Antis Township aims to retain Pinecroft Volunteer Fire Company assets
Supervisors vote to file petition
Trending
Antis Township supervisors voted Thursday to file a petition to retain control of the Pinecroft Volunteer Fire Company's assets.
During their meeting, supervisors authorized solicitor Patrick Fanelli to file an appropriate petition in Blair County court that would keep the now-defunct fire company's assets in Antis Township, where supervisors contend they belong.
Several months ago, the board of supervisors voted to decertify Pinecroft after the fire company's members refused to be absorbed by Excelsior Fire Department No. 1 of Bellwood.
Since then, Pinecroft fire company officials talked with Newburg Volunteer Fire Department and came to an agreement to merge the two departments.
The decertification of Pinecroft means that the department is no longer dispatched by the 911 Center calls in Antis Township, and the merger with Newburg would require Pinecroft's property no longer functioning as a fire station, according to a report in Tuesday's Mirror, which stated that firefighters who've transferred to Newburg would become regular firefighters in that company.
According to Mirror reports, the Pinecroft property would be used for storage of vehicles and equipment, for training of the merged company's firefighters, for fundraising activities and as a rental venue for wedding receptions and other events.
Newburg Deputy Chief Matt Clinger told the Mirror the Pinecroft firefighters would not be responding as a satellite station for the Newburg department but rather as ordinary Newburg members.
Newburg may see fit to exchange vehicles between the former Pinecroft station and the Newburg station, with the Pinecroft station becoming the venue for vehicles held in reserve under the planned merger, according to Clinger.
Clinger said the Pinecroft building would retain the Pinecroft name, but the vehicles that have been in the Pinecroft fleet will be relettered to reflect their being a part of the Newburg department, according to Tuesday's Mirror.
Antis Township officials oppose that plan, stating they've given monetary donations to Pinecroft over the years and do not want to see those assets be used elsewhere.
The fire company's assets include the station's building, any cash the department owned as well as the firetrucks and equipment at the station, Fanelli said.
The vote during Thursday's meeting was 4-1, with Supervisor Benjamin Hornberger being the sole opposing vote.
Hornberger clarified the reason he opposed is not because he doesn't agree with filing the petition, but rather that the township's effort is "useless" since the attorney general's office already approved the merger between the Pinecroft and Newburg volunteer fire departments.
"At that point, Newburg is taking over, which means that the assets are going to go to Newburg, as according to the attorney general's office," Hornberger said.
Fanelli said the attorney general's office doesn't approve mergers between nonprofit organizations -- the court system does, he said, adding he's seen no evidence of the merger being final.
The supervisors made no other comments about the merger. Representatives from either fire company were not present at the meeting.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.