Berks County Ag Center: $7.2M Awarded, $3.3M in Bonds Next

The Berks County Board of Commissioners meets Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 10 a.m. in the 13th-floor boardroom of the Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading. The packet, posted Wednesday morning, does two things for anyone following the county Agricultural Center project. Its draft minutes of Oct. 29 are the first written record that the board approved $7,204,410 in Phase 2 construction contracts, and its budget listing moves $3,312,506 in bond money into the project's account so the county can start issuing purchase orders.

The agenda also promotes a captain to chief deputy sheriff at $98,000, opens a bank account for "tax payments made under protest," signs an insurance claim for water damage at a county building in Leesport, and hands a federal energy tax deduction to the engineer on a jail project. The Salary Board meets at 8:30 a.m. the same morning, and the county's Computing Board starts counting the Nov. 3 election Friday.

The Oct. 29 meeting, per the draft minutes

The Agricultural Center awards and the $43,475 jail-study transfer went six days without a written record; WFMZ reported the rest of the Oct. 29 votes the same day and BCTV posted the recording, as our Oct. 29 preview's update notes. The draft minutes in Thursday's packet (pp. 5-11) show how the votes happened: in one motion. "Commissioner Rivera motioned to approve the agenda as presented. Commissioner Santoni seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, the agenda was approved as presented." No roll call is printed. That single vote covered the four Agricultural Center awards from our Oct. 29 preview: Uhrig Construction Inc. of Reading, general construction, $4,474,510; Burkhardt Mechanical of Wyomissing, plumbing, $425,900; JBM Mechanical, Inc. of Nazareth, mechanical, $1,080,000; and Engineering Excellence NA, LLC dba Berkshire Mechanical and Denny's Electric Service of Leesport, electrical, $1,224,000. The same vote adopted the PennDOT Multimodal application "for the rehabilitation of the Reading Gateway Bridge in the amount of up to $1,140,000," the $43,475 transfer for a jail administration building study, and the four appointments. The five Military Hall of Fame nominees, introduced by Lt. Col. Jay Ostrich of Veterans Affairs, got their own motion (Santoni, seconded by Rivera; "the motion carried"); their write-ups fill pp. 12-17.

The minutes note that "There was an Executive Session held on October 28, 2026, dealing with personnel and litigation," and that no one spoke in either comment period. In comments, "Commissioner Rivera announced that the Berks County Veterans' Affairs Office reached a historic milestone, ranking first among Pennsylvania counties in securing disability compensation and pension benefits for those who have served the nation." Commissioner Santoni "praised the Berks County Veterans' Affairs Office for helping local veterans and their families obtain benefits," and Commissioner Leinbach "highlighted community events he had attended and planned to attend, including the Area Agency on Aging open house." Chief Operations Officer Kevin Barnhardt had "nothing to report," and Leinbach "adjourned the meeting at 10:53 a.m." Approving these minutes is Thursday's first item.

$3.3 million in bond funds for the Ag Center

Resolution 333.2026 adopts $305,618 in budget transfers and $3,449,756 in appropriations "per listing dated October 30, 2026." An appropriation adds spending authority to a budget line; a transfer moves it between lines. The listing (p. 18), from Chief Financial Officer Laura Jones, has one big line. Item 10 appropriates $3,312,506 from the "2026 Bond Fund Balance" into a Capital Projects "Buildings & Improvements" account, explained as "Appropriating bond funds budgeted in 2027 to allow for bid awards and entry of requisitions for the Agricultural Center Phase II Renovations project." A requisition is the internal request that becomes a purchase order. The line pulls money the county had planned to spend next year into this year's budget so the contracts approved Oct. 29 can begin. It covers less than half of the $7,204,410 awarded; by our arithmetic the remaining $3,891,904 is not in this listing, which does not say whether it stays in the 2027 bond budget or sits elsewhere.

The rest: $127,000 for the Prison for "inmate healthcare associated with the Medication Assisted Treatment Program (MAT)," matched by reimbursements; a $60,000 swap in Employment and Training that replaces WIOA Adult grant money for Incumbent Worker Training with "additional Supplemental Training grant funds"; and $10,250 in "new Business Education Partnership grant funds." Among the transfers, Children Services moves $153,328 within TANF, the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, "to provide funds for increase in emergency shelter"; the listing does not say whose shelter. The listing's "BH" dietary and nursing accounts, an abbreviation it does not spell out, move $80,000 into medical, lab and janitorial supplies, the Coroner takes $32,400 from contingency for "higher than anticipated autopsies expense," Facilities takes $28,746 from contingency "to repair condenser water pumps and install new float in cooling tower," and the Courts move $11,144 for book subscriptions.

A new chief deputy sheriff

Resolution 334.2026 adopts the Nov. 5 Human Resources memo (p. 19). James Gresh is promoted from Captain to Chief Deputy Sheriff effective Nov. 6 at $98,000 a year, in a range of $78,360 to $117,540, as "Replacement for Mandy Miller who promoted." Miller was chief deputy under Sheriff Eric Weaknecht and was sworn in as acting sheriff on Dec. 2, 2024, after Weaknecht won a state House seat, WFMZ reported; the county's Sheriff's Office page lists her as Sheriff, and the county's sheriff-sale conditions carry her name, per our sheriff sale guide. The memo does not say who held the chief deputy job in the nearly two years since.

Two Controller's Office promotions fill a chain: Thomas Belluch moves from Government Accountant to Senior Governmental Accountant at $65,500, replacing Mary Stelmach, "who transferred," and Michael Spera moves from Accounting Assistant to Governmental Accountant at $54,900, replacing Belluch. Spera's old position, PC013445, is the one the Salary Board is asked to eliminate the same morning.

Taxes under protest, a water-damage claim, a jail tax deduction

Resolution 342.2026 authorizes Treasurer Mitchell R. Darcourt "to open an interest-bearing account with Tompkins Bank & Trust, Reading, Pennsylvania, to hold the portion of tax payments made under protest." The packet does not say which taxes, which taxpayers, how much money or why now, and cites no law. We are reporting the resolution's words and will ask.

Resolution 341.2026 lets Barnhardt sign "a Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss regarding water damage to County property located at 1040 Berks Road, Leesport, Pennsylvania 19533." A proof of loss is the sworn claim form an insured files with its insurer. The county's North Campus map lists 1040 Berks Road as "Berks County Youth Shelter & Library Systems," and the library system's 2026 board roster gives it as the Berks County Public Libraries address. It is not the Agricultural Center, which the map and the Department of Agriculture put at 1238 County Welfare Road. The packet gives no date or cost for the damage.

Resolution 347.2027, numbered out of step with the 2026 series around it, has Barnhardt sign "the 179D Tax Deduction Allocation Form approving allocation of 100% of the available tax deduction to Entech Engineering for the Decentralization Project at the Berks County Jail, Youth Detention Center and Central Steam Plant, pursuant to 26 U.S. Code §179D." Section 179D is the federal energy efficient commercial buildings deduction; the law lets a government owner allocate the deduction to the designer of the energy-saving work. The packet puts no dollar value on it. Our jail tracker follows the separate question of replacing the jail.

Emergency mapping, Mary's Shelter, tax-sale notices and a dog

• Resolution 340.2026 lets Emergency Services employees accept the terms "for the Critical Response Group portal in order to access mapping and floor plans for customer facilities to develop emergency planning and response support." The company describes its product as "simple visual communication and collaboration tools, useable under stress, to coordinate emergency response both outside and inside a building." No cost is listed.
• Resolutions 343 through 345.2026 are three letters of support for Mary's Shelter, the Reading nonprofit for homeless youth that also runs maternity services for the women it supports: two back its application for state PHARE housing funds "for their Youth Bridge Program, which provides affordable housing and accompanied services to young people transitioning out of youth programs," and one backs a Local Share Account Statewide application to turn its storage space into "a local distribution center for homeless shelters, organizations serving women and children, and other service providers." No amounts are given, and the shelter's site does not name a Youth Bridge program.
• Resolution 346.2026 renews ARCH excess workers' compensation coverage for 2027 through Engle-Hambright & Davies, Inc.; excess coverage pays claims above what a self-insured employer pays itself. No premium is listed.
• Resolution 348.2026 authorizes Palmetto Posting, Inc. "to make personal service in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Tax Sale Law" under Agreement #PC-647450-26. Personal service means hand-delivering a legal notice; the tax sale law is the statute under which the Tax Claim Bureau sells properties with unpaid taxes. The company says it provides "Delinquent Tax Notice Posting Services in multiple states." No cost is in the packet.
• Resolution 349.2026 lets Children and Youth Services apply "for a facility dog through Paws & Affection and a courthouse companion dog through Canine Partners for Life." Resolutions 337 through 339.2026 sign three fiscal 2025-26 Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities certification and attestation statements. Resolution 335.2026 appoints Madison Calaco of Sinking Spring to the Public Library Advisory Board through 2029, and Resolution 336.2026 reappoints Jane Goetz of Leesport to the Parks and Recreation Board through 2030.
• Aaron Gantz of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance presents an economic development update; the chamber's $500,000 county allocation was on the cut list in the CFO's Oct. 15 presentation, per our Oct. 15 recap.

Contracts: foster-care rates, an architect, a card processor

The Nov. 2 contract listing (pp. 20-22) has six items. Three are Children & Youth Services and Juvenile Probation placement contracts, each funded "13% County, 51% State, 32% Federal, 4% other": Christ's Home adds transitional living per diems of $226.93 and $226.55 through June 30, 2028; Fostering Success Boys to Men takes "a reduction in the per diem rates" to $399.38 at its Alpha House and Beta House for males 14 to 18, the prior rates not printed; and The Bair Foundation of Pennsylvania is new, at $115.89 a day for mom-and-baby foster care and $186.74 for structured intervention foster care. Quincy Technology Solutions, Inc. corrects its Coroner's Office agreement to $17,425 at no cost to the county. USA Architects Planners + Interior Designers, Ltd. gets up to $24,000 more for construction documents on a Facilities and Operations project the listing does not name, "90% Grant and 10% County." And AllPaid, Inc. will process credit card and eCheck payments "made by County taxpayers" for the Treasurer and Tax Claim at "no cost to the County"; the listing does not say what fee taxpayers pay.

Also this week: the Salary Board, the Election Board, the canvass

The Salary Board, the commissioners plus Controller Joseph E. Rudderow III, meets at 8:30 a.m. with four swaps, each an elimination paired with a creation: the Controller's Accounting Assistant ("Salary budgeted $59,060") becomes an Accounts Payable Assistant at $50,977 to $71,123; Budget and Finance's Senior Financial Analyst ($75,458) becomes a Lead Senior Financial Analyst at $66,704 to $100,056; the Coroner's part-time Office Support IV ($18,979) becomes a full-time Administrative Assistant at $47,253 to $65,927; and Juvenile Probation's "PC012094 Probation Officer IV position. Salary budgeted $93,149" becomes a Diversion Specialist at a "Starting rate of $29.11" an hour, stepping to $34.86 after six years. At 2,080 hours that is about $60,549 to start, by our arithmetic; the agenda gives no hours or job description. Diversion programs steer young people away from formal court processing.

The Election Board is scheduled for 11 a.m. with no agenda posted by Wednesday morning; its rolling agenda file still holds the Oct. 22 meeting's agenda, posted Oct. 21. The county's Election Services page says "The Berks County Computing Board will meet in the Office of Election Services at 9 a.m. on November 6 to begin the computation and canvassing of the votes cast in the November 3 General Election." The canvass is the official count that turns Tuesday's unofficial results into certified ones.

Update, Nov. 5: The county has taken the Election Board meeting off Thursday's schedule. By 6 a.m. its meetings calendar lists the 11 a.m. slot as "(Removed, not needed)," the Election Board's rolling agenda file still holds the Oct. 22 agenda, and the calendar keeps an as-needed Election Board meeting at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 12. Provisional ballots go to the Computing Board, which begins the canvass Friday at 9 a.m.

What is not on the agenda

Nothing concerns the 2027 budget. The Reading Eagle reported that the proposed budget arrives at the Nov. 19 meeting, five weeks after Jones's Oct. 15 slides put the choice at a 3.4 percent tax increase, about $15.8 million in cuts, or both, per our Oct. 15 recap; the Eagle put the increase at about 3.5 percent. There is still no item on the $350,000 Code Blue severe-weather shelter request from our Oct. 27 workshop preview; the season starts Dec. 1.

How to attend or comment

The meeting is in person at the 13th Floor Commissioners' Boardroom, 633 Court Street, Reading, and live on Microsoft Teams and BCTV; the county's meeting notice carries the Teams link, and the meetings page explains how links are posted. Per the packet's notice, comments are taken in person or through the Teams Q&A; give your first name, last name and municipality or the comment "will not be considered"; one comment per person; 30 minutes total unless the board extends it. See how to speak at a commissioners meeting and how Berks County government works. A recap will follow once the county posts the video or minutes.