Penn Forest Township supervisors heard at their meeting Monday night about the financial challenges of the volunteer fire service.

During the public comment session, the president of Penn Forest Fire Company No. 1, Tom Lynd, requested a meeting with the supervisors to discuss the ongoing struggles.

Lynd, in his first year as president, has been a volunteer firefighter for 50 years, including five as chief.

“Things are getting difficult both financially and having people,” Lynd said. “We need to keep the fire company going through the year.”

One of the challenges is that to be compliant with the National Fire Protection Association, fire gear needs to be replaced every 10 years, he said.

“The volunteer fire companies have had no choice but to merge or close,” Lynd told the supervisors. “The revenue stream has been an annual fund drive from letters mailed out. Unfortunately, although generous, that is only a 40% return rate.”

The supervisors said they would determine their availability to meet and discuss the issue further.

In other business, correspondence acknowledged and received at the meeting included that a payment for liquid fuels in the amount of $275,482.66 was made to the township by the state.

In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will continue traffic counting on municipally owned roads.

The supervisors also:

• Authorized Nancy Sarcinello, of Sarcinello Planning and GIF Services, to make changes to the subdivision and land development ordinance and zoning ordinances. A hearing date will be set for this matter.

• Approved Greg Loftus and Jay York, code enforcement, to attend the Code Enforcement Academy from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 17.

• Approved the park’s request for up to $1,200 for the Easter egg hunt. The event is to be held at noon on April 13.

• Approved additional line painting at a cost of $1,321.80.

• Approved the hiring of a general laborer at the rate of $21.05 an hour.

• Approved the purchase of a new wheel for the 2024 Ford F-350 truck was approved for $1,000.54.

• Approved the purchase of a new cutting torch at a price of up to $200.

• Approved the purchase of a DeWalt cordless impact gun at a price of up to $550.

• Denied the request for a garbage exemption for a commercial business at 9 Sweet Briar Lane.

• Denied the garbage permit replacement for 54 Bearview Drive.

The zoning department’s decisions are as follows:

• The waiver and plan was approved for the Levan reverse subdivision on Broad Mountain View Drive, Deerview.

• The waiver and plan were approved for the Matti lot consolidation.

• The Hill lot consolidation plan on Whitman Lane in Towamensing Trails was approved.

• The Krahn reverse subdivision plan on Spencer Lane in Towamensing Trails was given conditional approval.

• The Getz preliminary/final land development plan for a self-storage project was granted a time extension until April 14.