Middletown Township to jointly own Tower 8 with PennDell, board authorizes manager to sign MOU

Middletown Township supervisors voted 4-0 to authorize the township manager to execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the PennDell Fire Company to place Tower 8 into joint ownership and to pay off the truck's outstanding loan principal.

The action was presented by Township Manager Ratliff as a way to accelerate the township's apparatus plan and save interest costs. “This is an apparatus that's currently owned and funded through an apparatus funding plan by the township. They're currently making loan payments on that,” Ratliff said during his presentation. He told the board the outstanding principal is about $569,000 and that paying it off now would avoid roughly $241,000 in additional interest expense under the current amortization projections.

The MOU would establish joint ownership between Middletown Township and the PennDell Fire Company and preserve community access: the vehicle would remain housed at Station 8 and both the volunteer company and township career staff would have use under the agreement. Ratliff and Township Solicitor Esposito said the draft MOU is near completion; the board authorized the manager to execute the final form once approved by the manager and solicitor.

The proposal prompted extended public comment and questions. Residents raised concerns that the township was effectively “bailing out” a loan taken by a volunteer company and pushed for transparency about the truck’s original purchase and financing. Joe Fitch, identifying himself as a resident, asked whether the township was buying the vehicle and whether it would remain housed at Station 8. Ratliff replied that the township would pay the principal balance and that the vehicle would remain at Station 8 with shared access. Al Montanerio asked whether the fire fund balance would cover the payoff; Finance staff later confirmed the apparatus fund balance is about $1.5 million.

Officials described this step as part of a multiyear apparatus plan adopted by the township and the four volunteer companies to keep volunteer services viable while the township transitions some apparatus ownership to a centralized apparatus fund. Ratliff said the township is buying three engines this year under the same apparatus plan and that Tower 8 is the fourth unit contemplated under that program.

Supervisor Kiesak moved to authorize the manager to execute the MOU, Ms. Kane seconded, and the motion carried 4-0.

The board and staff said the change shifts where apparatus funds are held and gives the township greater control over future purchases, specifications and maintenance; staff said the intent is to avoid duplicative costs and to preserve volunteer companies’ access to needed heavy equipment while planning for longer-term service changes.

The MOU vote followed roughly two hours of public discussion and questions about prior loan documents, the original purchase price (staff said the apparatus was about $1.5 million at purchase), the current interest structure (staff said the loan’s current interest rate is 3.18% with scheduled recalculation at year 5 and year 10 tied to a Treasury index), and whether the township had adequate public reporting of negotiations and finances leading to the MOU.

Moving forward, township staff said they will finalize the MOU with PennDell and present any related documents or award acceptances required by the board for future apparatus purchases or changes in the apparatus fund policy.

Ending: The board's unanimous authorization allows the township to complete the payoff and enter into a joint-ownership MOU. Staff said the action is intended to reduce long-term financing costs and to centralize apparatus purchasing under the township’s apparatus fund while keeping volunteer companies operationally involved.