Tilbury Fire Station in Plymouth Township is seen last summer prior to its closure.
Times Leader file photo
Other news: Borough Secretary Holly Spece leaving
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PLYMOUTH — Borough Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement with Plymouth Township to provide fire protection services to the township and compensate the borough for services already rendered.
Key elements of the deal call for the borough to be paid on a per-call basis as follows:
• Single apparatus response: $200 under one hour, $100 per additional hour.
• Structure fire response: $200 per hour per each truck and engine, and $75 per hour per person for career personnel.
• Motor vehicle accidents: $200 per hour for each rescue vehicle and engine.
Tuesday’s move formalizes an unofficial deal under which the borough had been providing fire protection services to the township at no cost, following the closure of Tilbury Station in the township last August.
Under the terms of the agreement, the township fire department also has agreed to take care of any outstanding bills or payments, in addition to paying the borough for protective services.
“We will be receiving back pay retroactive to August with this agreement,” borough Mayor Frank Coughlin said.
The amount that back pay was not immediately clear on Tuesday night.
Decertified last year
Plymouth Township has been outsourcing its fire protective services to stations in Plymouth, Nanticoke, Larksville and Lake Silkworth since Tilbury Station was decertified.
Prior to the drafting and approval of this agreement between Plymouth and Plymouth Township, the borough had been providing fire protection services to the township at no cost, following the closing of the Tilbury Station in August of last year amid township supervisors’ concerns about its finances.
Despite numerous attempts by the Tilbury Station firefighters to get the station back up and running, most recently in the wake of the Flamingo Diner fire back in January, the township Board of Supervisors has been adamant in their stance, calling the issue “closed” at a meeting held on Feb. 2.
The township fire station came under scrutiny last month after a report from the Pennsylvania Auditor General’s office reported that the Tilbury relief association inappropriately disbursed $28,500 to the fire company for miscellaneous expenditures. Fire Chief Barry Lore said last month that restitution would be made in full.
The borough-township agreement was the main item on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, but unlike the rowdy crowd that showed up for the Plymouth Township meeting last month regarding the fire station, the reception was much quieter this time around.
Tuesday’s motion was made by council member Earl Cunningham, and seconded by Adam Morehart. It was passed unanimously without discussion.
Other action
Council on Tuesday accepted the resignation of borough Secretary Holly Spece, who also served as treasurer and right-to-know officer. Spece is leaving to take a position in the private sector, Coughlin said.
Spece’s resignation is effective March 23.
Other items on the agenda included a motion to donate $6,500 to the Plymouth Borough Public Library and $6,000 to the Plymouth Borough Fire Department, both of which were unanimously approved by the council.