A little over a year ago, local business owners, state representatives and community members convened at Celebrations in Bensalem to meet their newly-appointed Bucks County Board of Commissioners – Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Bob Harvie and Gene DiGirolamo.
Though there was some talk of a certain virus spreading across the nation, no one thought it was a cause for concern. In fact, safe injection sites, lead paint removal and the census were the key topics of the afternoon. There wasn’t a single mask in sight. But one week later, the entire world shut down, forcing the commissioners to pivot their plans and address the novel coronavirus.
Earlier this month, the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce hosted a “State of the County” discussion, which allowed the trio to reflect on their efforts during the pandemic and share goals for the future. Unlike 2020’s event, this one was offered via Zoom.
According to Marseglia, there was a “silver lining” to COVID-19 – areas in the county that needed improvement were made blatantly clear. A prime example was mental health in the jail system. With inpatient hospitals forced to limit services because of the virus, she said police often had nowhere to take a mentally-ill person but jail.
“So many people were sent home because of COVID, they didn’t want to have it spread, which left a certain amount of people still in the prison,” Marseglia said.
The county hired a full-time staff member to look for ways to get them out of jail and into a mental health facility as soon as they entered the prison. Additionally, the former Women’s Community Corrections Center is in the process of being transformed into a 24-bed facility. Instead of going to jail, those battling mental health issues will be placed there to receive the help they need. Some beds will be reserved for graduating patients of Norristown State Hospital who need a place to go before matriculating back into the community.
Marseglia added that the pilot program in Bensalem Township, which embedded two social workers in the police department to help handle mental health crises, addiction and racial/ethnic issues, will be expanded to more areas.
“They won’t have to be in crisis anymore,” Marseglia said.
For Harvie, a bright spot of 2020 was the formation of the Economic Recovery Task Force, which distributed $27 million in grant money to small businesses across the county. Visit Bucks County was awarded $3 million to advertise “micro-tours” and rejuvenate the hospitality industry.
“The idea behind it is to help the county provide services to the business community, not only people who own businesses, but who are employees,” Harvie said of the task force.
A main goal moving forward is to look at alternative energy. Harvie wants to have a model ordinance provided to all municipalities that they can adopt in their municipal codes. It would give guidance to businesses and homeowners looking to implement solar power. Harvie is also interested in bringing the CPACE program to Bucks County in the next few months. This would allow commercial property owners to take out loans for solar panels. The loans would match the lifespan of whatever they’re installing.
DiGirolamo, a former state representative, touched on the general election and all of the controversy surrounding the mail-in ballots. He stressed that, when the bill that created mail-in voting was passed in 2018, it was supported almost unanimously by Republican members of the Pennsylvania House and Senate.
“As far as Bucks County is concerned, our election was safe. It was secure. It was fair,” DiGirolamo said. “Everybody who voted legally, their vote was counted.”
Though DiGirolamo is Republican and his fellow board members are Democrats, he stressed that there’s been no partisanship.
“I can assure everyone, that has not happened here in Bucks County between the three of us. From the very beginning, we have put politics aside and we have worked together. I think that’s what people would expect from their elected officials,” he said. “The three of us fought for Bucks County and to do what was right for the county.”
He reflected on how the board, along with Bucks County Health Department director Dr. David Damsker, rallied for the county to have its own reopening metrics during COVID-19. They didn’t want the county to be lumped in with Philadelphia and neighboring counties that had far higher infection rates.
“We lobbied and fought to get Bucks County open again for the business community,” DiGirolamo said, adding that Bucks entered the yellow and green phases before the state originally planned.
Bucks County is slated to receive $122 million from the latest stimulus bill. The commissioners are currently deciding how the money will be spent.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
