Commissioners Engaging with Law Group

by Jonathan Weaver

County officials are up-to-date with paying a 9-1-1 services contract, but have hired a law group to review the existing agreement.

County Commissioners yesterday approved a “short-term” engagement letter with Pittsburgh-based Cohen Law Group to review a contract with Salsgiver Internet and Telecommunications.

County Executive Director of Administration Dan Lucovich clarified the need for legal services.

“It’s an issue to have this law firm give us a good understanding of the agreement we have,” Lucovich said. “They’re a professional group that deals with these kinds of issues all the time, with communication issues.

“The way I understand it is, we pay a fee each month and then after a certain amount of time we get a percentage of that fee back (from Salsgiver). There’s a discrepancy on how much that should be. Because the contract isn’t very clear, these two lawyers have to work out that clarity.”

In May, County Public Safety Director Randy Brozenick received notification from Salsgiver Internet and Telecommunications Services’ Owner Loren Salsgiver 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 in March to review financial details in the maintenance agreement before payment was issued and Salsgiver had not responded.

“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.”

Lucovich confirmed that the County “continues to pay in its agreement.”

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.

“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.

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.

Commissioners also consulted with Solicitor Andrew Sacco, of West Kittanning, before engaging Cohen Law Group.

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