Franklin Township hopes to secure funding to renovate a former candle shop it plans to convert to house its police department and administrative office.

On a 2-0 vote, supervisors on Tuesday adopted a resolution requesting a Statewide Local Share Assessment grant in the amount of $1 million from the Commonwealth Financing Authority for renovations to the police and administration building.

Board Chairman Nick Storm said they allowed the township to take what it originally was, the purchase price, and almost double it.

Supervisor Fred Kemmerer Jr. then spoke to the amount that the township is requesting.

“In my eyes, this is holding up our project because our project is looking to get underway and we have the money sitting for it, but I wouldn’t feel good if we didn’t do our due diligence and try to get as much help as we can for the residents,” said Kemmerer, who added the township did get word Tuesday that the federal grant the township requested was denied. “We’ll see if this comes through for us for any amount.”

Storm said, “We’re not allowed to do anything structurally in the building until the grant comes out, until they award it.”

“If we get $200,000, that’s $200,000 we don’t have to take out of our building fund. So when we knew we weren’t getting the initial $550,000, we weren’t getting it, so when they said ‘hey, we’ll double it but you have to wait nine months’; if we get some of it, it’s better than having to foot the entire bill, and we have to wait a little bit.

“We are allowed to do emergency repairs. We have started to empty it out.”

Resident Jill Renfrew noted they don’t have a plan yet, and asked if the township is working on one.

Storm said that in order to apply for it, Keystone did a rough build out (cost estimate), adding that to apply for the $1 million, the township had to show what it may potentially cost.

Kemmerer said it’s the township’s building, and so it is going to move forward with different options.

Renfrew asked if the building committee will be at work doing things even before September.

Kemmerer cited instances where the building committee has been extremely helpful.

“Those are the things that people don’t see with the building committee and how much they’ve done,” he said. “And they should be commended for the work that they’ve put in for free.”

Storm agreed the building committee has been a big help.

Supervisor Leroy Kemmerer Jr. was absent.

In January, it was announced that the township had finalized the transaction of the former candle shop and that the Franklin Township Police Department had applied for an LSA grant for the outfitting of the building.

In December, supervisors agreed to look into the sale of identified unused items, equipment and land parcels to create a list of potential sale items that includes things from the former candle shop.

The township previously applied for an LSA grant in the amount of $550,000 for the purchase of the former Blue Mountain Candle Co. Inc., 570 Interchange Road. The sale price is $550,000 for the roughly 9,000-square-foot property and building.

The township has $1.5 million in its building fund budget to be used for the purchase and renovation.

The township wants to have enough room to accommodate eight police officers, administration, zoning hearing board and supervisors.

Kemmerer said the current township building on Fairyland Road will potentially be sold in the future.

The township was originally planning to build a 7,500-square-foot building in between the former Hobby Shop and current administration office.