Allen Township Board of Supervisors, at its Aug. 10 meeting, heard a presentation from the fire department with a request for a new vehicle.

Members of the fire department were present, among them Jacob Schock, president, who gave an updated presentation on the company’s capital equipment plan.

The fire company is equipped to deal with smaller house fires, but the addition of warehouses and multistory buildings throughout the township poses new problems. Another issue facing the fire company is an increased amount of calls with fewer volunteers.

These problems can be solved by purchasing a high-reach extendible turret vehicle, as addressed in Schock’s presentation.

An HRET vehicle would allow the fire company to safely and efficiently put out a fire in a larger building. The ladder on the vehicle extends to 65 feet plus the reach of the water stream, meaning firefighters can reach higher up and put out fires from above. Further, this truck can be operated by one person if needed, which would help with the decreased number of volunteers Allen Township is facing.

The fire company hopes to get approval to purchase an HRET vehicle during the fall of this year, so that it would be delivered during the fall of next year. This vehicle would cost around $1 million, according to manufacturers’ estimates.

The company plans to sell its 1999 rescue truck in the meantime, since it has seen a significant decrease in use over the past years. The profit gained from the sale would be put back into the equipment fund. In another couple of years, the fire company would also like to sell its 2002 and 2005 vehicles, with the intent of replacing the two with a singular vehicle.

The board decided to table approval of the purchase until its next meeting to give both the board and fire company time to discuss varying specifications.

Also discussed at the meeting was Phase 2B of the FedEx Ground project on Willowbrook Road. Phase 2B was a part of the developer’s original master plan that was approved back in 2014; however, slight changes have been made to the plan.

The plan calls for the addition of four lots on the property. The first would be a co-mingle lot where both employee vehicles and trucks can park; this makes it easier for truck drivers to transport belongings between their personal vehicles and their trucks. Two lots would be for employee parking; the two lots combined will add almost 650 more parking spaces. The final proposed lot is what is referred to as a relay lot, where truck drivers can drop and store their trailers.

The board approved FedEx’s plans for an additional four parking lots, after recommendation from the planning commission and an approval letter from township Engineer Stan Wojciechowski.

Finally, the board of supervisors gave approval for two zoning ordinance amendments to be reviewed by both Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and Allen Township Planning Commission. The current plan proposes around 700 units, built over a period of time.

The amendments are a compromise between the board of supervisors and the owners of Willow Brook Farms. They serve as a settlement to the curative amendment challenge filed by Willow Brook in 2018, claiming Allen’s zoning amendments and designation for the area are incorrect.

Solicitor Lincoln Treadwell Jr. said, “We have prepared a draft amendment to your zoning ordinance that would allow for the type of use in this zoning district that you see on the plan. So, in essence, it’s kind of reverse engineering.”

The board of supervisors next meet 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the fire company building, 3530 Howertown Road.