LANCASTER TWP — The board of supervisors on Monday, Feb. 19 agreed to apply for a state grant that could be used toward a new municipal building for the township.

The Pennsylvania Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program grants up to $2 million for community institutions and units of local government for community projects that “are, or will be open to the public and will directly enable work, education, and health monitoring.”

Township manager Mary Hess said the grant is “almost perfect” for Lancaster.

“I know there was a dream for a new municipal building, and this grant is for municipal buildings,” Hess said.

Hess said the initial estimate for a new building came in a little over the $2 million price point, so she has asked the architectures to reassess the plans.

“I asked them to tone it down a little but to still provide everything we need for police and our administration,” Hess said. “It would have community space, the opportunity to have telehealth visits there, there would be community craft areas and a multiple of other things.”

Conditions of the grant include having the building built by December 2026, Hess said.

The board of supervisors voted unanimously to approve the purchase of five body cameras, five police car camera systems, cloud storage and a license plate reader.

“It’s for the safety of our offices,” said police Sgt. Mike Cornell.

According to the township’s website, the Lancaster police department has five full-time and seven part-time officers.

The equipment, which will be available for the officers to use in within the “next several months”, costs $46,578, Cornell said.

“It’s going to take several months because they have to redesign some of our clothing to fit the equipment,” Cornell said. “The cameras are not an exterior camera, they are built in.”

The equipment will be manufactured by Georgia based company, POLARIS by Utility.