EMPORIUM — Cameron County commissioners heard a presentation from Emergency Management Agency Director Kevin Johnson on an effort to continue highlighting department heads and the operations they oversee within the county.
Johnson stated that the county has not had any emergencies to respond to in a while, but EMA personnel continue to improve facilities and operations in an effort to keep county residents and infrastructure safe.
EMA staff are working to make improvements at the Whittimore Hill tower building that houses communications infrastructure for a number of agencies and operations within the county. Johnson said trees need to be trimmed and quotes are being sought to reconstruct problem areas where it is feared mice or rodents could enter and damage wiring. Tower sharing contracts are currently being updated.
A new shed will be constructed at the Driftwood Senior Center to house Red Cross emergency supplies. The shed has been ordered and stone to level the site will be supplied by Gibson Township.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval has been granted for the county’s emergency plan. The county adopted the plan through resolution several weeks ago, and three municipalities have already approved the measure. Municipalities participated in development of the plan, and all are expected to adopt the plan. It is much easier for a county of Cameron’s size to put together a county-wide plan, rather than attempting to have each municipality’s individual plan approved by FEMA.
In other news:
• The hazardous materials team formerly out of Elk County has disbanded. The team used to handle incidents in Cameron County, but those will now be handled by Incident Response and Mitigation Services, which also handles McKean County incidents. Johnson stated that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) has confirmed that the agency will be approved to take over Cameron County incident response as of Aug. 30, when the Elk County team is officially disbanded.
• A six-county regional swift-water rescue unit will soon receive its Type 3A Team certification from the state, meaning that it is recognized for this type of search-and-rescue operation. Rescuers are from Sandy Township, Curwensville, Clearfield and DuBois, and the new certification will allow the addition of more members from the Punxsutawney and Clarion areas.
• Regional 911 operations are going well, and the county has saved a large sum of money through partnering with nine other counties in northwestern Pennsylvania, Johnson said. A new recorder system was purchased, which records all calls coming into 911 centers via phone and radio. The system was purchased at no cost to Cameron County, thanks to a grant that covered the county’s contribution portion.
• Commissioners approved a disbursement from Act 13 funding in the amount of $5,000, which will be paid to the Potter County Education Council (PCEC) to support the new Emergency Responder (Homeland Security/EESTP) program planned for the Seneca Highlands Career & Technology Center in Port Allegany.
Cameron County has 24 slots for students at the CTC. The new program, which is being supported by a number of other counties and municipalities across the four-county region, will train the next generation of firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other emergency responders, at a cost savings to enrollees. The courses are currently in the planning phase.
• A foster care reimbursement agreement was approved with the McKean County Department of Human Services on behalf of Children & Youth Services (CYS) in response to the need to house two children in McKean County. A first amendment was approved to the Child Accounting and Profile System Application Service Provider Agreement on behalf of CYS. An agreement was approved with Thomas Coppolo to provide as-needed Solicitor services for CYS through June 30, 2018.
The next meeting of the commissioners is at 10 a.m. Sept. 7 at the courthouse.
