TROUT RUN, PA – Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) recently joined Lewis Township Supervisors Don Coleman and Steve Sechrist, as well as Emergency Management Coordinator Charles O’Brien, to celebrate $250,000 in state funding awarded through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Keystone Communities Program. The funding will support critical flood recovery efforts, as well as sitework for the construction of a new municipal office building.
“By supporting the construction of a new municipal building outside the floodplain, we are helping to ensure local officials and emergency personnel have a safe, reliable facility to continue serving residents when they need it most,” said Yaw. “I was pleased to secure this important investment for the community.”
The funding comes in response to the severe damage caused in the township and the Village of Trout Run by Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024. The storm highlighted the vulnerability of existing municipal infrastructure throughout the region and reinforced the need for a safer, more resilient facility outside the floodplain.
Flooding from the storm severely damaged the Trout Run Volunteer Fire Company building, which housed not only the fire company, but also the township’s emergency shelter, warming center and Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The new funding will allow Lewis Township to prepare a site for a new municipal office building that will house township offices, municipal services and the EOC. The facility will also include a meeting room that can serve as an emergency shelter, voting center and blood drive location.
“Lewis Township is pleased to be receiving the $250,000 DCED grant funding from Sen. Yaw to prepare the site for the Lewis Township Building,” said O’Brien. “Tropical Storm Debby trapped two township employees inside the Municipal Services Building for five hours without any means of communication with the devastated area around them. Nearly all the Lewis Township historical records were destroyed as flood water rose inside the building. We look forward to steering clear of harm’s way in the future as well as having a safe location to rally when our residents could be experiencing their worst day.”
For more state-related news and information, constituents can visit Senator Yaw’s website at www.SenatorGeneYaw.com or follow him on Facebook and X @SenatorGeneYaw.
Contact: Elizabeth Weitzel
717-787-3280