Muhlenberg Township Seeks $595K Grant for Fire Apparatus

Muhlenberg Township's fire department is at the center of Monday night's commissioners meeting. The board is scheduled to vote on asking the state for a $595,000 grant to buy fire apparatus and, in a separate motion, to let the fire chief spend $113,082.53 on a traffic truck, according to the Oct. 19 agenda posted Friday on the township's agenda portal.

The board would also confirm a new parks and recreation director, amend a fire services agreement with Bern for a third time, ratify a police discipline decision, and close out this year's road paving contract.

A $595,000 grant request for fire apparatus

Item 8.l asks the board to adopt Resolution 2026-12, which would authorize the township manager "to apply for an LSA grant in the amount of $595,000 to purchase fire apparatus" (agenda, p. 2).

LSA stands for Local Share Account, a state grant program that hands out gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Townships are eligible applicants, and buying vehicles and equipment is an eligible use of the money. The statewide program's guidelines cap a request at $1,000,000 per project, bar a project from starting before the CFA approves it (p. 2), and require no local match (p. 5). Applications are taken from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30 each year (p. 4), so Monday's vote falls inside this year's window. The guidelines also call for a resolution of the governing board that formally requests the grant, names two officials to sign the documents and states the amount and scope (p. 5). The agenda's one-line summary says Resolution 2026-12 authorizes the township manager to apply; the resolution text is not posted, so whether it names a second official is not shown.

Monday's vote only authorizes the application. The state decides whether to fund it; the guidelines say the CFA weighs cost, strategic importance and impact (p. 6). The agenda does not say what apparatus the township wants to buy, what it would cost in total, or which Local Share Account program the township would apply to.

The township's last apparatus purchase we tracked came in June, when the board's agenda carried a $312,589 payment to Glick Fire Equipment for a 2025 Pierce Saber pumper, covered in our report on the Oak Forest fire disaster declaration. The Oct. 19 agenda does not connect the new grant request to that engine or to any specific need.

A $113,082.53 traffic truck

Item 8.o would "authorize the Fire Chief to purchase and upfit a traffic truck for the Fire Department in the amount of $113,082.53" (agenda, p. 2). To upfit a truck is to add the equipment, lights and fittings that turn a stock vehicle into a working emergency unit.

The agenda does not describe the truck, name a vendor, or say where the money would come from, and nothing on the agenda ties this purchase to the grant request. The fire department appears on the consent agenda only through its "MTFR September 2026 Activity Report" (p. 2).

A Bern fire agreement, a new parks director and a police matter

Item 8.h is a "motion to approve the third amendment to the Bern Fire Services Agreement" (p. 2). The agenda does not say what the amendment changes or what the agreement covers.

Item 8.i would ratify the appointment of Erik Daly as Director of Parks and Recreation (p. 2). To ratify an appointment is to confirm a hiring decision that has already been made. The agenda gives no start date or salary.

Item 8.j would ratify "the Police Chief's disciplinary action regarding an officer" (p. 2). The agenda does not name the officer or describe the action.

Item 8.f asks the Civil Service Board for a list of candidates for police patrol officer, the ranked list of applicants who have passed the township's civil service testing (p. 2). In September, the board was scheduled to accept a patrol officer list and extend conditional job offers to three candidates on it, as our Sept. 21 preview reported. The agenda does not say why a new list is needed a month later.

Paving, a roof and the September minutes

Two motions would wrap up Contract B of the 2026 Road Paving Project. Item 8.m is change order #1 for $20,018.04 to Sacks and Sons Paving, and item 8.n is "payment application #1 Final" of $94,981.44 to Sacks and Sons Inc. (p. 2). A change order is a formal revision to a signed construction contract; the agenda does not say what this one covers. Item 8.p is a $1,260 change order on the roof replacement at the township building, 210 George Street, and item 8.k would authorize the manager to sign a revised traffic signal plan for Water Street and North 5th Street (p. 2).

The consent agenda includes approval of the commissioners' Sept. 21 minutes (p. 1). That meeting's headline item was Ordinance 633, which would authorize up to $9,000,000 in general obligation bonds with Raymond James & Associates as the proposed purchaser, as our preview reported. The minutes are not published on the township's agenda portal. The township's YouTube channel carries a 34-minute recording of the Sept. 21 meeting, which we have not reviewed, so this preview does not report how the bond vote went.

Also on the agenda

• An agreement "regarding the correction of the real estate taxing district designation for a property in Alsace Township," item 8.b; the agenda does not identify the property (p. 2).
• Closeout of the financial security for the Chick Fil A land development plan, or LDP, the detailed plan a developer files for a building project, item 8.c (p. 2).
• Time extensions for two pending land development plans: 80 Witman Rd to Feb. 28, 2027, and Kings Trucking to Jan. 15, 2027, items 8.d and 8.e (p. 2).
• Letter of credit reduction request #3 for the Fairmont Ave LDP, item 8.g, and the routine payment of bills, item 8.a (p. 2).
• Consent acceptance of Parks and Recreation, Arts and Library board minutes and the September department reports, including police and finance (pp. 1-2).
• The Planning Commission meets Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., per the portal's calendar, with the Car Tech Building 120 and 166 LDPs and the Kings Transportation LDP on its agenda.

How to attend

The Board of Commissioners meets Monday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 210 George St., Reading, according to the township's agenda portal. The township office number is 610-929-4727, per the township website.

The agenda sets two public comment periods, one before the consent agenda and one after new business. Speakers must sign in, wait to be recognized, and give their name and address, with comments limited to five minutes (pp. 1, 3). The agenda lists five commissioners: Walt LaSota, Mike Merkel, Dillon Cirulli, Kevin Lerch and Michael Malinowski (p. 3). The township streams its meetings on its YouTube channel.

The board's next regular meeting is Monday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m., per the portal's calendar.