JACKSON TWP — Supervisors voted Thursday, Aug. 17, to assume guarantor status for the Harmony Fire District’s new $7.7 million fire station.

Jackson Township is the second municipality to do so after Zelienople approved its own guarantor ordinance Aug. 14. Lancaster Township and Harmony, which are also served by the fire district, will vote on similar ordinances in the coming weeks.

“We’re acting as a guarantor, almost a co-signer, on a loan that the district is taking on for what would best be deemed as ‘financing a gap’ in funding initially,” township manager Chris Rearick said. “It falls under what we call lease rental debt.”

Each municipality will guarantee a portion of the fire district’s $2,811,000 loan request, according to Rearick, proportional to their annual contributions.

“We happen to contribute close to half of that,” he said. “So, therefore, we’re guaranteeing approximately that amount.”

He emphasized, though, that as guarantors for the lease rental debt the agreement would not count against the township’s borrowing base.

“We are not taking on cash, nor are we paying cash,” Rearick said. “We’re simply stating that in the worst-case scenario, we will be responsible for paying a portion — which is highly unlikely given the way in which it’s been set up.”

The new 13,500-square foot firehouse at 424 S. Main St. in Zelienople received a combined $2,811,000 last winter from both a state and federal grants.

“They’re both on a basis of reimbursement,” Rearick said. “It could, under these grants, be up to a year or more to get reimbursement; therefore, they need to take on a note guaranteed by the municipalities to cover it.”

The term of the guarantee is for three years, according to Rearick, leaving adequate time for the station to be reimbursed.

“So the risk for the participating municipalities is rather low because they’ve been able to finance the balance of the project without any guarantee from the municipalities,” he said. “This just enables them, through the lease rental debt, to guarantee to fund the upfront costs for which they will be reimbursed.”

An ongoing effort to address traffic concerns at Northgate Plaza is expected to finally come to a close next month, according to Rearick

“The Northgate Plaza project will likely wrap up with the paving and the sidewalk construction over the next two to three weeks,” he said.

Going out to bid in spring 2022, the project is working to widen Route 19, pave turning lanes and add a light to the expanding plaza.

The project has worked in cooperation with a number of developments in the surrounding area, including the future Cooper Shopping Center and Apartments to the north.

“Within the next few weeks, they’ll be paving, widening the area and striping for the turning lanes,” Rearick said. “At that point, the light will be activated.”