Irwin officials have scrapped plans to apply for a grant for a new fire hall and possible municipal complex that was estimated to cost $1.2 million.

Borough council decided last week not to apply for the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, which has a March 31 deadline for applications. The borough would need to have in its capital reserve account 50% of any grant it wants, said Shari Martino, borough manager. That money then could not be earmarked for another project, Martino said.

There also would not be sufficient time to obtain a loan by the end of the month, Zach Kansler, borough solicitor, told council.

“That’s a lot of money to come up with,” said Councilwoman Gail Macioce.

The grant program is for acquiring and constructing a region economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects, according to the state budget office. RACP projects are state-funded jobs that cannot obtain primary funding under other state programs, according to the budget office website.

The decision not to apply for the grant is not an indication that the borough does not want to assist the fire department in its efforts to get a new building, Martino said, or that it does not want new municipal offices. This competitive grant process is not the right grant to seek for the project, Martino said.

For the 2021 budget, council earmarked the revenue from one mill of a property tax hike toward the fire department as it plans for a new fire hall.

Fire Chief Justin Mochar told council earlier it wants a new fire hall at the site of the former Irwin school on Sixth Street. He floated the idea of possibly creating a municipal complex at the site, which is owned by the borough. The building would house Irwin’s ambulance service as well, Mochar said.

Irwin’s municipal offices — administration and the police department — are on the second floor of a building at 424 Main St., that is not handicap accessible and has no elevator.

“We are still in the design phase” of a lengthy process, Mochar said this week.

If the borough was able to get the grant for a fire hall at the borough-owned property, it would be required to own the building, Kansler said.

Another hitch in the grant process would be the requirement that a construction contract could not be awarded to a single general contractor. Contracts would be awarded for various aspects of the construction. State funding would require that employers pay prevailing wage to laborers, which would drive up the cost, Martino said.

A review of the state’s approval of the RACP grants last year would give borough officials both hope and disappointment for the likelihood of being approved for the grant. Munhall received a $1 million grant for converting a former health care building into a municipal complex, but the state rejected North Strabane’s bid for two grants totalling $9.5 million for a new administration building and a new public safety building.

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