeah. Why don't you just I'll do so. Yeah. All right. Is there a motion to approve the advertisement of bids and RFPs for Montgomery County on detached exhibit A? So moved by Commissioner Devel. I'll second. Any board comment? All in favor? I. I. Motion passes. Is there a motion to approve the contracts, awards, amendments, and renewals for Montgomery County attached exhibit B? So moved by Commissioner Development. I'll second. Any board comment? All in favor? I.

I. Motion is approved. Moving on to awards of contract for Southeast PA Regional Task Force. Is there a motion to approve the contract awards, amendments, and renewals for the Southeast BA Regional Task Force on attached exhibit C? So moved by Commissioner Dello. Is there a second? I'll second. Uh board any board comment? All in favor? I I the contracts are approved. Any general public comment? No comment.

No public comment. Wow. Okay. And we'll move on to closing commissioner comments. Got anything? Um, I just wanted I sent I think you've said enough. I just wanted to recognize again detective Ernie Morris as well. We just didn't pictures didn't get sent

over, but there's uh again that was in Harrisburg where recogn recognizing two amazing individuals from McGomery County. Um so it's great to be there and great to recognize them uh for all their hard work uh working you know for or against child abuse. So thank you Megan and that and you guys for getting those up for me. That's all. Fantastic. Uh I think uh I'm okay with my comments here. So we'll move on to the next meeting. So, uh, I'll make a motion to adjourn the April 9th meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. Is there a second? Second.

Any board comment? I'll just note that the next meeting is April 23rd, 10 a.m. in this boardroom. Is there a vote to adjurnn? All in favor? I meeting is adjourned. Moving on to salary board. Ask our controller to join us for here. Do you have a controller, deputy controller out there? Too fast. Okay, they're only a couple floors away. They can be here in a second. Oh, yeah. They're moving here.

Do we have a three? There we are. Blow it up. Great. Okay. So, is there any public comment for salary board?

Yes. Lisa Harps. Sorry.

Good morning, commissioners. I want to take a minute to recognize Rosalie Moody. Rosalie began working for the county on April 3rd, 2000. She has dedicated 26 years to public property. She has a positive attitude and is always happy to lend a helping hand. Your retirement is welld deserved, Rosalie, but you will be missed. We hope you enjoy the time with family and friends. Thank you for all your years of service and congratulations. You're welcome. Thank you. Um, we're gonna do a presentation now. Should you do that?

Do the certificate now. All right. So, why don't you come up and we'll do a photo real quick. Thank you. I'm behind you.

I don't know where. I just realized that. All right. Ready? One, two, three. All right. Thank you everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Congrats. Okay. So next we'll hear from Tony Brew on the presentation of the salary board list.

All right. Good morning members of the salary board. We should have in front of you to find a copy of the salary board list. It's a four page document date April 8th, 2020 circular time stamp of 10:02 a.m. All positions have been reviewed and accounted for for your consideration. Great. Is there a motion to approve the April 8th salary board presentation as given by Mr. Tony Brew, Chief Human Resources Officer? April 9th. So moved by controller Hart. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Commissioner Dello. Any board comment? All in favor? I I The motion is approved. Thank you.

Thank you. Moving on to during the meeting. Is there a motion to adjourn the April 9th meeting of the Montgomery County Salary Board? So moved by controller hard seconded by Commissioner Tabella. Second. Uh any board comment? All in favor? I the meeting is ajourned. Thanks. Exhausting. Um All right. And then next we're going to move on to the election board. So thanks back. Is Frank around? Five minutes.

All right, we're going to do a fivem minute recess. We'll be back for the election.

Are there any publics? Yes. Michelle and cockto. Hi, I'm Michelle and Garto from Lower Salford 3 and I just have a a couple questions. When are the ballot boxes going to be available for the primary? This is a public comment period. Happy to answer questions uh or respond if anyone wants to respond at the end of all the comments. Okay. They're going to be open with they're usually open within the first weekend of mail and ballots going out and the are the and my my other question would be when are mail ballots being sent out? This week. This week. Next week. Okay.

Next week. I can add that. Okay. And then um and then just wondering when the when if if the logic and accuracy testing notification was done. I've been looking for that in the regular places but I haven't seen it. So I was just wondering if if notification has already happened and um or if it has been completed and that's it. We'll be advert.

Okay. So, I'm sorry. I didn't hear what you said. Let's let let's just let him present. He'll do it. Hold on. Wait. There might We have one more person other comments. Let's try to just do the comments first and then get on Zoom. We have Adrien Seltzer. Hey, Adrien. Can you hear us? Mute. Okay. Yes.

Yes. Hi, this is Adrien Seltzer, Winwood, Pennsylvania, and I just want to say I am so excited for the electronic poll books that will be happening on this election. I was at the training last Saturday and it is amazing. is going to make um the lines go faster for voters. It's going to make it easier for um your election poll workers. So, I want to thank you for doing that. Um we'll be able to find if somebody's at the wrong polling place right away without having to call you guys or look it up on our phones. Lovely, lovely addition. Thank you. Thank you very much. Any other comments?

No, that's all. Great. All right. So, now we'll hear from Frank, our director of elections. Or do should we approve minutes from last meeting? Let's do this quick. Is there a motion to approve the January? That sounds incorrect. Do we have the correct date for the January 8, 2026 meeting minutes of the Montgomery County Election Board? Is there a motion? It's fine. It is correct. It is. Yeah. Uh moved by Commissioner Dello. Uh I'll second. Any board comment? All in favor? I minutes are approved. Go ahead.

Uh to answer the questions just in front of a mic. Uh ballots will be available uh next week. Uh once ballots are available, we can begin logic and accuracy testing. We will be advertising that to start next Wednesday. That is a tentative date based on when we can get all of the materials together. We will make sure to update the parties and any citizens groups that have registered with us uh so that they're all well informed of when we are starting and how long we anticipate it to take. Wait, we haven't notified citizens groups yet? Yeah, we have. Of the date? Uh not of the date, just that uh any citizens groups that have registered with us, we've been keeping uh them apprised of where we are at.

Okay. because I know that it's a long there's a big like a window like when you have to notify the citizen group. I just want to make sure that happened. The citizens group have to register in that large window. We just have to give 48 hours notice of when starting. So they but you've gave them a heads up. Yes. Uh I've been in contact with uh one of the representatives letting them know that as soon as we had a firm date we would uh pass that along to them. So, as of yesterday, we have a firm date of next Wednesday that we believe we'll be able to start. Great.

Uh, and also dropboxes will be available as soon as ballots are out. Uh, we anticipate them being opened this weekend for uh, their usage next week as ballots arrive in mailboxes and then the sheriffs are on board to uh, service them daily. Wait, we're opening drop boxes before we send the ballots out? Yes. so that as soon as ballots are available, they can be utilized. Well, are we can ballot boxes when when are we going to start sending them because this costs money. So, when are we going to start sending the sheriffs out?

Next weekend. So, they won't be picking up empty cards this week. We're just uh getting the boxes ready this weekend because there's no way for us to guarantee that as ballots arrive in the mail uh the boxes are available. So, we're opening them in advance of giving the printer the go ahead to start mailing so that as they arrive in mailboxes, voters can utilize the dropboxes, but the sheriffs won't begin servicing them until next Saturday. Yeah, I don't get it. Yeah, I can comment. We don't know what day precisely ballots are going to land, right? But we want to make sure the bot the ballot boxes are open when voters receive Yes. the ballots.

That's pretty much the rationale, right? Yes. Great. Um, do you want to go through the or continue with your presentation? Uh, that was the the end of I think all the questions that were asked. Got it. I mean, in terms of section E of the polling location changes.

Oh, uh, yes. Uh, I'd like to request authorization for the relocation of 10 polling locations for the 2026 primary election taking place on May 18th. The board of elections is given the authority to the by the election code to relocate polling locations as they see fit. These locations are listed uh on your agenda. The polling places we would like authorization to relocate uh have all been uh posted with notices about these relocations. And if the location changes are approved, every voter in these precincts will be mailed a new voter ID card indicating the location change and identifying the new polling location. Those are scheduled to go out in the mail tomorrow pending today's vote. I'm happy to answer any questions you have and request that the board relo approve these relocations as presented.

Do you have the I don't have the list of them. I didn't get any of this until I don't even know when. So I don't know what ballot boxes we're talking or locations we're talking about. So I I have a couple questions which in general can you go over the process for uh how we change these? I have the list in front of me but just for anyone who might watch this can you explain the reasons for the moves? Uh anytime we have to move a polling location we are required by the election code to post notice at five locations uh in five physical locations around the uh existing polling location and the uh new polling location. Uh those postings need to be up for a minimum of five days. That's after the change happens. No, that's before the change can happen.

So you've already done that. We have already posted all these. Uh 5 days ago or when? Uh 5 days ago. Okay. Over five days ago. And c can you just speak more specifically? I have reasons for the move. So could you explain? Uh in almost uh every instance we are being forced to move these polling locations because the current locations are going to be under construction. Uh one or two of them have simply decided that they would no longer wish to serve as a polling location and so we've had to find alternative accommodations for those orders. And how often do you change like every election you would say there's something?

Almost every election we have to change at least one or two. Uh the board asked during last year's election cycle that we try to find locations that can commit to the entire year's cycle so that we can limit the number of moves that we have to do in between the primary in general. And that's what's leading to some of these changes just so that voters have to go to the same place both in the primary and the general this year. Got it. So all of these have committed to November as well. Uh all of these have committed to November as well. Do you have any questions?

So you have locations for all 10 of them? Yes.

And all all how many sir? 10. Yes sir. And alternatives were because because like Woodpane Township, why they too much traffic at the township campus? That was one of the ones where they've requested that the polling location itself has requested that we move. The polling location itself has requested that we find alternate accommodations to help ease the traffic in and out of that building. And I I so they the the new locations I I think Commissioner McKat that they are committed for November as well. Yes. Yes.

All right. So I'll just go over a couple. So Abington Baptist Church, can you explain why we have to move that one? uh they are expanding their child care services and will no longer be able to uh house our operation. So they have told us that they can no longer be a precinct. Yes. Uh and else is there same thing with um so Whitain Township it's is that a confirmation that Charity Episcopal Church will be able to host? Yes. Yes. We've already confirmed that. Are most of these location new locations close to where the old ones were?

Yes. Under the election code, we uh a new location either has to res uh reside in the election district or be adjacent to. We always try to find a location as close to the original as possible.

How how far is uh the elementary school from Abington's Baptist Church? Uh the Overlook Elementary is uh about 3/4 of a mile from Baptist Church. So I think one of the things that would be helpful generally is understanding beyond the election code the requirement to post 5 days beforehand. Is there anything else that we do to coordinate with the public when we decide to move these or when we are forced to move these?

We also post them to our website. There's a tab that says pulling location changes with a document of everything. Once we have a new uh location identified, we update that list. Got it. Uh we also uh can notify the parties. Mhm. Yeah. I I understand anytime some of these are going to change, someone's not going to like it and someone else, you know, and vice versa if it went to a different location. Yes. And again, none of this is we are not initiating these moves. Yeah.

Uh of our own accord. These are the locations themselves asking us to move. And in uh several of the instances, they are not public buildings. So, we cannot force them to remain a polling location. And just some of the other factors that you consider when you're uh we factor in distance. Uh it has to be a it has to meet all of the requirements of a polling location. It has to be ADA accessible. Uh they have to have uh people on the ground that we can coordinate with to get in early and get set up, drop off the machines, have a secure location for the machines.

There's a variety of factors. Uh ample parking is a big one. We want to make sure that there's enough parking for voters on election day. And so we try to keep if we are going to consolidate multiple polls at a location, we try to keep that to one or two unless there's significant parking or a uh a significantly large enough facility to accommodate all three. I'll tell you I I mean I I know you and I talked about this before. One of the one of the models that that we currently use some locations, some of the high schools

Yes. where we'll have three, four, five polling locations at one, you know, and that would if we could do more I know that this probably wouldn't be popular, but if we could do more of that,

it it would probably reduce a lot of headaches because like Nortown, I'll use an example, Nortown High School, you walk in the main entrance there, you go into their gym and they have three polling locations across the gym for um it's very well organized and you know depending on your poll you go to you know to the left or to the right middle or left you know it's it's you know that's just one one example like the North Penn High School I think has like five polling locations it it has several uh two great examples yes those larger facilities are great it's and you have and the schools are clo I think most school districts are closed on election day

not for the primary Not for the primary. That's right. That's right. That is usually a hurdle. Anytime we receive any kind of push back from the school, it's because they're not closed and they have to figure out how to operate as a polling location that's open to the public while right maintaining the safety of the students. But it's a it's uh it when when you go to different polls, when you go to something like that and you see how it's operating, it's like, man, if we could do more of that to eliminate having because we have 400, what's it 428 polling locations, 431 431 some are doubled up. So that's actual polls, but but we're still in the high 300s.

33, I think. 313 actual locations that we constantly have to, you know, it's a lot of it's a lot of locations. 313 locations uh with that we have to coordinate the moving of delivery equipment. All that all that. Yeah. Could you imagine it just going like Northman High School, you go there and you have five you're doing just five drop offs and I'm happy to look into any ways that we can. I'm I'm I'm not saying do I'm just saying it's it's a good model to you know if we if we could but I that's that is an issue that schools aren't aren't closed on primaries. Yes. Yeah. So that that would be a challenge. Should close all the schools. What's that? We should close the schools.

I don't think we can. I think the kids would love it. Yeah. It would have my support. Parents would like that. But yeah because on the on the flip side like you go to Collegeville for example, right? Which is the complete opposite. You have three polling locations and you could stand at either one of them and throw a stone and hit the other one. Mhm. I mean, they're they're they're literally all three are on right on the the intersection right there. Yes. The township building, the church across the street, and then the the college whose sign is across the street, right? I mean, they're literally there's three.

And it's it's it's it's crazy, you know. It's uh it's certainly something that we we keep in mind when we are identifying new locations. If we can consolidate, we always try to. That's right. It's both easier uh logistically. Um and it it usually uh if we have new polling poll workers starting combining them with other polls, uh they're able to kind of uh share experience and learn from one another. So it is something that we endeavor to do, but it's it's just not always feasible. because of parking spaces, parking size of the building, uh the number of registered voters in a given area. Um there there's a lot of factors that go into it.

Well, I remember a couple years ago when Lynfield Firehouse was being remodeled. We we moved that polling location over to Luther Elementary, which already is a polling location. Yes. But you had two in the gym and it just had a to put the divider up. So when you went in, you know, if you went in this door, you were going to, you know, uh, Limmerick 3, and if you went in this door, you were going into Limmerick 6. But it was and the parking I mean, it's a big parking lot because it's a school, right? Right. You know, so I don't know. I'm just probably a lot less headaches if we if some consolidation could happen. But I'm not I'm sure people won't like the fact that they may have to drive a little bit further either. So I don't want to we have to that is something we try to

I know it's it's a tough it's tough but uh again I'm happy to uh review those um not again to try and keep everything the same this year but over the winter I can present that to the board of possible consolidations. Yeah. My I mean my suggestion in general though is we should as soon as we know that we're being forced to leave the place, we should find a way to notify the current poll workers and others in the community. Even though the election code just has five days, we should we should do more than that. I will look into ways that we can do that. Yeah, that would be important. Including us, right? Yeah.

Um but is there a motion Did you make it? No, I didn't make it yet. You didn't make it here. No. Is there a motion to approve the relocation of the 10 polling locations listed on the attached document titled polling location changes for 49 2026 election board meeting? Motion. So moved by Commissioner Dello. I'll second. Any board comment? All in favor? I have to think about it. Yeah. Okay, I'm here. I

I motion passes. Uh moving on to the dropbox change. Yes.

Uh in previous elections, we have operated dropboxes throughout the county to ease the travel burden on residents who wish to uh return their mail and ballot. We have encountered a need to move the Green Lane dropbox and have identified a new location in the Guilford'sville shopping center. The uh dropbox will be located outside of the magisterial district justice uh magisterial district court that is there and uh will be under 24-hour surveillance. Uh at this time I am requesting that the board approve the move from Green Lane to the Gilbertville Shopping Center. Great. One question on this is how far is it from the current location? It's pretty far. It's pretty.

Yeah. Uh yes. Unfortunately, the uh there are only two uh district courts uh in that area that we can move it to. This is the closer of the two. Yeah. And it's I mean it covers a whole swath. I thought the the district court up in Isn't there up in Pensburgh area? I thought there was a district court up there. I believe that is where it is, but I'm not certain. No, this one is No, that there is a district in Pensburgh. I thought the I would have to double check that, but I thought we were going to the closer. I don't know.

Is this visible from Do you know is this visible from if you're driving by or if you're Yes. Uh it's a it's a shopping uh center um like a strip mall. Uh so this would be outside in front of the district court. Okay. The one on Montgomery Avenue um at the magistrate judge is sort of in the back of the district court. Do you know which one I'm talking about? Yes, that one. I've heard some people say they don't even know it's there because I believe it's there for camera and power needs. Um, but I'm happy to look into that one as well. Maybe there's a way to put a sign in the front or indicate that there's a Dropbox on the back. I will see what I can do. Helpful. Um, anything else here?

No, I'm I'm I'm glad we're moving that one out of the green lane. I' I've said for probably at least a year now that I never heard you mention this. I didn't mention it that that location because even though I don't agree with them being open 24/7, I wasn't comfortable people potentially driving into that park, you know, 3:00 in the morning. It's was so secluded. So, you know, I was concerned that, you know, for the the individual actually going to drop off, you know, certainly, I mean, it was just was not a good location.

This is a drastically different location. Yeah. Better lighting, uh, visible from the road. Yeah. I mean, now if we could do about something about the other one that I mentioned down worse for Second Avenue in the parking lot. Very similar similar but different but same you know still on our list of uh yeah it's it's just trying to find an appropriate it's not a very well lit parking lot. It's very you know in the middle of the night it's it's you know there's no one around. It's just, you know, so it's something for us, you know, as we uh if as we find potential new locations, I'll be happy to share those board. Yeah.

Um Yeah. And and we I want to make it's a little nuance, but I'm going to say it anyway. The Dropboxes, we have cameras that are recording, but we're not we're not actually they're not being not under surveillance. They are under 24hour uh cameras are on recording, right? But we're not nobody's watching anything and all night or during the day at the time. I don't believe so. No. Unless you have some spare time. Uh, no. I got it.

All right. Uh, is there a motion to approve the relocation of the Green Lane Dropbox to Gilbertville Shopping Center? So move. Seconded. Any board comment? All in favor? I I the motion is approved. Great. And I think that's it. We got any closer. I just I I do I mean closing comment. I'm going to go back. I want to check that because I think we're supposed to give a longer notification to the citizen groups when when uh logic and action testing is going to start, but we have I want to look at that the way it's written in the code. Certainly, I just want to make sure we're doing it right.

Uh and if it is eyed, we'll adjust our start date. Uh

um I think we're good. I'll ask you some other questions on the on the poll books and how that's rolling out. And the J, are you done with the trainings? You still have many more to go, right?

We have many more to go. Uh we have been able to schedule 45 virtual trainings uh between now and the beginning of our in-person trainings. They've been extremely well attended. We had our first uh open house as we're calling it for pole workers last Saturday here at Montgomery. So they could come in and get actual hands-on experience with them and uh undergo the training that we will be also presenting at all of our in-person trainings. uh it was again well attended uh and overall very positive uh comments out of it. We have a second one this Saturday uh that is uh filling up fast. So if there are any pole workers listening that have not registered, please go ahead and uh register. If we feel there's need for additional ones, we will of course host them. We want our pole workers to be as comfortable as possible with this roll out.

Great. Awesome. That's gone well. Thank you. Uh, is there a motion to adjourn the April 9th, 2026 meeting of the Montgomery County Election Board? A little lesson. Uh, so moved by Commissioner Dello, seconded uh by me. Uh, any board comment? All in favor? I I meetings adjourned. Thank you.

Good job.