Butler County commissioners accepted $636,243 in opioid settlement money from the state and allocated the funds to addiction recovery programs.

Commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday, March 13, to accept the money from the Pennsylvania Opioid Issues and Addiction Abatement Trust.

The money is the second installment the county has gotten from the trust. In February, the commissioners accepted $977,379.

Commissioners agreed to distribute the latest installment to the medication assisted treatment program for inmates at the Butler County Prison, as well as to housing and new community prevention and recovery programs.

The resolution approved by the commissioners allocates $200,000 to newly proposed collaborative community prevention and recovery programs driven by the recovery community. Some of the money may be used for planning education, design and operation of a community-based recovery center in the county.

A $100,000 allocation will go to addressing the needs of people in the criminal justice system and in prison. The money will be used for the mandated medication assisted treatment program, other programs for people with substance use disorder and juveniles in the justice system.

A $70,000 allocation will go to housing programs that address safety, recovery and accompanying mental health issues.

The resolution also allows $266,243 to be used in any of those initiatives.

Commissioners approved plans to replace a bridge and prepare for the reconstruction a rural road in Summit Township.

County bridge No. 70, which carries Geibel Road over Bonniebrook Road, is being replaced using $1.9 million in federal money. The commissioners approved an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that addresses funding for preliminary engineering, final design, right of way acquisition and construction.

Commissioners, township supervisors, as well as officials from PennDOT and from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission worked together to obtain funding for the project through the state’s Transportation Improvement Program, said Leslie Osche, chairwoman of the commissioners.

Reconstruction of Binsey Road, a narrow road with a tar and chip surface where about 10 homes are located in a rural part of Summit Township, is expected to get underway this year.

The commissioners approved a $26,444 proposal from Widmer Engineering Inc. to design, bid and inspect the project. The township is paying the cost from its Community Development Block Grant money.

Binsey Road is only 18 feet wide in some areas, according to a report from Widmer.

That is too narrow for school buses and garbage trucks, so children who live there have to catch their school bus at end of the road, and residents have to take their garbage to end of the road to be collected, said Wendy Leslie, county Community Development Block Grant administrator. Stormwater drainage is another problem, she added

“This road needs reconstructed,” Leslie said.

Commissioners took no action on a proposal from Anundson and O’Barto Consulting Foresters of Latrobe to plan timber harvests at Alameda Park and the Sunnyview complex.

Osche said she has concerns about fallen dead trees not being removed as a part of the harvest, and the timber sales market being “not great.”

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said he would support a harvest if it was needed to maintain the safety of the trails in the park.

The harvest was being considered to generate revenue, Osche said.

Commissioner Kim Geyer said parks and recreation staff can clear trails, but she supported tabling the issue for a year. She said a timber harvest might interfere with the Can-Am Games taking place in the park.

Commissioners hired Pyrotecnico Fireworks of New Castle for the July 2 fireworks display during community day at Alameda Park at a cost of $12,550.

Commissioners also agreed to advertise for bids to replaster the main pool at Alameda Waterpark, with plans to have the work finished by May 17. The pool is being reconstructed after pockmarks or cracks were found on the bottom of the pool last year.

Commissioners agreed to hire 12 to 15 temporary workers from Specialized Staffing of Butler to work at the election bureau during the primary and general election. The county will pay the company $22.12 an hour, and the workers will be paid $14 an hour from that amount. The county has hired temporary workers to assist the election bureau since 2019.