Hatfield votes ahead grant request for Colmar Fire Company

Township officials have voted unanimously to seek grant funding for Colmar Fire Company to make a new addition and adopt a long-term funding plan.

“We’re helping both fire companies: specifically, this time, Colmar Fire, in applying for some grant funding through the state,” said township Manager Aaron Bibro.

Since the early 2010s, township officials have held joint talks with both the Colmar and Hatfield volunteer fire companies about how to split the tax millage the township collects, and to plan for vehicle, equipment and facility upgrades for both; the 2025 budget the board adopted in December allocates $315,000 split 50-50 between the two companies, along with a roughly 60-40 split of roughly $149,000 in state fire relief funding.

Colmar Fire Company leadership and the commissioners discussed building a new station in the mid-2010s, and those plans evolved over time into a series of upgrades to the current station, including a new driveway apron with a snow melting system, new roof, sewer and restroom upgrades, energy-efficient LED lighting, a new generator, and demolition of two houses that had stood on the site.

The grant application sees state funds for the next step, which the manager summarized for the commissioners and public: “This is an application, and a resolution, that will submit an application to the LSA: the Local Share Account grant program through the state, which we’ve had some success with over the years.”

“It would pay for the installation and purchase of a pole barn, to house some of their equipment and their trucks underneath,” Bibro said.

As he spoke, the manager showed an overhead photo of the fire company’s current station, located on Walnut Street at its intersection with Jenkins Avenue, with a blue rectangle marking where the roughly 30-by-30-foot pole barn would stand, and a dashed line indicating an electrical conduit line connecting to that station.

    Overhead photo showing Colmar Fire Company’s station on Walnut Street, at lower left, and the location of a planned pole barn for additional storage space, as presented to Hatfield’s township commissioners in Dec. 2024. (Credit: Hatfield Township)
  

“They’ve put a significant amount of work in — thanks to the commissioners for investing in their facility, which looks very different than it used to. This would be in addition to all the work that has taken place over the last few years,” Bibro said.

The  $117,000 in grant funding would cover 100 percent of the purchase and installation of the pole barn with no match required from the township, according to the manager.

Joint 5-year plan approved

Another fire-related item was also discussed and approved by the board, one commissioners President Tom Zipfel called “super important” — a five-year capital plan agreement between the township, Colmar, and the Hatfield Volunteer Fire Company spelling out their goals through 2029.

“This is really monumental in many ways. This is our two volunteer fire companies coming together to plan for the future, together. Which sounds like a simple task, but it hasn’t been, and it isn’t in most communities,” Bibro said.

    Contractors pour a new driveway apron at the Colmar Fire Company’s station on Walnut Street in Oct. 2024. (Credit: Colmar Volunteer Fire Company)
  

The plan spells out a schedule of vehicle replacements, how to fund those purchases, and a shared commitment not to raise the current fire tax millage. Leaders from both fire companies will give more detail in early 2025, the manager added.

“We’re grateful for the leadership in both fire companies to have done this, and plan for what’s best for the township overall, and not what’s best for each individual fire company: significant savings for the taxpayers of Hatfield, a much more efficient operation over the next five years, smart purchasing, not a  duplication of pieces of equipment, really planning as if we are one fire company. It’s a great shift, and a great accomplishment,” he said.

Zipfel added that he’s been involved in the talks between the two fire companies for his entire tenure on the board, and looking forward to hearing specifics.

“This is a remarkable plan, that we are absolutely thrilled to have before us. It’s been ongoing for as long as we know, and many of the people at this dais have experienced it for a decade or more. So very happy to have this in front of us,” he said.

Hatfield Township’s board of commissioners next meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at the township administration building, 1950 School Road. For more information visit www.Hatfield.org.

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