The Carbon County Council of Governments is moving forward.

On Thursday, the county commissioners approved an agreement with the Carbon County COG to become a voting member of the group.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein, who has helped in the organizational process of the COG since 2013, said that the group is finally moving forward.Nothstein said the group plans to meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Carbon County Commissioners meeting room in the courthouse annex.He urged all municipalities that have already voted to become a member of the group to attend because discussions will be to start setting goals and the direction of COG.Officers will also be elected.The purposes of a COG is to provide municipalities with a stronger base when applying for grants for multimunicipality projects, working together to share costs, information and resources to better meet the needs of the local communities and possibly save municipalities money through sharing initiatives.State Sen. John Yudichak's office has been overseeing the formation of the Carbon COG because Yudichak previously helped form the West Side COG in Luzerne County.In other matters, the county:• Approved the tax refund of $3,624.48 to Penn Forest Entertainment LLC of Palmerton on the property it owns in Penn Forest Township. The property includes land and the building of Penn's Peak. The reason for the refund is a court stipulation ruled that the property assessment should be reduced from $1,907,216 to $1,546,392.• Approved the Children and Youth Services first quarter Act 148 invoice report. The county will receive $24,725.26 in Title IV-E AA funds; $295.32 in Medicaid funds; $3,000 in Family Group Decision Making grant funds; and $3,212.94 in IT grantfunds.• Adopt a resolution honoring Logan W. Berger, member of Boy Scout Troop 82 of Lehighton. Berger recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout for his project of refurbishing the World War II Memorial at Dinkey Memorial Church Cemetery.• Opened Community Development Block Grant bids for a water/sewer improvement project in Beaver Meadows. Four bids were received with the apparent low bidder being Livengood Excavators Inc. of Walnutport, who submitted a bid of $71,868.12. The bids were tabled for one week so that the Office of Planning and Development could review thebids.•Opened Community Development Block Grant bids for a street improvement project in Weissport. Five bids were received with the apparent low bidder being Livengood Excavators Inc., who submitted a bid of $30,929.30. The bids were tabled for one week so that the Office of Planning and Development could review the bids.