O'Hara, Blawnox councils formally approve police merger set to start in January

O’Hara and Blawnox officials have finalized an agreement that will have both communities patrolled by O’Hara police starting next year.

The Blawnox police force will be absorbed in January by O’Hara and under the leadership of township police Superintendent Jay Davis.

O’Hara Council passed its ordinance Sept. 10, and Blawnox Council followed suit the next day. Both actions were unanimous.

“The next step is making a very nice transition,” Blawnox Council President Deborah Laskey said. “I believe it will broaden our base of police service.”

Blawnox has four full-time officers, including Chief Patrick Goodman.

Davis said he will have 13 officers, including himself, next month. His department numbers include one resignation and one retirement effective in October.

Davis said the township is in the process of interviewing a dozen candidates for the two police positions. They are the finalists of 28 applicants on O’Hara’s Civil Service Commission’s list. The goal is to have the positions filled by the end of December.

Weekly meetings about the merger are expected to take place between Goodman and Davis to work out operational details.

Preliminary plans indicate officers would be centralized at the O’Hara Municipal Building. Vehicles would get new decals to reflect services provided to both communities.

“It’s still a body of work here trying to get everything figured out,” Davis said. “A lot of moving parts at this point. The administrative stuff will be done once the ordinance stuff is done. As far as the day-to-day operations, there still is a lot left to do.”

Davis commended O’Hara Manager Julie Jakubec and Blawnox Manager Kathy Ulanowicz for crafting the agreement.

“I would say the hardest (thing) is what Julie and Kathy worked through,” Davis said. “Putting that intergovernmental agreement in place is a lot of work. … I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be great for both communities.”

Blawnox Mayor Anthony Gross agreed. He said the de facto merger was necessary because of manpower concerns.

“It’s more security for them, (and) it’s better for us in coverage,” Gross said. “It’s more ‘boots on the ground.’ They are going to have their zones that they’ll cover. There will be an extra cop on duty. I think it’s good for everybody.

“It is not financial. What we’re going to pay isn’t really any different. You can’t find people to be cops.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not available at presstime.

Blawnox budgeted close to $466,000 for police service this year.

O’Hara budgeted a little more than $2.5 million this year.

Laskey said there have been no discussions about the future of the Blawnox police station at the borough building.

O’Hara Council Vice President Mike Hammill said they are ready to welcome borough officers.

“We think it’s the right move,” he said. “Blawnox is very professional and a very good police force. We all work around each other. O’Hara surrounds Blawnox. We’re used to doing those calls back and forth. We work together as a team. We’re familiar with the territory, and I think it’s going to work very well.”

Social worker addition

The police agreement also comes with a social worker proposal.

O’Hara has a social worker and a human services department within its police department. However, it is a separate entity.

Blawnox Councilman Matthew Stanczak said O’Hara suggested splitting the cost of hiring another one that would help the borough.

“We have identified some money that we feel we could allocate to this social worker in 2025 while still balancing the budget,” he said. “It’s something that we continue to review.”

The estimated cost is $85,000 for a full-time social worker. Each community would contribute $42,500.

A social worker is specially trained to help people in ways police officers could not, Goodman said, adding he believes it would be a great asset to residents.

No official action was taken on this proposal at Blawnox Council’s Sept. 11 meeting.