The Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department could get a fourth member if talks between its board and Frazer officials are successful.
Frazer Secretary/Treasurer Lori Ziencik said her community was approached by the Police Commission, which serves the communities of East Deer, Cheswick and Springdale, and asked to consider joining the regional division.
“We met with them last year,” Ziencik said. “They invited us to join after our police chief died. The board has not made a decision yet.”
“That’s something we’ll look at when it’s budget time. It was never ruled out.”
Dan Carroll, mayor of Cheswick and vice chairman of the police commission, said the talks were for “information gathering” purposes and no decision had been made.
“We’re just going to tackle the issue and see what other people think about it,” Carroll said.
The regional commission contacted Frazer to see how its officials felt about regionalization, Carroll said, citing previous cases in which Frazer had attempted to regionalize with other municipalities.
Rick Stoneburner, chairman of the Police Commission, said there have been discussions between Cheswick officials and Frazer about whether Frazer would be interested in joining the regional police force.
“We just wanted to let them know that we are open to discussions about a possible merger,” Stoneburner said.
He is waiting to see if there will be talks with Frazer.
“We’ve always had a good relationship with Frazer and I think they would be a great fit,” he said.
Other board members were either unavailable on Wednesday or did not return calls seeking comment.
Ziencik said her board was “always ready to listen” and “always open to regionalization.”
Previous discussion came to nothing
About 15 years ago, an attempt to merge East Deer and Frazer with Tarentum for police services failed, she said. Frazer then formed its own police force in 2008. From 2005 to 2008, Tarentum officers were in charge of Frazer.
“Mergers are nothing new,” Ziencik said. “In most cases, it makes financial sense. All municipalities have difficulty finding full-time officers. That’s usually the reason.”
Ziencik said Frazer has a lot to consider before rushing into a merger.
The community currently has a stable police force, she said, which includes five full-time officers and one part-time officer in addition to Officer-in-Charge Aaron Scott.
The board also must address finances for a potential merger, staffing and service requests — especially since Frazer has the Pittsburgh Mills shopping center in the community. She estimated Frazer’s call volume would likely be higher than the other three communities.
In addition, unlike Springdale Township, East Deer and Cheswick, which are mostly built up, according to Ziencik, Frazer still has room for potential growth and development.
“These are important decisions,” said Ziencik. “We take our time and think about everything.”
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at [email protected].
