Harmony Fire District get extension for $2.8 million note for station construction
The Harmony Fire District received an extension to repay a $2.8 million loan note that was used to build its fire station in Zelienople.
The Butler County General Authority voted Monday, Feb. 2, to extend the note to April 30, said Joseph Saeler, executive director of the Butler County Community Development Corporation.
The fire district obtained the note in 2023 to restructure a loan it received in that amount from WestBanco to get a lower interest rate than the loan carried. The station opened in September 2024.
The note served as a bridge loan to pay for construction while the fire district waited for reimbursement from a $1.311 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant and a $1.5 million grant that U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16, helped obtain from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program.
Saeler said the extension is needed because the state hasn’t completed its review of the RCAP grant documents. The fire district has received the reimbursement from the USDA and repaid the $1.5 million to the authority, he said.
In addition to the state and federal funding, the fire district is using money from the 3-mill fire tax enacted by Harmony and Zelienople, and Lancaster and Jackson townships to pay for the $7.8-million fire station. The fire district serves those municipalities.
