The Schuylkill County Commissioners voted Wednesday to spend $855,045 for more 911 related expenses.

Commissioner Gary Hess voted no. Commissioners George Halcovage Jr. and Barron “Boots” Hetherington voted yes.

“Why are we piecemealing at each meeting? God knows how much more it’s going to cost,” Hess said.

The agreement is between the county and Tower Services Unlimited of Harrisburg to provide “civil site work and two direct embedment monopoles, a thermobond communications shelter and an emergency generator,” Schuylkill Communications Director Scott Krater said.

Spending the money will provide for interconnectivity between the alternate dispatch centers at the Porter Township Municipal Building and the county fire school sites, which are identified as two direct embedment monopoles, Krater said.

The money is to allow for “secure and resilient connectivity from these backup centers to the primary 911 center,” he said.

Funding for the project will come from COVID-19 money.

The county had spent $5,144,728.24 on 911 center related expenses before the most recent vote. All told, $5,999,773.24 has been allocated from the COVID-19 funds.

Hess said while he supports the connectivity project, he does not believe using COVID-19 money is the best use of the funds, advocating instead for businesses and other entities to receive money.

“We need to get this money out on the streets,” he said.

Before the vote, Hetherington called for an executive session to discuss the topic.

“Commissioner Hess, you can’t have it both ways,” he said.

Halcovage said there was a motion presented before Hetherington called for an executive session, so a vote is in order.

Residents who called in to the meeting also voiced opposition to the spending.

Jeff Dunkel questioned the large allocation of money for the 911 center. He also said Hetherington should be ashamed of himself for chastising Hess.

Savas Logothetides, executive director of the Pottsville Area Development Corporation, said the way the county has spent the COVID-19 money “is not aligned with the way the people in Schuylkill County believe the money should be spent.”