Hempfield moving forward with $200,000 sprinkler system for township buildings

Hempfield supervisors are moving forward with an almost $200,000 sprinkler project that would protect more than $5 million in assets located in the township municipal building, the public works garage and Hempfield Township Emergency Operations Center — all located under one roof.

Supervisors Monday authorized a $133,900 quote with Quick Response Fire Protection Systems. Additional costs related to the project from the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County and other fees should not cause the total project to exceed $196,250, funds that will be pulled from the 2020 capital reserve account.

The motion passed 4 to 1, with supervisor Doug Weimer voting against the project.

Discussions for the project began in December, prior to the coronavirus impacting the region and following a fire that ravaged the Greensburg public works building and destroyed several thousands of dollars worth of equipment and vehicles. At the time, Hempfield fire Chief Anthony Kovacic said the Greensburg facility had detection systems installed.

The Hempfield municipal building, which consists of a 9,600-square-foot office area and 3,500-square-foot meeting room, is protected with smoke detectors in hallways and meeting areas. Connected to that building is the public works department, which has a 30,000-square-foot garage that houses flammable products such as solvents and lubricants.

The emergency management building houses combustibles, along with a second-floor emergency management center.

“The other municipalities that had situations that happened in their public works garage were not connected to their offices,” township Manager Jason Winters said Monday. “God forbid we have a fire in the back, our front office is going to be affected.” 

But, for Weimer, the pandemic that left the township with an $800,000 deficit in revenues in August compared to the same period last year is reason enough not to move forward.

“We’re still in a state of emergency … and we didn’t budget for this,” Weimer said. “I think that we should be budgeting for it for next year and talking about it for next year’s budget.”

During last week’s public work session, Weimer suggested looking at the building as a whole to determine if putting $200,000 into it would be a smart move.

“I think this is a lot of money to invest in a facility,” he said. “I would think we would want to start talking about, really, this building and whether or not it’s conducive for us anymore.”

Board Chair George Reese responded, “You’re under one roof. It’s total devastation. I get it about the new building, but building versus $200,000 in expenses, that’s not a fair comparison.”

Supervisors Rob Ritson, Tom Logan and John Silvis agreed, voting to move forward with the sprinkler system.

Supervisors also voted to research bids for a data management system that could digitize documents that could be destroyed by fire, or from water from the sprinkler system. The motion passed unanimously.

“We’re not going to be able to serve the residents,” Reese said, adding, “If we have a fire, we’re out of business.”