Commissioners Receive Updates On New EMS Radios, Outdoor Sports Court & Possible Airport Terminal At Work Session

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Christmas is coming soon, but so is the new year–and the County Commissioners’ agenda for their December 14 meeting was heavily pointed towards many new things that will start appearing in 2023.

Among those new things will be the final renovation/replacement to the outdoor courts at Brady’s Run Park. According to Parks & Recreation director Tony Caltury, the pieces for the new outdoor court for “dek” hockey have arrived: “They’re waiting for a stretch of a two or three day window where it’s decent weather where there’s no precipitation, so that should be done in the next couple of weeks.” Caltury also updated the Commissioners on the new Zamboni headed to the Ice Arena; the machine is set to be delivered in January 2023.

EMS director Eric Brewer spoke about the new Motorola radios that were installed at the Beaver County Jail; one of the many facets of Beaver County essential services receiving the radio system upgrades. “We did a walkthrough yesterday with Motorola,” Brewer stated. “Everything’s gonna start at the beginning of the year, but there’s progress on the jail’s radio station system.”

The resolutions for the December 15 public meeting were then presented to the Commissioners by Solicitor Garen Fedeles; among them was a resolution to approve the Final 2023 Budget for Beaver County. The public can still view the adopted draft of the 194-page budget on the Beaver County website until it is voted upon at 10:00 AM on December 15.

The Commissioners took a brief moment to acknowledge and wish the best to retired Beaver County Radio general manager Mark Peterson, whom the Commissioners had known and worked with for decades. “When I was a township supervisor for the fire department, Mark got a job at the radio station. We both had brown hair back then,” Commissioner Tony Amadio reminisced. “He was selling advertisments, and I was buying advertisements for the Fireman’s Fair.” Commissioner Jack Manning thanked Mark for his cooperation with the Commissioners, adding that he “wishes his wife and his family well.”

Members from CCBC and the Beaver Valley Airport ended the meeting with a proposition for the Commissioners to help with a possible addition of a public-use terminal to the airport in Chippewa Township. The BVI/CCBC “task force” members spoke about seeking approval for funding and verification from the FAA in the Spring of 2023, which would mean that the designs for the new terminal would have to be completed over the next few months. The cost of building the new facility would depend on the details of the submitted designs (should they be submitted).

The next work session is scheduled for December 21 at 10:00 AM.