On July 20, Upper Milford Township Supervisors held a special workshop meeting to examine the needs of Upper Milford Western District Fire Company for both the present and future.

The room was filled to near capacity, with firefighters from both township fire companies and a few from neighboring townships. Scheduled for 30 minutes, the meeting ran twice as long.

From the onset, Upper Milford Western District Fire Company Fire Chief Mike Kline made it clear, “Before I begin, I’d like to go on record and state we are not here to compare to other fire departments, brag, talk down or belittle on anybody. I’ve only come to discuss facts for Station 19. We have and we always will supportive of all mutual aid departments, especially our sister company, Station 28.”

Addressing today’s realities, Kline said, “The volunteer fire service is a unique entity. One that saves communities like ours millions of dollars a year. With growing demands, changing times and an overall decrease of volunteers throughout the country, it puts more stress on the volunteers we have.”

Kline made the point for the last 80 years, the fire company had been “financially stable” and the point of the workshop was to find ideas to ensure things would remain this way for the next 80 years.

He was followed by the fire company’s treasurer, Paul Ulincy, who provided a spreadsheet of Upper Milford Western District Fire Company’s financials.

A new truck costing $1,420,000 and a new fire station building at $1,750,000 is what is being proposed to the township as a concrete way to invest in the future of the fire company. One of the reasons a new building is required is because the length of the new tanker won’t fit in.

Members of the Vera Cruz Fire Company raised concerns over the township’s finances and not having enough put aside when they might need help in acquiring a new tanker, which could be as soon as in the next three years.

John Hayes, of New Tripoli Bank, raised the issue of extra costs involved with a tanker, namely maintenance and repairs. The life span is of a tanker is at least 15 years so it would be an investment but money has to be put aside for the extras. He touched upon his experience working with New Tripoli Fire Company and their new fire station, built four years ago, as well as the new tanker they recently purchased. Hayes stressed the importance of illustrating sustainable revenue in these investments for Upper Milford Western District Fire Company.

After hearing concerns and ideas from several firefighters, the supervisors moved on to their regular scheduled meeting.

Good news in terms of the trash issue. Township Secretary/Treasurer Jessi O’Donald confirmed only one person who had reported to her was not able to hire a new hauler at press time, following the recent decision from A.J. Blosenki.

Since the hauler’s announcement to stop servicing the township, a class-action suit pertaining to it’s services in the state has been launched.

Regular trash and recycling pickup has returned to affected areas. It was noted Whitetail Disposal Inc. had run out of bins due to more than expected sign-ups with the hauler.

Supervisors approved a request from Emmaus Deputy Police Chief Bryan Hamscher for fire police 6 p.m. Aug. 25 for Wheels of Time.