Pavlock touts Good Growing Garden program / By Martha Knight

SMETHPORT—John Pavlock gave the McKean County Commissioners a glowing growing report Tuesday morning, as he narrated a slide presentation about the Good Growing Gardens (3G) project on which they collaborate.

Pavlock’s role in the program centers around his main job, that of President Judge of the McKean County Court of Common Pleas. The 3G program is a major component of the court’s alternative sentencing program. It is coordinated by Mike Barnard.

A highly visible part of the 3G program is the large garden complex along Route 6 near the former County Home buildings. The vegetable garden now boasts raised beds; flower gardens and a new orchard of “old” apple trees (historic varieties) have been added.

Also, major repairs and improvements have been accomplished at the barn itself, with a classroom having been added.

The best crop of all, as Pavlock described it, is the improvement in the lives of persons who have gone through the community service program, and have experienced the sense of accomplishment and the increase of knowledge and skills it offers. The program’s slogan is “Helping Others by Helping Ourselves.” Participants are less likely to reoffend, according to Pavlock, but those who do are no longer eligible for the program.

The slides and booklet Pavlock presented were based on 2013 activities. There were graphs, text and color photos.

As of last year, the community service participants had logged 10,210 hours in service activities in lieu of 2,853 days in jail. Those hours, translated to days, save the county $185,445 in direct incarceration costs.

Besides the cost savings, the program frees up beds (spaces) in the jail, which the county can “rent out” to Potter and Cameron Counties. Boarding out-of-county prisoners brought in around $350,000 last year. Some of them sometimes volunteer for 3G work, although they receive no reduction in length of sentence.

3G program staff attended the meeting, wearing bright green tee-shirts emblazoned with the program logo.

Bids were opened for a stormwater management demonstration project which was to have received grant funds. But during the meeting the two bids were examined and found not to follow requirements in all regards, so both were rejected. It was doubtful that the project would be rebid, because there appears to be insufficient time for another bid cycle before the grant application deadline.

Commissioners Joe DeMott and Al Pingie handled decisions in the vacation absence of fellow commissioner Cliff Lane.

The commissioners authorized renewal of a pact with a provider for the employee assistance program, one which Pingie said he strongly favors. The ESI Group is based in Wellsville, N.Y. Its charges for the one-year service period will be $10,681.77.

A change order was approved to allow for additional engineering fees for the ongoing heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades at the court house. The added cost will be $4,692.

Commissioners voted to apply for a grant of $50,000 to divert veterans with behavioral health disorders from the criminal justice system to the department of human services. No matching funds would be required from the county.

Another application authorized will be to the Pennsylvania Housing Financing Agency, for $42,750, to be divided equally between the Bradford Office of Economic and Community Development and the McKean county Redevelopment Authority.

The Pennsylvania Housing and Affordability (PHARE) grant would help with the funding of individual grants to low and moderate income homeowners in the Bradford City Second Ward neighborhood, and design of renovation of four apartments at a complex in Kane.

Commissioners also approved five service provider agreements as requested by the Department of Human services, and approved a participation grant agreement and assurance of compliance with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare for the Medical Assistance Transportation Program for fiscal 2014-15.

An invoice from Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, Inc. was approved for payment in the amount of $10,740. It covers services through June 30.

Three county aid applications were approved: $3,154 to Hamlin Township for purchase of winter maintenance material, $2,126 to Mt. Jewett Borough for antiskid material, and $4,732 to be used toward a paving project.

Lane and Stacy Williams were appointed to the county Human Services Advisory Board.