Mountain Council of Governments receives governor's excellence award
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Apr. 19—State Sen. John Yudichak, I — 14, Swoyersville, announced the Mountain Council of Governments and Lower South Valley Council of Governments have been awarded the Governor's Award for Local Government Excellence for their part in helping to create the COVID-19 Regional Code Enforcement Partnership in Luzerne County.
"The Lower South Valley COG and Mountain COG put together a historic collaborative effort when state and federal inspectors failed to conduct on-site COVID-19 safety visits in the industrial parks along the I-81 corridor in northeastern Pennsylvania," Yudichak said.
"The COVID-19 Regional Code Enforcement Partnership swiftly put inspectors in the field to ensure safe working conditions for employees and to better protect the public health of our communities."
The LSVCOG and the MCOG received recognition under the Intergovernmental Cooperation category.
In early April 2020, in partnership with Yudichak, the RCEP was formed to inform, enforce and report after COVID-19 safety concerns were being reported throughout NEPA warehousing and logistics facilities. The LSVCOG and the MCOG built regional inspection teams from their member communities and coordinated random inspections of businesses in the region's industrial parks. The RCEP conducted over 140 on-site inspections.
The COVID-19 RCEP addressed the following:
— Informed companies they must implement COVID-19 safety guidelines and the guidelines from the Pennsylvania Department of Health's Building and Safety Measures Order.
— Enforced all municipal code violations at company facilities.
— Reported any COVID-19 violations to federal and state authorities and established a website, LuzerneCovid.com, to accept complaints regarding COVID-19 safety violations.
"The creation of the Regional Code Enforcement Partnership between the Lower South Valley Council of Governments and Mountain Council of Governments under the leadership of Senator Yudichak enabled the communities in those areas to coordinate their code enforcement efforts in the local industrial parks to protect the health and wellness of their citizens in a timely, efficient and effective manner," said Dan Guydish, executive director, MCOG. "Thanks to the senator's quick response, a potentially serious crisis was mitigated in a well-coordinated manner during the onset of the pandemic."
The Local Government Day Awards ceremony will be held virtually May 19.
