The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners met on Friday Oct. 16 in a monthly board meeting to discuss local issues such as the upcoming election and COVID pandemic measures.
The three voting options for the 2020 presidential election were discussed in addition to other voting resources. Vice chair Kenneth Lawrence noted that 237,890 mail-in ballot applications have been approved by Montgomery County. However, if citizens did not wish to vote by mail they can vote in-person or at a satellite office on approved early voting days.
The county reported an increase in positive COVID cases, but asserted that the numbers still remain stable.
“Hopefully since we started with a relatively low number of cases in our area, we will be able to keep those numbers low,” chair member Valarie Arkoosh commented. “But that is very much going to depend upon everyone continuing to comply with all of our common-sense measures.”
The deadline for the national census was brought up, and everyone was urged to complete the form online or in person as soon as possible.
“We received some disappointing news on Tuesday about the census,” Arkoosh continued. “The United States Supreme Court approved a request to suspend a court order to extend the census until Oct. 31, so that means that the deadline ends today.”
The first shipment of 12,000 COVID personal protective kits is to be distributed to small businesses throughout the county, and the project has received a very positive response by business owners.
The meeting began with announcements from the head of the council, and covered COVID updates and best practices. She also mentioned a tracking app that alerts people in Pennsylvania to if or when they have been exposed to COVID.
In addition to COVID safety measures, flu shots were also discussed in detail. The county commissioners urged everyone to get a flu shot as soon as possible, to alleviate the stress on hospitals in the coming months.
The final safety announcement concerned domestic violence awareness month, and the county reported that they received an 85% increase in the number of victims and crises response calls this year.
Arkoosh relayed a helpful reminder that community resources to combat domestic violence are still readily available. “Just because the county is dealing with a pandemic, it does not mean that people have to tolerate abuse,” she stressed.
Next, important information for the Nov. 3 election was discussed including voting methods, polling locations, and deadlines.
Two individuals then offered public comment addressing issues with county spending, as well as racist language that was used by county officials.
Zoning spending announcements included an extension to the Chester Valley trail, regional highway planning, and transportation GIS technology. Six grants were also awarded to local municipalities to improve their locally owned transportation networks.
There was a motion to continue to carry out the Campus Project, and involved removing monuments throughout the county. Although this motion carried it was opposed by chair commissioner Joseph Gale.
“The campus project is the most expensive project in the history of Montgomery County,” Gale stated. “Spending over half a million dollars to relocate monuments is too costly…these are monuments dedicated to police memorials and veteran memorials, and it’s considered sacred to many.”
After several other minor resolutions were announced, the meeting was adjourned. The next council meeting was scheduled to take place in November, and meetings will continue to be recorded for public access.
Alex Johnson 