The Antis Township supervisors will hold a special meeting next week to discuss the proposed merger of the township’s two volunteer fire companies, after a contentious and inconclusive discussion Monday between officials from the township and Pinecroft Volunteer Fire Co. — which has been resisting the merger recommendation in a state study, along with an invitation from Excelsior Fire Department No. 1 of Bellwood.

“We’re willing to sit and discuss the terms (of a possible merger), but until all those terms are discussed, we don’t want to just agree to do it,” said Pinecroft President Bill Muri. “We want to see how it will benefit us, Excelsior and the community.”

Issues causing contention include communication snafus; delays in an audit of the Pinecroft company; whether, when and where there would be a single station; the number of qualified Pinecroft firefighters who have been answering calls for service; and departmental pride vs. what’s best for the community.

Pinecroft wasn’t truthful or cooperative in recent months when its officials denied they were planning to buy a fire truck, after the township had sent a letter demanding that the company share plans for major purchases in order to avoid wasting money by duplication of effort, given the potential impending merger, said township Manager Doug Brown.

That accusation is unfair, because even though the actual purchase was made after the letter and the denials, the commitment to buy the truck preceded the letter, according to Pinecroft officials.

Pinecroft was to have begun a limited audit of finances in preparation for the merger by the end of 2025, but that hasn’t happened, according to the supervisors.

It hasn’t happened only because there was a “falling out” with the Pinecroft treasurer, who is to be replaced at a meeting Thursday, clearing the way for the audit, Pinecroft officials said.

Pinecroft officials are concerned that a merger will mean a move to a single station, which, depending on its location, could mean slower response times for Pinecroft residents, according to Supervisor Ben Hornberger, a Pinecroft member. Moreover, closing the Pinecroft station, even in the short term, would waste the benefits of the station, the property on which it’s located and all the equipment having been already paid off, according to Hornberger.

Those concerns are secondary to the primary, short-term thrust of the study, which calls for a unified department, and thus a unified command — which will provide efficiency that is critical in the continually deteriorating volunteer environment, according to Brown. Moreover, the new, single station proposed by the study could be “years down the road,” township officials said.

Pinecroft has had difficulties mustering sufficient manpower for some calls at times and in getting firefighters qualified at the preferred training level, according to township officials — whose financial allocations over the past year have reflected those shortcomings. A preponderance of the money has gone to Excelsior, which has more firefighters with the desired qualifications and more robust responses, generally.

Every volunteer fire department has trouble with strong responses to calls, especially during the daytime when more firefighters are working, according to Hornberger.

Are the Pinecroft representatives stringing the township along, providing answers “just to appease us?” Supervisor Steve Winterstein asked.

No, replied Muri. “I want to make something happen,” he said. But first, “we need to sit and discuss (things).”

It’s not about departmental pride, but about protecting the community, Hornberger said.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at the township building.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.