On Wednesday the Monroe County Commissioners reappointed David Moyer to the conservation district's board of directors rather than appointing Craig Todd, who had received eight of 13 nominations for the position to Moyer's five nominations.

Earlier this year, Todd retired as head of the Monroe County Conservation District, and he was replaced by Adam Shellhammer."I am here to ask you to reconsider your decision to not appoint Todd Craig," said Kathleen Flynn of the Monroe County chapter of Trout Unlimited. "Todd has given so much to the district, and the agency has a profound purpose which he understands."Craig also addressed the commissioners."I have a long resume of service to the county," Craig said. "I am asking you to reconsider the appointment. I appreciate your difficult position and I understand that you cannot make everyone happy."The commissioners were split on the appointment of Moyer over Todd."No one individual in the county has done more for the county than you," Chairman John Moyer said. "If this were a different time I would appoint you in a heartbeat. But we believe that Adam needs time to get settled and to create his own policies. We had two good people to choose from, but this is just not the time."Commissioner John Christy did not agree and said he believed that Todd should have been appointed to the vacant seat on the board.Also present at the commissioner's meeting was Carl Wilgus of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau to present the bureau's annual report.Wilgus stated that in 2014 there were 25.5 million visitors to the Pocono Mountains and that they made a $3.5 billion impact on the economy. Wilgus also said that the bureau spent $6 million last year in advertising in the New York/Philadelphia market.Improvements were also made to the website, which now has a more responsive design and is better suited for tablets and handheld devices. There was also an increase in social media presence.Also it was reported that 1,100 new rooms were added in 2016, mainly from Kalahari and Camelback water parks.The Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau serves Monroe, Carbon, Pike and Wayne Counties.Wilgus said the increase in spending is directly related to the passage of Act 18, which directed that the bulk of all lodging tax be used to promote tourism. Wilgus also noted that the bureau is working to improve compliance and increase tax collection for short-term vacation rentals.Chairman Moyer said that the commissioners are not in agreement with the terms of Act 18 and how the tax revenue is being spent.Other businessThe county is looking into purchasing a new civil case management system for the prothonotary's office. Bids were received from seven companies. The bids ranged from $312,525 to $907,930."It is going to be awhile before we can decide which bid to accept," Moyer said. "These bids are so different the prothonotary will have to go through them to determine if they are all bidding the same thing."The county has several public meetings scheduled. On Nov. 22 there will be a public meeting on the presentation of the 2017 county budget. The budget will be adopted at a meeting on Dec. 16. On Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. a public meeting will be held to set the salaries for the coroner, treasurer and the tax collectors.