As Schuylkill County's Children and Youth Services agency gears up to move across the street to its new quarters, county commissioners approved hiring a Pottsville company to help it pack up.

Commissioners on Wednesday approved the hiring of Pottsville Moving & Storage at a per unit rate of $119.Officials did not have a total handy, but Commissioners' Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said after the public meeting that the county will try to do as much of the work as possible."Our people are going to try to move as much as we can on our own," he said.Halcovage said some of the items will be stored, and that some items will need to be disassembled for the move, then reassembled in the new building."We want to make sure it's done the right way," he said. "But we will try to spend as little as possible."Halcovage said the county plans to move the agency in shifts, moving one group and getting them settled before moving the next.The agency is poised to move into the new quarters, the former Empire Beauty School at 324 N. Centre St. Pottsville.Commissioners acquired the 21,000-square-foot former school and two adjacent lots on May 2013 for $740,000 from brothers Dale and Franklin Schoeneman.In October 2012, the county floated a $21 million bond issue to fund building projects; $2.6 million of that was earmarked to buy and renovate the building.In other matters Wednesday, commissioners approved a new $25,934 one-year contract with Motorola Solutions for the purchase of two Motorola mobile two-way radios at $8,187 each and four Motorola portable two-way radios at $7,015 each for the Adult Probation Department.But the county will get discounts by going through the state's COSTARS purchasing program, and for buying all of the equipment from Motorola.Those discounts brought the cost down to $5,166 each for the radios, and $3,900 each for the portables, said Deputy Chief Neil Stefanisko.The contract is effective Feb. 1.Commissioners also approved an ongoing $250,042 grant-in-aid package from the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission for improving juvenile justice services in the county.Commissioners also approved a $53,187 lease/purchase a prisoner transport van for the Sheriff's Office.The lease/purchase is through the state COSTARS purchasing program.The lease/purchase is through New Holland Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep Ram, for a 2016 Dodge Promaster 3500.The terms are a five-year lease at $11,864 per year, with a $1 buyout in the last year.Commissioners also approved the first stipend increase since 2001 for members of the county Planning and Zoning Commission.The members will now get $40 for each meeting, up from $30.Commissioners also approved Art Connely of Tamaqua; Jack Messner and John Kellman, both of Pottsville; and Glenn Sattizahn of Schuylkill Haven as advisory board members of the Schuylkill County Fire Chiefs Association.