County hires artist to paint Government Center murals
Oct. 5—BLAKELY — A New York City artist will paint murals expected to enliven corrugated metal panels on the Lackawanna County Government Center's Penn Avenue side.
County commissioners Jerry Notarianni and Chris Chermak hired Denton Burrows at a cost of no more than $18,500 at a meeting Tuesday. Commissioner Debi Domenick was absent.
They hired Burrows after months of searching for someone to paint the corrugated panels that Notarianni says make the Government Center look like a prison.
County officials set a July 31 deadline for proposals, received four, extended the deadline to Aug. 27 and got two more, none of which they were entirely happy with.
"While some of them were great, none of them seemed to have the metal work (experience) that we needed," deputy chief of staff Traci Harte told the commissioners. "Almost approximately one month ago, I did a deep dive and was really looking for a street artist. And I found two artists, both out of New York City, (who) had excellent potential."
After interviewing both, she and county arts and culture director Maureen McGuigan settled on Burrows and his Dripped On Productions.
"He has extensive work with corrugated metal," Harte said. "He's been doing this for years and I have the utmost confidence in him. His design and vision far exceeded really anything we thought and talked about. I gave him a couple of ideas and he came back within 24 hours."
The murals will center on the county's history, including coal mining, the garment industry, farming and railroads.
Burrows began painting the first mural Monday. The job is expected to take three weeks.
In other business, the commissioners:
—Approved an ordinance allowing people who bought new homes or other real estate and didn't receive a county property tax bill on time to avoid paying interest and penalties if the bill is paid late.
—Heard Abigail Michalski, a survivor of physical abuse, talk about the need to improve social services for homeless, abused and alcohol and drug-dependent people.
Notarianni told her the county has a top-notch social services system and offered to listen in more detail about her proposals.
"There seems to be help for anyone that seeks it out. You're saying that there isn't and maybe we can talk with you about this," she said.
Michalski said she would be happy to do that.
—Approved applying for a $1,996,000 state Department of Transportation grant to replace the temporary bridge on Plank Road East in Clifton Twp.
—Rehired Equus Workforce Solutions to provide employment, education, training, and support services for the potential employees through the county Workforce Development Board for $480,000 for the year that started July 1.
The commissioners hired the same firm for $283,135 to provide payroll services for approximately 70-80 young adults enrolled in work experience program activities through the federal Transitional Assistance for Needy Families program.
—Approved applications for grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for local law enforcement support and gun violence investigation and prosecution. The grant amounts were not immediately available.
—Rehired Educational Data Systems Inc., of Dearborn, Michigan, to provide career counseling, training and support to state Employment, Advancement, and Retention Network through the county Workforce Development Board. They hired the same company for separate contracts of $38,586 and $1.5 million to help workers losing their jobs.
—Amended a state local share account grant application for the Justus Volunteer Fire Company to $158,760 for building renovation. The application was for $151,200.
—Approved a three-year, $33,868 HVAC service agreement with Siemens Industry, Inc., for the Electric City Trolley Museum.
—Awarded a $67,235 contract to L&A Rentals, of Hamilton, New Jersey, for tents for the 2022 Winter Market.
Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.
