SMETHPORT — The McKean County Commissioners on Tuesday recognized Ed Tronetti,  maintenance director at the courthouse, for winning the 2016 PCoRP Safety Award.

Since McKean County is a member of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP), it is eligible for two different annual safety grants.

“These grants from the Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool and the Pennsylvania Counties Workers Compensation Trust, are to be used for loss prevention and safety improvements that protect the general public as well as county employees from preventable injuries,” according to Tronetti, who has been maintenance director for almost three years.

Each of the grants is a fixed amount and neither one requires matching funds.

Projects, Tronetti said, are chosen by urgency and cost and must qualify under the guidelines of each grant.

In 2015, the county applied for and received both grants, amounting to $23,343.44. With this funding, the county maintenance department employees trimmed trees and removed dead and falling branches around the courthouse, replaced broken and uneven sidewalks at the handicap and inmates entrance to the courthouse, removed and replaced porches, handrails and handicap ramps at the county buildings on U.S. Route 6, replaced and upgraded exterior lighting at the 911-Children and Youth Complex and installed a commercial ice melt system over the mechanical area of the 911 building.

“Last year, the county received both grants amounting to $25,790,” Tronetti said. This money was used were used to replace the uneven sidewalks at the commissioners’ entrance, replace a broken section of sidewalk at the southwest corner of the courthouse, replace street lights at the Route 6 complex, install emergency egress at the mechanical area of the 911 center and install a commercial ice melt for the courthouse roof.

Tronetti said the county is to receive approximately $30,000 for continued upgrades and improvements for our facilities.

“Active participation in these programs and our proactive approach to loss prevention is also taken into consideration for the end-of-the-year disbursement of remaining funds, or ‘dividends,'”  Tronetti noted. “McKean County’s portion of these funds has increased each of the last two years to about $27,000 in 2015  and $46,000 in 2016.”

In recognition of McKean County’s efforts to continue to improve facilities and its

proactive approach in eliminating potential risks, Dennis Cutler of CCAP, on Dec. 14, 2016, awarded Tronetti with the 2016 PCoRP Risk Control Award.