With some questions about the cost of a new home for Harmony Fire District, district President Tim Sapienza defended the projected $7.8 million price tag, saying it's the best way to fight fires in four municipalities.

Earlier this year, the district asked the communities it serves — Jackson and Lancaster townships, plus Harmony and Zelienople — to raise their fire tax to 3 mills, up from 2 mills in Zelienople and 1.5 mills in the other three municipalities, to help defray the costs of building and mortgaging a new station along Route 19 in Jackson Township.

Jackson supervisors, at their October meeting, raised some concerns over the cost of the new station, asking why that specific property was selected and questioning whether the price tag would be lower if it had selected a different site.

Supervisor chairman Jay Grinnell said the site had acres of wetlands that needed to be mitigated, adding a hefty price to the building. But Sapienza disputed that, saying not all of the swamp needs to be drained.

“It's very little. In fact, (the state Department of Environmental Protection is) OK with the small area we're taking,” Sapienza said. “Yes, there's five acres there of wetlands. We're not going into that. We're only taking a small portion of it.”

Sapienza argued the price of the new building is justified because the station needs certain equipment to ensure the firefighters' safety and that fire stations cost more than regular buildings generally.

“That is not a lot of money for a public building today,” he said. “We're looking to do this on our own, finance it on our own.”

By comparison, the 17,500-square-foot Adams Area Fire District station on Route 228 cost roughly $5.5 million when it was built in 2016.

However, Adams Township funded and owns the station, much like the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company's station on Route 19, while Harmony would own and finance its Route 19 station.

That's another concern from Jackson Township — whether the district would be approved for a mortgage without the backing of a municipality. Greg Such, Harmony Borough Council president, said that such a prospect is “not unlikely.”

“It's highly likely that any bank providing the mortgage would require one or more of the municipalities to serve as guarantor of the loan,” Jackson Township Manager Chris Rearick said.

Rearick added that this is a concern of Jackson's because such debt would count toward its limit under the Local Government Unit Debt Act, thereby decreasing the amount of money the municipality could borrow for other infrastructure projects.

Sapienza said fire district Vice President Fred Bowser had spoken with at least one bank that indicated it would loan to the fire company without a municipal backer, something Grinnell disputed at the Oct. 15 Jackson meeting.

Jackson supervisors aired another complaint at their October meeting that the fire department had not responded to requests for specific details about its business plan or development costs. An email sent by Rearick to Sapienza and Bowser on Oct. 13, requesting details on eight subjects, had apparently gone unreturned.

They additionally asked whether it was necessary to build a brick-and-stone building rather than use structural steel. Sapienza said they want the building to last and favor a brick building.

Some members of Harmony Borough Council, like in Jackson, have expressed their own concerns over the costs, particularly that of bringing the site to the height of Route 19.

“We are in favor of a new fire station, because what they have is too small,” Such said. “There are a couple council members who have concerns over expenses to prepare the site. From my perspective, the cost to prepare the building and facility is not out of line with what fire companies have spent in the past 10-15 years.”

While Jackson supervisors have expressed concern over the cost of the station, they said they appreciated the department's work at the Oct. 15 meeting. Similar sentiments of appreciation have been echoed in Harmony and Zelienople.

“Council definitely was in support of what they're trying to do, and that's all we can do at this point. We haven't seen a design yet, ... but that's OK,” Zelienople borough manager Don Pepe said. “Our biggest point was we need to plan for whatever 2021 is going to be. Council still needs to decide whether they need to do one full mill in one year, or split over two years.”

Sapienza added that the department wants to build a nice station not just for the use of the firefighters, but also so residents in all four municipalities can have a building toward which they can point and feel pride.

“They've dreamed to have a nice facility. They've worked out of nothing for years. We're trying to provide the public with a nice building, something they can be proud of,” he said. “In the end, they'll have a beautiful facility that'll serve this area for many, many years.”