Firing, Resignation as PA Departments Try to Merge

WEST MIDDLESEX, PA – A conflict between borough council and the West Middlesex Volunteer department culminated this week with the abrupt resignation of the fire department’s assistant chief and the fire chief’s termination.

It could end in court, said fire department President Adam Garrett, who said the fire company is consulting with attorneys and state fire commission officials.

Some of the uproar surrounds merger talks between the West Middlesex Fire Department and Shenango Township Volunteer Fire Department. Discussions on combining the two departments, which was supposed to have been a smooth process, has instead led to open hostility among individuals and groups in both municipalities.

In a meeting Thursday, the fire department expelled former Chief Don Hoover — Garrett said Hoover resigned first. Hoover could not be immediately reached Friday for comment.

With the assistant chief position already vacant after the resignation Tuesday of Rich Garrett, the fire department elevated former Capt. Jared Clemente to chief in a meeting Thursday. Adam Garrett said Clemente has the department’s full support.

Whether council supports the department, and vice versa, is another matter.

Council voted Tuesday to appoint Shenango Township fire Chief Justin Barnes as an administrator who would oversee West Middlesex Fire Department and conduct a study of the borough’s fire protection needs, including the fire department.

Garrett, Ray Lucich and other firefighters present at the meeting pleaded with council members not to appoint Barnes as an administrator above the West Middlesex department officials and warned that it would kill any chances for the merger.

Lucich said a fire chief from a department in Lawrence County, who both departments respect, could play an intermediary role to restart the merger talks.

Their requests failed to sway council, as a majority voted to create the post and appoint Barnes to the position. Council also approved a motion calling for the administrator to conduct an assessment of the fire department’s operations with a report to be presented to council at its July 15 meeting.

After the council vote, Rich Garrett, the assistant chief and Adam Garrett’s father, hand-wrote a resignation and handed it to council, which immediately voted to accept it.

Councilman Ron Preston made a motion that would have allowed the borough to seek an agreement with another fire department for provide fire protection services. It died for lack of a second.

After the meeting, West Middlesex Councilman Robert Lark said the administrator would effectively be in charge of West Middlesex Fire Department.

“They will oversee the fire department and report back to council,’’ he said.

However, Barnes had something to say about the offer. He said Thursday that he had considered council’s request and would decline.

“There’s a mess over there, and I don’t want to get into the middle of that,’’ he said.

Some of the friction between West Middlesex council and the fire department developed during discussions to merge the West Middlesex and Shenango Township fire departments. The merger discussions began in 2018 with the formation of committees that included members of both departments.

Members of both departments said talks were halted last November due to a lack of progress.

And discussions are not likely to resume anytime soon. Barnes rejected any future talks with West Middlesex over a merger.

“I don’t want to talk to them, and they don’t want to talk to us,’’ he said. “At this point it’s in the best interest of Shenango Township (Fire Department) to discontinue any talks,’’ he said. “I don’t think there will be any progress.’’

He blamed the demise of merger discussions on a group within West Middlesex Fire Department. He declined to give their names.

“Until some of those people leave, we aren’t going to talk to them,’’ Barnes said.

He also had stinging criticism for West Middlesex Fire Department’s merger committee.

“Their committee doesn’t want to do anything,’’ he said. “And our members have gotten upset.’’

In turn, Adam Garrett said the failure of merger discussions was “unfortunate” and blamed Barnes for the discussions breaking down. Adam Garrett said Barnes and Shenango Township included demands in the merger that West Middlesex Fire Department could not accept.

“Justin Barnes undermined the merger process and never once negotiated in good faith,” Adam Garrett said.

When told of Barnes’ response, West Middlesex council President Cindy Gilkey said she wasn’t surprised.

“Can you blame him?’’ she said.

West Middlesex Borough and the fire department have intertwining interests. The borough owns some fire equipment and the fire department headquarters on North Street.

The borough also dedicates three mills of property taxes to the fire department — approximately $36,000, Lark said.

Adam Garrett accused Lark and Preston of having a “personal vendetta” against the fire department.

“Some of what the councilmen are saying are outright lies,” Adam Garrett said.

Gilkey said she was a member of the fire department but doesn’t go out on any calls. In spite of the conflict, she said she was confident in the personnel and firefighting ability of the personnel of both West Middlesex and Shenango Township fire departments.

“I am confident our borough is safe,’’ Gilkey said. “We have a quality fire department here and other departments around us.’’

Discussions on the matter will continue Tuesday, when Gilkey called for a special council meeting, which she said will be closed to the public for talks on personnel issues. The meeting will focus on the fire department and how council will proceed in securing an administrator, since Barnes bowed out.

“I think we need to meet and regroup,’’ she said. “This is completely uncharted territory.’’

Regardless of any animosity, Barnes said his department will continue to provide mutual aid assistance to West Middlesex for fire protection and other public safety needs.

“We’re standing at the ready,’’ he said. “If there’s a fire, we’ll take care of it.’’

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