Money that Midway-St. Clair Volunteer Fire Department had invested is being transferred into a fund controlled by Hempfield.
The township supervisors on Jan. 26 accepted the deposit of $161,365.99 into the Hempfield Township Volunteer Fire Service Support Fund at the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County.
“That clears the books on Midway coming into the Hempfield Fire Department,” said township fire Chief Anthony Kovacic.
Midway-St. Clair in August became the second community volunteer fire department in Hempfield to dissolve its charter. The move means the township manages the station and pays all its expenses, while volunteer firefighters continue to respond to calls.
The station on Broadway Avenue remains a base for fire trucks and firefighters. Township officials have been pushing the “nonchartered” process for the last few years in an effort to bring all fire stations under one umbrella.
Midway-St. Clair followed North Hempfield, which dissolved its charter in 2021. When North Hempfield underwent the process and handed over its financial assets, the money was transferred to the township’s general fund. While it was ultimately put toward fire service expenses, township manager Aaron Siko said going with the Community Foundation fund is a cleaner method.
Township supervisors can issue grants from the fund, which is set up similarly to an endowment and will grow over time.
“These are the funds that were ultimately given to this organization by the community for fire service for emergency services and, yes, the township provides those services, but this is a way to memorialize and reflect that these funds are dedicated to that in a fund that is specifically for that,” Siko said.
He recommended using the fund for all future contributions from fire departments as more dissolve their charters, like Grapeville did in December.
The fund has been used to make purchases in the past, such as vehicles for assistant fire chiefs, Kovacic said.