The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners appears ready to proceed with financing and relocating a new firehouse for Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company.

The cost of the facility is estimated at between $2 million to $2.5 million.

How to finance the project has not been decided. One option is to issue a public bond.

Township commissioners appear to be moving ahead with relocating the firehouse from its Swain Station location to a new location at Green Acres Park.

“We weren’t willing to put money into a building or property that we didn’t own,” Salisbury Township Solicitor Atty. John W. Ashley told a reporter after the Sept. 12 township commissioners’ meeting.

The property on which Western Salisbury Fire Station is located was donated by The Swain School to the fire company with a deed restriction that ownership would revert to the school if and when the property was no longer used for fire company purposes.

“There were discussions with Swain, but no decisions were made,” Ashley said.

The new fire company facility would be designed to be of sufficient size to house Western’s equipment.

Additionally, commissioners seem to be leaning toward choosing an architect for the project other than the architect who has been working with Western on renovation and expansion of the Swain facility.

The discussion of the commissioners’ plans for a new Western fire station was on the agenda of the Sept. 12 workshop agenda.

Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich said at the workshop a vote on the choice of an architect for a new Western fire station is expected to be on the agenda of the 7 p.m. Sept. 26 board of commissioners meeting at the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave.

Township officials contacted four architecture firms for proposals for the station. Three proposals were received. The two finalists were Steven J. Elton Architect, 3245 Center St., Bethlehem and Howard Kulp Architects PC, 1501 Lehigh Parkway, Allentown.

“They were so close,” Bonaskiewich said of the Kulp and Elton proposals.

“The tipping point in Steven Elton’s favor is that Steven Elton is very involved in fire department facilities’ designs and we would recommend that firm,” Bonaskiewich said during the workshop.

Kulp Architects’ clients, according to its website, include commercial, hospitality, healthcare institutional and residential.

Elton Architect clients, according to its website, include: commercial, retail, church, residential and a long list of EMS, police and fire companies.

Western Salisbury Fire Chief Joshua G. Wells asked the commissioners to consider the Kulp firm.

Wells said Kulp has worked with Western on a renovation design of the Swain station since October 2014.

“He’s not charged us anything,” Wells said.

“Our involvement is the best plan for the taxpayers’ money,” township Commissioner James Seagreaves said, adding, “I have to back the decision [to consider the Elton Architect firm].”

Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company, founded in 1959, is observing its 60th anniversary in 2019.

Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company launched “Campaign 60,” a $3-million capital campaign to fund expansion and renovation of the Swain Station, 950 S. Ott St.

Western officials have sought $215,000 annually, or $1.5 million over seven years, from Salisbury Township toward the “Campaign 60” goal, which was launched at the Aug. 24, 2017, township commissioners meeting workshop.

Western received approval for the Swain project from the township board of commissioners, Sept. 24, 2015; Salisbury Township Planning Commission, Oct. 13, 2015 and Salisbury Township Zoning Hearing Board April 7, 2015.

In addition to donating the land for the Swain firehouse site, The Swain School donated additional land for the proposed expansion.

Plans are to sell the Western Salisbury Eisenhower property.

A decision on the future of the Swain Station property has not been decided.