Pike buses and vans to display ads

MILFORD — Pike County buses and vans will soon be displaying advertising.

At their March 7 session, the county commissioners approved the bid from Katrina Foster, owner of KKPR Marketing, to work on getting advertisements onto Pike County buses and vans.

There is “no financial outlay by the county,” Commissioner Rich Caridi explained after approving the bid. “Anything we gain is found money.”

This strategy has “proven to be profitable to other counties,” Commissioner Karl Wagner added. Monroe County was mentioned as one such county.

Katrina Foster of KKPR Marketing explained that the first year, the profits from the sale of advertising on Pike County vehicles would be a 50/50 split between the County and KKPR. For each year after, it would be 60/40, with the County getting the larger share. A conservative estimate of the profits that could be gained were in the are of $50,000 for the county. Revenues of the sales would be determined quarterly. “We have determined the space for all buses to be priced appropriately,” Ms Foster added.

Keith Raser, director of Pike County Transportation said that the ads would apply for all county buses and vans, which came to about 18-20 vehicles. Solicitor Farley was said to be still refining the contract between KKPR and Pike County.

Raser separately discussed the Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) of Pike County. Recent budget issued caused the State to announce cutbacks in funding, causing many counties to reduce their services. “At no time, was Pike County going to cut services,” Raser said. “We worked hard to reduce the number of “no shows” by calling and confirming before sending vehicles. And we restricted some services, such as those going to Scranton, to Thursdays and Fridays. But we were never going to cut or curtail any services.”

However, the State has since found money in the budget and an official March 12 statement will restore 96% of the funding to the county MATPs, he said.

In other business before the Commissioners, a new dedication date for the Pike County Emergency management Center was announced as Sunday, June 3, at 1 p.m. The reason given for the delay in the dedication was to accommodate the outfitting of the display case in the center's main lobby. “This is for all the citizens of Pike County, Commissioner Caridi noted. “And for all the volunteers who give their time and risk their lives to keep us all safe.”

A proclamation was also approved calling for all Pike County residents to celebrate the 39th annual Daffodil Days, March 19-25, benefiting the American Cancer Society. On hand to accept the proclamation was Health Initiatives representative for the local American Cancer Society, Jill Gamboni. Also present were committee volunteer members Irene Luciano and Phyllis Simpson.

— Charles Reynolds