Clinton County Commissioners Review Contracts, Grants, and New Agreements Ahead of July 3 Voting Session
By Emily Wright
LOCK HAVEN— The Clinton County Commissioners’ meeting on July 23, 2025, covered various contract renewals and agreements presented by the county’s Children and Youth Services (CYS) agency, the Department of Emergency Services, and the Emergency Planning Committee. Commissioners Angela Harding and Jeff Snyder were absent from the meeting, and the voting session that was to follow was postponed until Thursday, July 3.
Tristan Rock, Assistant Director of the Clinton County CYS agency, presented a few of the 50 contract renewals the agency is seeking approval for during the meeting.
Tristan Rock, Assistant Director of the Clinton County Children and Youth agency (CYS), presented the agency’s annual contract renewals to the board during the meeting. She noted that CYS operates on a fiscal year and is requesting approval to renew around 50 contracts with service providers, placement agencies, and attorneys.
Rock said the contract rates vary, with an average increase of 3.79%, though some contracts show increases as high as 20%. She also mentioned several additional agreements for approval, including a data sharing agreement with the state, an agreement allowing a current staff member to complete an internship at the county CYS agency, and the renewal of a FileMaker contract. The FileMaker renewal enables the agency to maintain access to historical case information—particularly expunged case details—that could not be migrated to their new case management system.
Commissioner Jim Russo, the sole board member in attendance at the meeting, asked why some contract renewals have a 20 percent increase and asked if the county has any alternative options.
Rock explained that there are limited placement providers equipped to handle the complex cases managed by the agency, and these providers can be selective regarding the children they accept. She emphasized that CYS has limited negotiating power, stating, “When we have these really complex cases, we’re sort of limited with our ability to say no to the rates that these places offer, because we have to secure safe and secure facilities and placements for these kids. Sometimes they’re reasonable about their rates, and sometimes they’re not, but we really don’t have the ability to negotiate those because we need the placement facilities, and we are sort of limited in what we have at our fingertips.” Rock also clarified that many of these contracts are used as backups and may not actually be needed this year.
Next, Jonathon Plessinger, Director of the County Department of Emergency Services, introduced a new “talk group” agreement with the Pennsylvania State Police, which will be up for a vote at the next commissioners’ meeting. He explained that this agreement would give Clinton County emergency service providers a dedicated channel on their radio consoles that enables them to communicate with and listen to State Police communications.
“This is going to help improve officer safety,” Plessinger explained. “We’re going to be able to work with them more [and] coincide with each other, and other counties are continuing to do this as well.”
Scott Kemmerer, Emergency Management Coordinator, presented the renewal of the county’s contract with its hazardous material response team. He explained that the current agreement will expire in July and that Eagle Response Services will continue to provide these services this year. Kemmerer noted that this is a perpetual agreement, allowing either party to terminate it at any time with written notice.
He emphasized that the county does not pay a retainer for this service; instead, any fees incurred are billed to the party responsible for the incident. If necessary, fees would be paid from the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) funds, but Kemmerer pointed out that in his five years with the county, they have never had to cover these costs. The agreement operates under Act 165 and, as Kemmerer explained, essentially functions as a referral response service.
Elizabeth Whitty, Community Development and Housing Coordinator, announced that Clinton County has been awarded a $20,000 grant from America250 PA to create a unique community mural. She explained that the mural will be made from ceramic tiles, each painted by local residents.
“The tiles are going to form the image of the Tiadaghton Elm,” Whitty described. “It is a historic tree where it’s said our Fair Play Men signed a declaration of independence of our own on July 4, 1776.”
Whitty emphasized the grant’s competitiveness, noting that there were 440 other applicants requesting more than $6 million, but that Clinton County’s application “really stood out.”
She requested approval at Thursday’s meeting for two contracts: acceptance of the $20,000 grant and a $30,000 contract with Mural Mosaic to produce the tiles. Whitty highlighted that the additional $10,000 needed for the project has already been committed by the Clinton County Tourist Promotion Agency, and she explained that Mural Mosaic is a sole-source provider, stating, “There is nobody else that does this project. In fact, they’ve been hired by the federal government to do one for the entire United States—an America Mural mosaic.”
The Clinton County Commissioners will hold their voting session at their next meeting on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. All meetings are held in person in the Piper building’s 2nd-floor conference room and are also available via livestream on the “Clinton County Government” Facebook page.
