County Officials Questions Possible Emergency Fiber Contract Termination

by Jonathan Weaver

A payment/services dispute with a private Freeport business is stretching County Commissioner Jason Renshaw’s patience and posing possible Armstrong 9-1-1 communication risks.

County Public Safety Director Randy Brozenick received notification from Salsgiver Internet and Telecommunications Services’ Owner Loren Salsgiver Monday afternoon that his company would terminate the existing-lifetime maintenance agreement based on nonpayment.

However, County Commissioner Jason Renshaw said a letter was sent to Salsgiver two months ago to review financial details in the maintenance agreement before payment was issued and Salsgiver has since not responded.

“We have not heard back from him – until (this week). There were payments for the maintenance schedule, so the question was whether (Armstrong County) owes him money or he owes us money,” Renshaw said. “(Salsgiver) has failed to meet his end of the contract as well for the past three/four years or so.”

According to Renshaw and County Controller Myra Miller, Salsgiver is required to show records of how money is being spent through a third-party audit to the tune of five percent.

“(Salsgiver) has to give us this that report within 120 days of the end of the calendar year. He has failed to do that,” Renshaw said. “We don’t know what his sales are – we don’t know what he’s doing. So, he owes us money.”

To try and get those questions answered, officials have withheld payment for 60 days and Renshaw drove to Salsgiver’s office in Freeport to no avail.

Due to fear of possible contract termination, officials preliminarily agreed to issue payment.

A final decision will be discussed with Solicitor Andrew Sacco Tuesday morning, Commissioner Chair Pat Fabian said.

“It would probably make the best sense at this time to pay Mr. Salsgiver, even though we haven’t got our information because we don’t want there to be a public safety issue,” Fabian said.

Salsgiver officials were not available for comment at the meeting or via phone calls yesterday.

As Brozenick explained, information from 15 tower sites disbursed throughout the county gets transmitted from Salsgiver’s fiber cables to Armstrong 9-1-1’s Emergency Operations Center in Rayburn Township.

In an emergency situation, fiber also connects Armstrong 9-1-1 to Butler, Indiana and Westmoreland counties.

“We have a lot of public safety information that’s running over that fiber. If it gets shut down, it could jeopardize the whole county’s public radio system,” Brozenick said.

The lifetime contract was thought to be signed in 2010.

Brozenick said other problems with the agreement have arose since 2010, as well.

“We’ve had our ups-and-downs, but we’ve always been able to work through those,” Brozenick said. “This is the first time that we’ve gotten a termination notice.”

While speaking to Freeport Area High students following the public meeting, Commissioner Fabian said he thought he and Renshaw went “above and beyond” to try and communicate with Salsgiver.

3 Comments

• 

  By jorn jensen, May 21, 2016 @ 1:44 PM

  We need leaders and fighters. We don’t need ‘nice guys’ running the show.

  Kudos to Jason Renshaw for ‘going after this’ and making the actual travel trip to the Freeport location. If a guy that looks like a professional wrestler shows up at Loren Salsgiver’s business door, you’d think he might answer the door - or, maybe not. Next trip down there, Jason, I’ll offer to drive you at no cost to the county.

  Why are we even risking the multi-million-dollar county radio system to a hokey pokey outfit like Salsgivers? We have a 10 year, $3.2 million dollar Motorola radio dusting-off radio maintenance contract, on multi-million dollar Motorola radios, and we’re dealing with a hokey pokey outfit like Salsgiver’s? Really?

  Think back a few years when we had the old radio system in the basement of the courthouse. That theifdom has grown to its own ISIS-proof building with the millions of dollars radio and radio maintenance program, added 911 people and so forth - all courtesy of you nice taxpayers. And, they’re in a lawsuit from a discharged employee.

  Couple of items from the article:

  “we don’t want there to be” Really? English 101, anyone?
  “other problems have arose since since 2010” Really? How about “arisen”, the past tense of arose?

  Geez!
• 

  By Rainbow Rider, May 22, 2016 @ 10:36 AM

  Johnathan, ” information from 15 tower sites ‘disbursed’ throughout the county gets transmitted from Salsgiver’s fiber cables to Armstrong 9-1-1’s Emergency Operations Center…
  Webster’s defines disburse as : to pay out (money) from a fund that has been created for a special purpose.
  Did you mean dispersed?
  And, it’s try TO, never try And. I know people often say try and but it’s not proper or correct.
  The best way to understand correct usage of and is to look up schoolhouse rock conjunction junction that should clear things up.
  Printing stupidity perpetuates stupidity.
• 

  By worthingtonman, May 23, 2016 @ 8:19 AM

  @Rainbowrider
  Was it really necessary to publicly humiliate this young man? I am sure if you would like to give him lessons in proper English you could email him or even attempt to call him in person. Everybody reading this story understood what he was reporting on. If your attempt was meant to highlight your supposed superior intelligence, which I think it was, all that it did was show your your ignorance and contempt for this young man. I don’t know this man but I think it is safe to assume he is being paid peanuts to do a job he enjoys. Nobody performs their job perfectly all the time. You should offer the man a public apology.

  Jonanthon. You are doing a great job. Don’t let an egomaniac bring you down.

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