Turmoil between Kiski Township supervisors and police has led the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department to halt negotiations over adding the township to the communities it serves, according to regional police officials.
Charles Stull, a Gilpin Township supervisor and chairman of the commission that oversees the regional police force, confirmed that Kiski Township is grappling with “pretty serious” personnel issues.
According to Southern Armstrong Chief Chris Fabec, these problems led his department to end merger talks.
No other details were available.
Kiski Township Chief Lee Bartolicious could not be reached for comment. Township police did not return a call to the station Thursday night.
Kiski Township Supervisor Brittany Hilliard, chairperson of the board of supervisors, declined to comment, as did Supervisor Bryan Eckenrode.
The other Kiski Township supervisors, Mary Long, Chuck Rodnicki and Mark Kendall, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton said neither her office nor the state police have been involved in the matter.
Kiski Township had sent Southern Armstrong a letter of intent to join the regional police force in October. The board of supervisors then put those plans on hold until its new members took office in January, Stull told a crowd of Kiski Township residents in April.
Southern Armstrong serves Freeport, Gilpin and Ford City. Kiski Township, with a population of about 4,600, would have been the largest community to join the department.
The seven-member regional police commission must approve any mergers.
Several nearby municipalities are considering regionalization, though not necessarily with Southern Armstrong. Leechburg and Parks Township are in the process of considering whether to create their own regional force, according to Leechburg councilman DJ Zelczak.