SUMMIT TWP — Township supervisors tabled Lick Hill Community Fire Department’s request for 22 new sets of firefighter gear costing $121,682 due to lack of supporting information at a meeting Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Despite putting in a request, the township had not received a roster of firefighters from the fire department, supervisor Richard Green said, and no specific measurements for the gear were included in the request.

After the meeting, Lick Hill Community Fire Department chief Bryan Powell said the township has the fire department’s roster. Powell said the department is unable to specify sizes for gear until the gear is ordered.

“That is to replace aging gear, and to have enough gear that if a new member would walk in the door, I would at least have a good set of gear for them to wear,” Powell said.

Powell expressed concern about the decision, and said the township recently approved funds for Herman Volunteer Fire Company to purchase a fire engine.

Logan Wells, a lieutenant from Lick Hill fire department, was the only member of the Lick Hill Department present at the meeting, but he left for a fire call before the request was discussed.

The request comes after the township received about $27,000 in state Fire Relief Aid earlier this month. Supervisors allocated $100 to Lick Hill, and gave Herman Volunteer Fire Company the rest of the funds after Lick Hill failed to have its equipment tested and provide a report despite reminders.

The Fire Relief Aid is supposed to be spent on the testing of fire equipment, Supervisor Larry Osche said.

Supervisors said they reached out multiple times requesting testing results and having representatives attend public meetings.

Withholding the state money from the fire department was the township’s “only recourse,” Green said.

“One of our concerns is, anytime we ask for any information on personnel ... we don’t receive it,” Osche said.

“We started to get complaints,” Green said. “That’s when we decided it’s time to look into this ... we tried to work with them.”

After the meeting, Green said Lick Hill’s audit has since raised questions about unauthorized spending. The audit spans three years, he said.

Since his time as chief beginning in 2021, Powell said there has been no unauthorized spending.

Earlier in the meeting, Wells began addressing supervisors about the equipment testing.

The lieutenant received a fire call, and left the municipal building before finishing speaking with supervisors. He said he was unaware other representatives were not attending public meetings, and said he would attend them in the future.

This was the first time in about six months that a representative from the Lick Hill fire department has attended a public meeting, Green said.

Previously, Green said former fire department’s president Pete Gall would attend township meetings. When asked when Gall was voted out as president, Green replied that the fire department has not yet provided the information or minutes to the township.

Powell said representatives from the fire department have trainings on Wednesdays, which would conflict with township meetings.

At the meeting, residents and members of other volunteer fire departments also questioned the training of Lick Hill firefighters and the department’s safety practices.

One resident who lives near Mcclellan Drive expressed concern about public safety and the department’s response time, and said he would volunteer to speak with the fire department about acting as a liaison between the department and the township.

“If you can’t get your own house in order, how are you going to do anything for safety?” Osche said.

Powell said the department is trying to get hose testing complete as soon as possible.

Rescue, engine and tanker trucks were tested in April, and the township has a copy of its pump testing results, he said. All fire trucks are inspected, he said.

Powell denied all accusations that the department is operating with unsafe equipment, and said the complaints are “debunkable.”

“It’s always, Lick Hill is in the wrong,” Powell said.

In unrelated business, supervisors also agreed to raise the fire tax from 1 to 1.5 mills due to the township’s declining fire hydrant fund and Pennsylvania American Water’s increasing rates.

The half a mill increase will only affect residents who live within a 750 foot radius of a fire hydrant, supervisors said.

This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 21 to reflect the print version of the story.