NEW CASTLE, PA. Firm will study ramp feasibility

A company was hired to train billing clerks at the county nursing home.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners agreed to pay $96,000 to a consulting firm to study the feasibility of ramps off Pa. Route 60 to the proposed Millennium Park.
The money will come from the county's liquid fuels fund -- money given to the county from state fuel tax that must be used for road-related projects.
Commissioner Ed Fosnaught questioned why the county was paying for the project that is being spearheaded by the Lawrence County Economic Development Agency.
Commissioner Brian Burick said county officials were instructed to pay for the work at a meeting last week with the state transportation secretary. Burick said there is a possibility the county will be reimbursed for the work by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The ramps would give easy access to the planned Millennium Park. The state has already promised $15 million to help bring public sewage and water to the site and other infrastructure improvements. Lawrence County commissioners have set aside $3.5 million, and local municipalities have also contributed money that is being distributed by the economic development agency.
The project started after a semiconductor company promising 3,000 jobs showed interest in the site. Officials have said the company will decide where it wants to locate when the economy improves.
Finances
Commissioner Roger DeCarbo noted that financial reports show that semiconductor companies have made profits in the last financial quarter. He also noted that a Korean firm that designs semiconductor disks has recently established offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. "The signs are positive," DeCarbo said.
Commissioners said the firm working on the ramp study, MS Consultants of Pittsburgh, was originally given a $132,000 contract for an initial study, but ended up doing more work. The $96,000 will complete a second phase of that first study which has been partially done, Burick said.
In other business, commissioners agreed to hire ZA Consultants of Harrisburg to train billing clerks at Hill View Manor, the county nursing home. The county will pay the company $4,850 per month from November to January and $3,250 a month from February to April.
Commissioners still have not decided what to do with the chief financial officer's position at the nursing home.
Last week they were considering hiring ZA Consulting to do the work. The home's financial officer has been off work with pay since late July when commissioners discovered county money had been placed in the bank account of a private group that was trying to buy the home.
cioffi@vindy.com