Jackson Township officials want to continue discussions with Evans City officials about the township's proposal for providing police services to the borough.

However, a borough official said talks are hold until they finish dissolving its current police department. Evans City is in the process of dissolving its 10-year relationship with Seven Fields to operate the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department.

In late July, Evans City officials met with Jay Grinnell, chairman of the township supervisors, and township Manager Chris Rearick at the township office to see if the township was interested in providing police services to the borough, Grinnell said.

He said his response was “not really,” unless the deal was beneficial to both municipalities.

When borough officials asked what would be mutually beneficial, Grinnell said he suggested a deal involving a 132-acre property on Route 528 that the borough owns, which contains a reservoir that is no longer in use.

“It was a pretty generous offer,” Grinnell said.

The offer is spelled out in a letter of intent the township sent to the borough in late August.

The proposal was for the borough to pay the township roughly the amount it currently contributes to the regional police department, which is $325,000 a year. The township would deduct or credit the borough $200,000 a year from that payment for six years, up to the agreed upon appraised value of the reservoir property, in return for ownership of the property. The township would then turn property into a public park.

“Start at that number ($325,000) then deduct $200,000 a year as payment for property we’ll turn into a park.” Grinnell said.

An appraisal conducted in August found the value of the property was $1,204,000, Rearick said.

The township paid for the appraisal and is prohibited by law from paying more than the appraised value to buy property, Grinnell said.

The proposal also contains two extended projections of the borough’s revenue, expenditures, and beginning and ending balances through 2030. One includes the amount the borough is currently paying for police services and the second includes the proposed $200,000 credit reflected in a reduction in revenue equal to that amount from 2024 through 2029.

The first projection says the borough would exhaust its budget reserves around 2030 and have a deficit of over $900,000 by 2032 based stable expenditures and a slight increase in revenue. This projection assumes a revenue loss of about $200,000 beginning in 2030 after the borough stops receiving annual payments of that amount from the sale of the Evans City Water and Sewer Authority in 2029.

According to the second projection, the $200,000 annual credit would result in decreased expenditures from 2024 through 2029 and create a unassigned fund balance of $683,230 in 2029, but the borough could still face a budget deficit beginning in 2030. The balance would give the borough some time to identify other sources of revenue and expenditure reductions, according to the proposal.

Rearick said the proposal would result in a “huge mutual benefit to both municipalities”

Township Police Chief Terry Seilhammer would be in charge of the services provided to the borough, and there would be no police commission like the one Evans City and Seven Fields created to oversee the regional police department, Grinnell said.

“No commission,” Grinnell said. “If they want to hire us, we’ll provide police service. They have no oversight over our police department. I’m chairman of the board and I don’t tell them how to run the department. The chief is a former major in the state police. He’s a great chief. We give him a budget and he stays in it. No commission or joint venture.”

He said the reservoir property is not being used, its gate is locked and no one is allowed on the property. It has two lakes, which the township would open for fishing and possibly boating, and the township would build access roads. He said pavilions and trails also would be built.

“It would make a great park,” Grinnell said.

Evans City Borough Council President Cheri Deener said the borough is focused on dissolving the regional department and no talks with the township are scheduled.

If, and when, negotiations take place, public safety must be the priority over discussions about the reservoir property, she said.

“They want something in return,” Deener said. “Leisure activity isn’t foremost.”

She said the borough has a low crime rate even though Interstate 79 and Route 422 have the potential to bring trouble to the community, and the borough might not need full-time police services.

“We have a low crime rate and police services are very important to me,” Deener said. “I don’t know if it needs to be 24/7 with all the amenities.”

Mutual aid with police from neighboring municipalities would help the borough, and relying on state police for a year to give council time to come up with a police plan is an option, she said.

“We might need to rely on state police for a year until we figure something out,” Deener said. “We need to brainstorm so we don’t overspend our (tax) millage.”

Mayor Dean Zinkhann agreed the borough has to end its agreement with Seven Fields before considering another agreement.

“Nothing yet until we get out of the contract,” Zinkhann said. “We're not ready to go with anybody yet. There’s a lot of legalities.”

He said any agreement between the borough and township would involve a contract for police service and not the creation of another regional police department.

Zinkhann said he wants full-time police service, but doesn’t know if the borough can afford it.

“Everything is still undecided,” he said.