The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Amid spending costs, Gale objects to COVID-19 contract renewal
Commissioners authorize big-ticket reimbursement contracts for Ridge Pike Improvement Project
NORRISTOWN >> A nearly $40,000 contract renewal for COVID-19 education and outreach services brought about some discussion during last week’s Montgomery County Commissioners meeting.
The package of contract items arranged through the county Office of Health and Human Services passed in a 2-1 roll call vote, with Commissioner Joe Gale as dissenter, who cited the item, which he said “might seem minor” as an expense.
“We’re now a couple years into Covid and after shutdowns, lockdowns, mandates, mask wearing, children not having in-person education, the general public is well aware of Covid,” Gale said. “They know what it is.”
The $39,916 contract, between the agency’s Office of Public Health and ACLAMO, is the third and final six-month agreement with the Norristown-based
Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale is the lone Republican on the three-member governing board. nonprofit. ACLAMO serving as a “Covid-19 outreach and educator provider” will take place from Dec. 17 to June 16, 2023, according to the contract.
The trio of elected officials unanimously authorized the remaining contracts, that totaled more than $26.4 million, during the Nov. 17 board meeting.
The county also authorized the increased funds for its supplemental reimbursement agreement by $17.2 million related to the Ridge Pike Improvement
Project. There was initially $953,753 allocated in funding back in 2015 “for the replacement and reconstruction of two bridges along Ridge Pike that span railroad tracks owned by Norfolk Southern Corporation,” the contract states.
Of the authorized funds, “80% of which is reimbursable by Federal Highway Administration funds and 15% of which is reimbursable by PennDOT, with 5 percent to be paid by the county from its capital funds.”
“The county and PennDOT now desire to supplement the Reimbursement Agreement … which raises the cap on reimbursable costs from $953,753 to $18,244,502 for a total increase of $17,290,749 for construction costs and right-of-way land costs,” the contract states.
Another $8.3 million Ridge Pike Improvement Project reimbursement agreement was also approved.
“The county and
PennDOT now desires to supplement the Reimbursement Agreement by raising the cap on reimbursable costs from $8,603,750.00 to $16,925,000.00 for a total increase of $8,321,250.00 for construction, rightof-way and final design costs,” the contract states.
Of the total increase, the contract stipulates that 80 percent of funds would be
“reimbursable by Federal Highway Administration funds, with 20 percent to be paid by the county.”
Additionally $416,000 agreement with Biobot Analytics Inc., of Cambridge, Massachusetts, covered wastewater surveillance consulting services.
The Massachusettsbased company is slated to conduct wastewater sampling in conjunction with the county public health office’s Water Quality Management and Communicable Disease Division.
A previously advertised
request for proposals netted four responses and 20 views from companies, according to the contract. The one-year agreement has “three optional annual renewable terms.”
The next Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Dec. 15 on the eighth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, located at 425 Swede St. in Norristown. Those interested in attending the meeting can also do so virtually. Visit montcopa.org for more information.