Sen. Casey announces $1 million in funding for new Jersey Shore public safety building

Jersey Shore, Pa. — Jersey Shore Borough received $1 million in funding to make a long-talked about project a reality: a new public safety building.

On Thursday, July 18, local officials joined Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) to announce the $1,000,000 in funding would be going to Jersey Shore to support the construction of the new building.

The new building will house the local police and fire departments, as well as local government offices. Talks of consolidating into one regional facility have been underway for some time and securing funding is crucial for turning the building plans into reality.

Over two years ago, the fire company was making plans to construct a new facility when then-borough Manager Cody Hoover and Tiadaghton Valley Regional Police Department (TVRPD) Chief Nathan DeRemer proposed the concept of a regional complex to house all public safety services, rather than constructing three or four separate buildings.

Related Reading: Regional Public Safety Building one step closer to reality in Jersey Shore

TVRPD serves nearly 8,500 residents in 180 square miles of city and rural landscape in the municipalities of Jersey Shore Borough, Porter Twp., Cummings Twp., Nippenose Twp., McHenry Twp., and Piatt Twp.

The department has simply outgrown its physical location at 129 South Pennsylvania Ave, Jersey Shore, DeRemer said during a roundtable discussion in February 2022.

The current building, built in 1974, sits in the flood zone and has had to be evacuated in past flooding events. It was designed to house a force of six to seven officers, yet the number of staff has increased since regionalization of police departments.

The idea of the new building, according to borough officials, is to house municipal administration, public works, the office of Magisterial District Court 29-3-01, police, fire, and EMS services.

According to Penn Strategies, “the complex would be jointly owned and maintained by the Borough of Jersey Shore and Citizen’s Hose to be leased by TVRDP and the County and would be governed by a board which would include representation from each involved entity, including Lycoming County.”

Thursdays funding announcement by Sen. Casey was a positive step towards the realization of the long-awaited public safety building. Other funding sources for this project include the Pa. Dept. of Community and Economic Development, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Facilities Direct loan/grant, U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Agency (USEDA) Public Works Grant Program, and appropriations from the U.S. House of Representatives, according to Penn Stratgies.

The new building is expected to be two stories, with approximately 33,644 total square feet available for use.