EMPORIUM — The Cameron County Commissioners presided over a reorganizational meeting on Monday as their first action as a new board.
Following a swearing-in ceremony held on Monday morning by Judge Richard Masson, the commissioners must hold a brief reorganizational meeting to appoint a commissioners’ chairperson and reappoint several positions, board representatives and department heads as dictated by county code.
New Commissioner Lori Reed, who takes the position formerly held by long-time county commissioner Glen Fiebig, was voted in to serve as chairperson of the commissioners’ board. Commissioner Jim Thomas nominated Reed due to the fact she received the most votes of the three commissioners during the November general election. Cameron County tradition dictates the top vote-earner takes the seat, and Commissioner Phil Jones followed suit by voting for Reed as well.
Reed said she was looking forward to working with all county employees, and is “thankful to the voters for putting me in this position. We will have a good four years.”
Jones and Thomas echoed the sentiment.
In other news, the commissioners unanimously reappointed Edwin W. “Tommy” Tompkins III as the county’s solicitor, while Brenda Munz was unanimously renamed as chief clerk.
Department heads were recognized as Joseph Williams, who also serves as Driftwood Borough mayor, as Veterans’ Affairs (VA) director; Kevin Johnson as head of the Emergency Management Agency (EMA); Michele Reed as chief assessor; and Shirley Wolf as Children and Youth Services (CYS) director following the end-of-year resignation of former director Shawn McAulay, who left to take another position.
Meanwhile, the commissioners and their representatives serve on a number of county and regional boards, and those appointments were reapproved at the meeting.
Jones will serve on the Northern Tier Community Action Corporation Board, county Emergency Food and Shelter and recreation boards, the regional Conservation District board and the county planning commission.
Reed will serve on the library, recreation, drug and alcohol, industrial planning and agricultural extension boards.
Lastly, Thomas will serve on the North Central Office of Human Services Area Agency on Aging board, the Area Transportation Authority (ATA) board, agricultural extension and the safety committee.
Thomas also serves on the Northern Central Comprehensive Development Strategy Committee along with Cliff Clark, Tina Solak and Steve Manginell, and on the North Central board of directors as the commissioners’ representative, with Dave Green as the county educator/workforce development representative, Bill Bogart as the industry representative and Lynn Crosby as an at-large representative.
All three commissioners will serve on the Cameron County Ambulance Service board, the PA Wilds Planning Team, CYS Advisory, Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Cameron Elk Behavioral and Development Services board and the county retirement and salary boards.
The commissioners representatives on other boards are Ken Ostrum on the Area Agency on Aging board; Ron Dankesreiter on the Bradford Regional Airport Authority board; and Cliff Clark on the North Central RPO.
Northwest Savings Bank was named as the county bank repository.
The commissioners will hold the first regular meeting of the year at 10 a.m. Thursday at the courthouse in Emporium. Meetings have been moved from noon to 10 a.m. Thursdays.
