As of Jan. 1, anyone with an address in Schuylkill County will pay a $5 vehicle registration fee to help maintain the 63 bridges in the county.

Commissioners on Wednesday adopted the fee, which is added to the regular registration cost.The fee will be collected by the state Department of Transportation when a vehicle is initially registered, at the time of registration renewal, and at the time of transfer of registration plate.PennDOT will then give the money to the county. The fee is expected to generate about $750,000 a year.The fee is allowed under Act 89 of 2013, which established a special fund within the state treasury called Local Use Fund."This money will help to maintain those bridges. Also, rather than just put this on the backs of property tax payers, this is more equitable in that anyone who drives a vehicle, whether they own property or rent, will help maintain the bridges they may be crossing," said Commissioners' Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr.County engineer Lisa Mahall said she would notify PennDOT of the adoption, and ask it to include the county in the Road Maintenance and Preservation grant program. The $5 fee will also count as the local match for the grant program, Halcovage said.In other matters Wednesday, commissioners agreed to publish the invitation to bid for the sale of 10 "as is, where is" surplus vehicles.Bids are due in the controller's office by 3

p.m.Sept. 25, and will be opened at the work session meeting of Oct. 4.Commissioners expect to tentatively award the vehicles to the highest bidder at the Oct. 18 work session.A list of the vehicles was not immediately available.