Zelienople to join neighboring municipalities in new group
ZELIENOPLE — Borough council voted Monday, July 31, to enter into an agreement with neighboring municipalities to form the Southwestern Butler Council of Governments.
“Zelienople, Jackson, Lancaster and Harmony have met to discuss financial support for the Harmony Fire District for the construction of the new fire station as well as training,” said assistant borough manager Cindy Edwards.
Lancaster Township approved joining the council of governments at its July 17 meeting, making Zelienople the second municipality to formalize the agreement.
Harmony and Jackson are expected to join during their coming municipal meetings, according to Council President Mary Hess.
As an intergovernmental group, Hess said the group would serve to partner on regional projects and aid in administrating the fire department.
“We’re the four municipalities that formed the fire department,” Hess said. “We came together because we commit a lot of things — tax dollars, mills — to the fire department, and we just wanted to make sure that we had a certain level of transparency with how we’re spending the money of taxpayers.
Hess emphasized that the coalition was formed only as a means of oversight for the fire district’s new station on Main Street, not due to any genuine concerns.
“The fire department is requesting a lot of money to build a new fire station, and because we’ve committed those funds to the fire department, we have a liability for their loans, more or less,” she said. “So we wanted to make sure that we had the accounting.
“They may have a need for an administrator, and the reason we formed the council of governments is that organization could actually help fund an administrator to help them with their reporting, to help them with their needs,” Hess said.
Edwards said each municipality would nominate a representative to sit on the council.
Lancaster nominated Chairman Greg Kessler last month as its representative. On Monday, Zelienople nominated council vice president Drew Matthew to represent it.
“I’m glad that we could get all the municipalities together, all on the same page, to go on this,” Matthew said. “Because they are the fire department of our area.”
