(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The Beaver County Commissioners ran the gambit at their first work session of May, discussing everything from scholarly accolades to safety concerns and a little bit of everything in between.

Starting off the meeting was Parks & Recreation director Tony Caltury, who praised the Beaver County YMCA for their early preparations for the opening of the Old Economy Pool, its first since 2021. “There was a slight increase [in rates] for season passes,” he explained, “but daily rates are the exact same as they were in 2021.” He also gave credit to the YMCA for bringing back their school lunch program for students at the pool, referring to the agreement as “a great partnership already”.

Caltury also mentioned that the decision to move the new “Discovery Center” at Brady’s Run Park to another section has prompted the department to start preparing shows at the Horse Arena. He stated that one of the rings is being looked at for potential improvements. The next horse show of the season is scheduled for Saturday, May 13.

Also happening in May are the primary elections for Pennsylvania (May 16), and despite the Election Bureau being “knee deep in matters”, Solicitor Garen Fedeles spoke about things being put into place. According to Fedeles, 8,400 mail-in ballots for the primary election have been requested, with 30% of them being processed. “The ballots are good to go,” he added, “and all of the precincts are good to go as well.”

Commissioner Tony Amadio responded to a complaint from a resident of Beaver Borough who lives within the vicinity of the parking garage next to the County Courthouse, warning the Commissioners that–as Amadio put it–“kids in the garage making a lot of noise on the weekends”. The Commissioners were notified of the issue through Beaver Police Chief Dan Madgar, who noted that the possible loitering was taking place on the property belonging to the County Courthouse. Though no decision on the matter was made at the work session, Commissioner Dan Camp suggested that a sign designating “No Loitering” or something similar might be in the future for the garage.

Commissioner Jack Manning honored Lincoln Park senior student Carson Thompson, who was the recent winner of the Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest. Thompson, who was in attendance at the work session with her mother, Jill Thompson, stated that she plans to major in biochemistry and minor in journalism at Spelman College in Atlanta. Thompson received a proclamation of recognition from the Beaver County Commissioners for her achievement.

David Wytiaz, the administrative director at the Beaver County Career & Technology Center, came to the Commissioners in regards to a current renovation project being brought on by an increase in students from roughly 700 to 800. According to Wytiaz, the ongoing project is going to come at a cost of $1.5 million, and it is hoped to be completed by the start of the 2023-24 school year. Solicitor Fedeles said that the grant money that was allotted to the project will be released to the BCCTC in order to pay for contracting services and other costs.

The next Beaver County Commissioner work session is scheduled for May 10 at 10:00 AM.