Township, Borough Apply for Another Round of Grants

Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township are applying for another round of grant funding through the Local Share Municipal Gaming Grant Program.

The casino revenue-funded program awards money to communities impacted by the legalization of gaming in Pennsylvania. 

Locally, the Northampton County Gaming Revenue and Economic Redevelopment Authority is responsible for scoring the applications from (and ultimately awarding the grant money to) municipalities that have been impacted by the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem.

In the current round of funding opportunities, Hellertown and Lower Saucon are jointly submitting three applications for grants that would help Dewey Ambulance purchase new equipment, including:

• EMA jackets and rescue helmets worth $17,840.
• A LIFEPAK defibrillator monitor worth $35,885.
• A new ambulance chassis (the passenger compartment of an ambulance will be put on a new frame) for a total of $107,863.

The total cost of the three applications is $161,588.

Lower Saucon Township is also submitting two applications on its own, which would cover the cost of the following:

• The salary for a new police officer ($78,242 including benefits) and the cost of a new police cruiser ($35,000), for a combined total of $113,242.
• A Polaris model rescue ATV worth $27,000 and a trailer worth $6,000, for a combined total of $33,000.

Originally Lower Saucon Township planned to apply for a grant to purchase a Kubota model fire rescue ATV at a cost of $53,000 plus $10,000 for a trailer, but staff conducted more research and found that the less expensive model could meet the needs of local volunteer firefighters.

If the grant for the ATV is awarded, it will be used on for rescue or fire emergencies.

In terms of measuring impact from the Sands casino--which opened in 2009--Lower Saucon Township Manager Jack Cahalan said recent traffic counts have demonstrated an increase in traffic on local roads.

“We have done traffic counts at the intersection of several roads leading to/from the casino each year since the casino opened,” he said. “Between May 2010 and May 2011 these roads showed an overall 10 percent increase in traffic, which we attribute to the casino.” 

In addition, the Lower Saucon Township Police Department reported the following increases in incidents:  

• Total Incidents – up 4 percent
• Vehicle Stops – up 10.9 percent
• Traffic Citations – up 20.3 percent
• Non-Traffic Citations – up 5.4 percent
• Criminal Arrests – up 16 percent 

On its own, the Borough of Hellertown is submitting grant applications for the following items:

• Storz adapters (firehose adapters) for  at a cost of $22,641.
• An Altair gas meter at a cost of $4,405.
• The hiring of two police officers at a cost of $170,000 (including salaries and benefits).
• An equipped police vehicle at a cost of $27,719.
• Toughbooks (rugged laptops) for police officers.
• A traffic calming project that will include bump outs (also known as curb extensions) for enhanced pedestrian safety at a cost of $380,000.
• Stamped crosswalks at a cost of $356,000.

Hellertown Manager Cathy Kichline said that like Lower Saucon, the borough has seen a measurable increase in traffic volume in the last year.

According to a completed traffic study, the amount of traffic on Main Street has increased three percent, she said.

In addition, according to a year-over-year comparison of borough crime statistics from the first six months of 2010 and the first six months of 2011, there has been a 55 percent increase in criminal incidents, a 23 percent increase in arrests and a 36 percent increase in service calls, she said.