Luzerne County Election Board holding certification meeting today

Luzerne County’s Election Board has scheduled a special meeting at 10 a.m. Monday to certify Robert Schnee as the winner of the April 6 special election for state representative in the 116th Legislative District.

This opens the door for county council to vote at its next meeting April 26 to declare Schnee’s council seat vacant.

Council must select someone to fill the remainder of the seat through 2023. A decision has not yet been made on whether it must be a Republican or Democrat, but several council members already have publicly said they are confident the county’s home rule charter calls for a Republican.

Schnee was elected as a Democrat in 2019 but subsequently changed his registration to Republican.

Section 11.05 (G) of the county’s home rule charter says the person appointed “shall be a member of the same political party as the person he/she is to succeed and shall have been a member of that party continuously from the time the person whose office is to be filled was most recently elected or appointed to the office.”

Once the party of the incoming member is determined, council would follow past practice by seeking citizen applicants and publicly interviewing them.

Monday’s election board meeting is at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for a remote attendance option posted under council’s authorities/boards/commissions online meeting link at luzernecounty.org.

Last meeting

Councilman Chris Perry praised Schnee at his final council meeting last week, saying Schnee has progressed from the Hazleton Area School Board to county council and now state representative because he always cared about people.

“I will miss him here,” Perry said, prompting applause for Schnee.

Schnee is filling the remainder of Tarah Toohil’s state representative term through this year now that she is a county judge.

Repository

County Council unanimously voted last week to sell 50 properties in the repository, a pool of tax-delinquent parcels that were not snatched up at prior back-tax auctions.

Repository parcels are available for purchase at any time. Sales are encouraged because the county has amassed approximately 1,000 repository properties that are now in limbo, with no active owners to maintain and pay taxes on them.

A list of available repository properties and information on all tax auctions is posted at luzernecountytaxclaim.com.

911 radio upgrade

Council last week tabled a vote on formation of an inquiry committee to review the county’s 911 emergency radio communication system upgrade project.

The project’s addition of emergency communication towers and new microwave dishes and antennas will address spotty or nonexistent radio coverage in parts of the 980-square mile, largely mountainous county, the county said. The new system is set to be operational in July.

Councilman Kevin Lescavage said he wants a committee formed to ensure all expenses and receipts are in order.

Some council members last week proposed first presenting questions to the administration before deciding to resort to a special committee.

Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said Rosencrans will be asked to answer questions at the April 26 council meeting.

Councilman Stephen J. Urban was the lone council member to vote against the tabling.

During the discussion, Lescavage questioned if there is a $7 million overrun in the project. County 911 Executive Director Fred Rosencrans told him the $7 million is not an overrun and was publicly disclosed at the start of the project as the cost of maintenance over 20 years.

Unlike the other costs, the maintenance portion will be part of the 911 department’s annual budget, officials have said. The support and maintenance agreement includes round-the-clock monitoring and assistance and two “refreshes” of the system hardware after seven and 14 years to ensure it lasts, officials have said.

The rest of the project was covered by a $1 million initial county allocation, $1.33 million in state grants and $19.7 million borrowed by the county, according to prior published reports.