DUBOIS – The consolidated municipal building, police department, and fire department were all discussed at Wednesday’s DuBois-Sandy Township Consolidation Joint Board meeting.
The board approved a bid by KTH to provide the architectural work on what will be the consolidated City of DuBois’ municipal building. It was decided at last month’s meeting that the existing city building will be renovated to be the primary home of the consolidated government. The total cost of those renovations is expected to come in at $2.5-million.
As the city and township police departments prepare to consolidate, an issue was presented regarding the hiring process for officers. As a third class city, police officers must be hired through a civil service system. However, Sandy Township’s current force has not been hired that way. Legal counsel is recommending that a declaratory action be filed to have the court system approve the “grandfathering” in of the township’s current officers.
The consolidated fire department subcommittee has reconvened, and a few questions were brought up at Wednesday’s meeting. Questions included: Will the consolidated City of DuBois have a single fire department, or will it be a system of individual companies? Will there be a fire tax? What is the status of the fire study? City and Township Engineer Chris Nasuti answered that final question by saying the fire study is still in its early stages, with no estimate yet of when it will be completed. Nasuti stated he believes the results of the study will answer some of the questions.
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