Pittston is seeking $2.5 million from Luzerne County’s American Rescue Plan funding to acquire and demolish the severely blighted and ‘troublesome’ former Triangle Motel on South Main Street, shown here, and partner with the Ambulance Association to construct a state-of-the-art facility.
Submitted photo
Editor’s note: This story is part of a periodic look at projects on the request list for Luzerne County’s American Rescue Plan funding.
Fifteen municipalities and nonprofits are seeking Luzerne County American Rescue Plan funding to improve police, fire and emergency medical response, according to a review of the pre-applications.
Council has approximately $96.1 million left to earmark from its $112.89 million federal American Rescue allocation.
Pittston is seeking the highest amount — $2.5 million — to acquire and demolish the severely blighted and “troublesome” former Triangle Motel on South Main Street and partner with the Ambulance Association to construct a state-of-the-art facility at the site, its application said.
The new structure would house the regional ambulance operation and include a regional emergency operations center for use during states of emergency and/or natural disasters, it said. This operations center also can serve as a space for triage, virus testing and vaccinations.
The Ambulance Association serves as the primary EMS agency for Pittston, Jenkins Township and the boroughs of Yatesville, Exeter, Wyoming and West Wyoming. It also provides advanced life support to Pittston and Exeter townships and the boroughs of Hughestown, Avoca, Duryea and Dupont.
In another request, the Pittston Township Ambulance Association on Bryden Street is asking for $800,000 toward a $900,000 project to purchase or construct a new EMS facility to house two emergency response vehicles and conduct operations.
The association has outgrown its current 27-year-old facility due to community growth, its pre-application said. This agency is the primary first-due EMS agency for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, it noted.
Business revenue, savings and a capital fund would cover the additional $100,000 toward the expense, it said.
Fire apparatus
The second highest request in this category — $1.5 million — is from the Edwardsville Fire Department to replace its fire truck.
Its submission said the department is using a nearly 20-year-old quint, which is a 100-foot ladder truck with a fire pump, to provide fire protection for residents, businesses and visitors. Repairs of the fire apparatus are becoming more frequent, and some parts are no longer available, the pre-application said.
“During lengthy repairs of the present quint, Edwardsville is without this vital fire protection,” it said, noting no other funding streams have been identified.
Kingston is seeking $1.4 million to replace its 22-year-old ladder truck.
Kingston and Forty Fort have operated a consolidated fire and EMS department for more than a decade, and the ladder truck also responds on a first-call basis to Luzerne, Pringle and Swoyersville boroughs, it said.
“The municipality’s ladder truck services all of these communities because they are no longer able to fund firefighting services or sustain viable volunteer organizations,” the pre-application said. “It is important to note that the ladder truck is also second-due to center city Wilkes-Barre.”
More than 11,500 residential and commercial properties fall in this immediate service area, which makes the ladder truck a regional public safety asset, it said.
Kingston cannot afford to replace the ladder truck due to budgetary constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the other boroughs served are smaller and dealing with the same monetary issues, the pre-application said.
Forty Fort Borough Council President Thomas J. Murray III wrote a letter in support of the request.
“Due to impacts caused by the current pandemic on these smaller communities, the replacement of this valuable truck would be impossible,” it said.
The other apparatus requests, according to a review of pre-applications:
• Nanticoke has applied for $628,500 to purchase a Pierce Saber Pumper Engine with a compartment in the cab to store various equipment, including gloves, shields, sanitizers and other items to protect firefighters from infection.
• White Haven Fire Co. No. 1 is requesting $850,000 to replace its rescue truck.
Regional police
The new Wyoming Area Regional Police Department is requesting $500,000 in county American Rescue funds to help cover personnel, benefits, administrative costs and equipment, including new Kevlar vests, body cameras, public/health safety initiatives and the replacement of older vehicles, its pre-application said.
Exeter borough and township, West Pittston, West Wyoming and Wyoming formed the Wyoming Area Regional Police Department to more efficiently fund and staff police protection for their approximately 18,000 residents, it said. The existing police departments will be disbanded to form one regional police force funded by the five municipalities based on their population and other parameters, it said.
Equipment needs
The Plains Township Fire Department is seeking $397,127 toward a $1.047 million project to replace old and expiring self-contained breathing apparatus and fire equipment, its pre-application said.
Among the other requests:
• Exeter Hose Co. No. 1 applied for $15,000 to fund technology upgrades.
• Hazleton’s Fire Department asked for $80,000 to purchase two large trailer-mount positive pressure fans to more quickly remove smoke from the increasing number of large warehouse structures built in the Hazleton area. The units would serve all Hazleton area communities with warehouses in the county’s southern half.
Even small fires can produce a great amount of smoke in these buildings, it said. With the average industrial facility now measuring 1 million square feet, the fans will reduce the time buildings must remain closed.
• The Avoca Fire Department requested $200,000 to replace outdated equipment, including self-contained breathing apparatus used in structure fires, hazardous materials incidents, medical assists and rescues. It would also cover rescue struts used in building and trench collapses, confined spaces and the stabilization of overturned vehicles, with the improved new equipment reducing set-up time.
• The Excelsior Hose Co. No. 2 in Duryea is seeking $40,000 toward the $63,000 purchase of additional radios to supplement those provided by the county through its 911 emergency communication upgrade.
• Butler Township is seeking $125,000 — $60,000 for records management software that will allow the police department to communicate remotely and exchange information with other law enforcement agencies and $65,000 to add a new police vehicle.
• The White Haven Ambulance Association is requesting $117,000 to renovate its ambulance building on Towanda Street and upgrade association ambulances.
• Duryea is asking for $83,700 to purchase an additional 27 digital radios for volunteer firefighters to supplement those supplied by the county in the 911 radio upgrade.
What’s next?
At the request of some council members, the administration sought the American Rescue pre-applications to ensure no needs were overlooked.
The county received $186.8 million in funding requests as a result — $171.58 million from more than 100 outside entities and $15.26 million from county government departments, the administration has said.
Council is scheduled to start discussing how it wants to proceed during Tuesday’s work session. Eligibility of projects also must be determined.
Council Chairwoman Kendra Radle said council also must decide what it wants to do about pre-applications that are arriving after the submission deadline.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
