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109 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Luzerne County on Sunday

Luzerne County needs a new purchasing director.
				Mark Zulkoski, who was hired for the management position in 2013, has resigned to accept a private-sector job, county Manager C. David told council. His last day of county employment is Jan. 13.
				Zulkoski&rsquo;s annual county compensation is $56,545. The job opening will soon be advertised on the human resources page at <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/236/Human-Resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">luzernecounty.org</a>, Pedri said.
				Zulkoski updated numerous purchasing procedures during his tenure, Pedri said.
				&ldquo;He was always ready to lend a hand where he could to any department in need,&rdquo; he wrote.
				A total $30 million in goods and services were purchased through the department in 2020. It linked more than 6,500 invoices to nearly 3,400 purchase orders and advertised and posted 72 bids and 77 requests-for-proposals, according to the manager&rsquo;s recent yearly report.
				Infrastructure projects
				The county completed several road and bridge projects in 2020, the manager&rsquo;s recent report said.
				Four bridges were listed: West Liberty Street, Hanover Township; Everetts Road, Huntington Township; Karchners Road, Nescopeck Township; and Honey Hole, Butler Township.
				In addition to work on Orange Road in Franklin Township, the county repaired roadways in the townships of Ross, Hunlock, Sugarloaf, Butler, Hollenback and Dorrance, the report said.
				Record storage
				The county&rsquo;s record storage building in Hanover Township, which opened in September 2018, currently stores 12,012 boxes and 21,241 linear feet of open files on shelving, according to the manager&rsquo;s report.
				The building is at approximately 57% of capacity, the report said.
				While 796 boxes of records were submitted for storage during the year, another 325 boxes were purged because they had reached the end of the required retention period, it said.
				Home rule anniversary
				The county&rsquo;s customized home rule government structure officially took effect nine years ago this month.
				It replaced a system in effect more than 150 years.
				Under home rule, 11 elected part-time council members and an appointed full-time manager handle decisions previously made by the three elected commissioners and several row officers.
				Airport project
				The county administration has approved a $246,600 contract with RLS Construction Group in Camp Hill to replace the fuel dispenser and pump at the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort and Wyoming, according to a posting on the manager&rsquo;s online page.
				RLS was the low bidder.
				The work includes removal and disposal of the existing fuel equipment and complete installation of a new dispenser and pump and metal canopy and lighting over that area. Painting of an existing 10,000 gallon above-ground fuel storage unit also is part of the project, the contract said.
				A Pennsylvania Bureau of Aviation grant is funding the project.
				Established in 1929, the 110-acre airport was acquired by the county in the 1940s. It requires little county general fund subsidy because the state and federal government have covered most capital project costs, officials have said. The county also receives a portion of revenue from fuel sales at the facility. Valley Aviation runs the facility as the fixed base operator.
				Some taxpayers had suggested selling the airport over the last two decades, but county officials have maintained it&rsquo;s worth keeping for economic development and quality of life.

Luzerne County must hire new purchasing director