Mount Wolf Borough |
History 1976-2010 |
In 1983, the Northeastern Regional Police Department (NERPD) was formed by the merger of the East Manchester Township and Mount Wolf Borough Police Departments. The new agency started its tour of duty on January 1, 1983. In July of 1983, Manchester Borough then joined the police department. In the beginning, the department consisted of five officers with an operating budget of just over $140 thousand. It served a combined population of approximately 7,100. As the communities it served grew, so did the police department. Over the past 25 years, the police force has increased to eleven officers with an operating budget of approximately $1.4 million.
In 2003, Mount Wolf Community Church was founded as an out reach of Oak Grove Baptist Church, in Maryland. From 1991 to 2001, the facility was the Mount Wolf Gospel Arts Dinner Theatre where famous Gospel groups performed. From 1947 to 1984 the building was the Mount Wolf movie theater.
Through the 1980’s and 1990’s several renovation projects were completed with Otterbein "United Methodist" Church. Several homes were purchased on South Main Street in 1981 and 2001 for those with low income. In 2005, the church purchased the “Mount Wolf Inn” previously called “Hussie’s Café” and “Numero Uno”. They removed the bar and reopened it as a youth Christian center called “The Gap”. In 2007, the church became the owner of the building in which it originally met – Adam Wolf’s Warehouse. They renamed it “The Carpenter’s Center.” They currently operate the latch key program for elementary children there.
| Early 2005, discussions began about merging Manchester Borough, Mount Wolf Borough, and East Manchester Township. A committee was formed and the Pennsylvania Economy League was contacted to do a study. After about a year, the Manchester Borough Council voted to drop out of the proceedings. The Pennsylvania Economy League published their findings to Mt Wolf Borough Council and to East Manchester Township Supervisors, in January 2008. The study showed that the Borough’s real estate millage rate could be lowered to the current Township level. However, additional taxes to the real estate tax would include a street light tax, a fire hydrant tax and a per capita tax. The average Borough homeowner would see a $40 to $60 yearly savings.
In March 2008, the Mt Wolf Borough Council voted 4 to 3 to stop the merger process. (The Township Supervisors abstained from voting on the merger issue at their meeting.) At the April 2008 Council meeting, both residents and Council members expressed their thoughts on the issue. Most of the Borough residents stated that they did not know about the merger discussions and the League study until they heard about the Council’s decision on the news. A few weeks later, a public meeting (not supported by the Borough or Township) was held, with the Pennsylvania Economy League. Without official local government backing, the merger discussions soon met its “demise”. |
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