Lansford Borough Council on Monday looked for ways to pay for a new garage in the wake of the fire that damaged its current facility a week ago.

The borough already had plans to build a new garage, but hoped to secure a grant to pay for the facility. A site along Dock Street has already been prepared, awaiting funding to proceed.

The original estimate on a new garage was $979,000, Council President Bruce Markovich said.

The borough is now looking at $1 million or $1.2 million, borough engineer, Bill McMullen, of ARRO Engineering, said during a special meeting to discuss options.

The firm has designed quite a few of these buildings, which are a basically a pole building, and the contractor provides the final mechanical, electrical and plumbing, he said.

A new garage could be out to bid and ready for shovels in the ground in about five months, McMullen said.

Funding options

Markovich presented council with funding options, one of which included draining the train station fund, and pulling from sewer transmission and parks funding, to pay cash for the new building, Markovich said.

Drawing on existing funds would cost the borough about $44,000 a year in interest that money is earning, he said.

Another option is a 4.125% loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 30 or 35 years, and the payments are based on the ability to repay the loan, Markovich said.

The borough can afford to pay about $2,000 a month for a new garage, maybe a little a less, he said, and the funds won’t be available until September.

Local banks have loans with interest rates between 8% and 11% with the longest terms of 25 years, Markovich said.

Council opted for applying for the USDA loan, and voted to start the process.

The borough also has an application for a grant into the state Department of Community and Economic Development for the garage, but awards won’t be known until September.

The borough did notify DCED that the borough doesn’t have a garage now, which might help its grant application, Markovich said.

The project won’t be ready to go until August, and funding — either through a loan or grant — won’t be clear until September, and the borough will see what it receives, he said.

Fire damage

Councilman Joseph Butrie wasn’t optimistic about getting back into its fire-damaged garage, a stone structure that dates to 1872. A PPL representative said that they won’t turn the power back on until the service is upgraded and inspected, and they didn’t anticipate that happening, he said.

The borough also doesn’t know how much they will be compensated from the insurance company for the damaged building, Markovich said.

McMullen believes the facility needs more than a simple roof fix and a good cleaning following the fire, but a thorough assessment could be costly, especially looking at the impact of the fire and intense heat on the steel.

The amount and type of damage seen calls up more questions than answers, he said. The insurance company’s investigator and adjuster will both make determinations as well, McMullen said.

ARRO already sent out a roofing sample to be tested for asbestos, and the results will determine what the next steps for that building regarding reconstruction or demolition, he said.

The borough will be looking at working out of the former Zimmerman building, which is also along Dock Street and owned by the borough.

Resident Lenny Kovach suggested getting a construction trailer to use as an office/headquarters for the borough crew, if insurance will pay for the trailer.

The borough will be checking to see if a construction trailer is an option, and plans to place it on the Zimmerman property.

Services

Council members also discussed not replacing the street sweeper, which was the piece of equipment where the fire started, or the sewer vacuum truck, which also caught fire, its ruptured fuel tanks intensifying the flames.

Council did not make any decision, but agreed that they only need the sweeper once a year for the town-wide cleaning and weekly sweeping in the business district might not be necessary.

In the meantime, other communities offered support and use of their equipment. Summit Hill offered its street sweeper, and Tamaqua the use of its vacuum truck. Coaldale offered manpower.