Zelie lends a hand in fire station fundraising
ZELIENOPLE — Zelienople kick-started Harmony Fire District's fundraising efforts for its new station Monday with a $30,000 donation.
Borough Vice President Drew Mathew said during the Monday council meeting that he, along with council members Gregg Semel and Marietta Reeb, presented the fire district with a $30,000 check that evening.
“We felt it was appropriate, since the borough actually didn't need it,” Mathew said. “We felt that the fire department, who are building their new fire station, (that) this would have been a nice jumpstart for their building.”
Kevin Behun, fire district president, said Zelienople is the first of the district's four member municipalities to allocate funds for the new station outside of their annual fire taxes.
“I was thrilled that Zelie went first, because we know how supportive they have been for the entire project, and I'm hoping that them kicking it off will kick the other municipalities into gear to help us out down the road,” Behun said. “We're only six months away from having shovels in the ground. Bills are going to start coming in. The sooner we can get that (help), the better.”
Although the fire district had solicited its member municipalities for help, including in-kind contributions such as site preparation and assistance permitting, Behun said the $30,000 donation was unsolicited.
“They didn't even offer,” he said. “They just said they were giving it to us.”
This round of funding, according to the president, will help the district with some of its upfront costs related to the project. He noted the surveying work had cost the district about $5,000, and he said the bigger bills are coming with actual building costs just half a year away.
“This is definitely going to help with some of the initial upfront costs that are associated with design and development,” Behun said. “This will help offset a lot of that cost and keep our reserve funding available for when we get to” other parts of the project.
And for Zelienople, it's a benefit, too. Not only does the fire department provide an essential service, Mathew said, the new building should bring additional life to the borough when visitors come into town.
“We all know it's going to beautify the beginning of town ... with a brand new fire station right there at the (Jack) Hockenberger (Motors) property,” he said.
