EASTON, Pa. — The city is pursuing a grant to assist in renovations of the half-century-old College Hill Fire Station.
City council approved a resolution Wednesday to apply for the Municipal Fire Department Center Capital Grant Program.
- Easton is seeking a grant to help with paying for renovations to the College Hill Fire Station
- The city is seeking a $100,000 grant, but the amount will likely be lower given statewide demand
- Fire Chief Henry Hennings said he hopes the demand leads to the expansion of the program to help resuscitate aging stations
The intent is to direct a grant worth up to $100,000 toward the station’s larger renovation project.
The grants are intended for municipal fire departments and can range from $25,000 to $100,000. Funds can be used for establishing or modernizing facilities that house firefighting equipment, ambulances or rescue vehicles; acquiring or renovating such structures; or repairing or purchasing rescue equipment.
The grant requires no matching amount. It's part of a half-million dollars in funding made available to any fire department across the state, said Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings, so it's possible the city may not receive the total amount sought.
“They absolutely need more funding, so the state fire commissioner's office will hopefully realize that by the amount of applicants they get for the program, that much, much more funding is needed."Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings
“So in the commonwealth, I couldn't give you an actual number of how many fire departments there are, but there are a lot, so money-wise, it will probably whittle its way down to tens of thousands of dollars,” Hennings said.
Both Hennings and Mayor Sal Panto Jr. noted the College Hill station is desperately in need of renovations; it was built at 327 Parsons St. in the early 1970s.
“And it hasn't been touched since," Hennings said. "We have females on the upcoming current hiring list, although that's not completed yet.
"...So we have a need for separate facilities for women. That includes bathrooms, locker rooms and bunk rooms. And the station, like I said, was built in the ‘70s, so there's been nothing really done to it, to improve it. So, we need to expand its footprint a little bit to get the extra room.”
Panto said the Intermediate Act 47 Plan originally called for the elimination of both the College Hill and South Side satellite fire stations, though he did note those stations as being a necessary part of fire response in the city.
“I just don't see that happening,” Panto said. “When we have flooding Downtown, the Central Station can't get to these places without going all the way up 25th Street to cross the bridge over at 25th Street. So we need to put our efforts toward that now and put it up.”
City officials hope whatever grant funding is received helps cover at least a portion of the projected $300,000 needed to update the College Hill Station. Panto said the South Side Station will take significantly more funding – and maybe even a complete replacement.
“We have [College Hill] and the South Side stations, they are both equally as important to get done. South Side will have to take a lot more work. It’s going to take probably a new station, not a refurbished station."
With the plethora of aging stations across the Lehigh Valley and the state, Hennings said the grant program requires much more funding in order to ensure fire departments are able to function properly and efficiently.
“They absolutely need more funding, so the state fire commissioner's office will hopefully realize that by the amount of applicants they get for the program, that much, much more funding is needed,” Hennings said.
