Robinson Township contracts with Mt. Pleasant for police coverage

Oct 20, 2024 By Jon Andreassi 3 min read

Robinson Township will receive police coverage from the department in the neighboring Mt. Pleasant Township.

The township board of supervisors voted 2-1 to approve the three-year, $255,500 contract at its meeting Monday evening. According to Chairwoman Mary Donaldson, who opposed the contract, the price will increase by 5% after the three years.

The move comes after Robinson supervisors ended a more than two-decade relationship with McDonald police earlier this month due to rising costs.

“We, the three supervisors, met with Smith Township, Mt. Pleasant and North Fayette. We kind of sat down and did a half-hour interview with each of them,” Donaldson said.

Donaldson said she preferred the North Fayette contract, but suggested tabling the decision at the meeting. North Fayette is located in Allegheny County.

“Each department had something great to offer,” Donaldson said.

She added that she lives on the northern end of Robinson, and that it is about a 40-minute drive to the Mt. Pleasant police station.

While also a three-year contract, the North Fayette option was pricier at $275,000 with a 3.5% increase after year two and a 3% increase after the third year.

Donaldson said North Fayette offered additional services such as a K9 unit and a drone. Mt. Pleasant currently has eight full-time police officers.

“They are in Allegheny County, so there would be some things that have to be done for them to receive calls … But it was all doable,” Donaldson said. “I don’t have anything against Mt. Pleasant. (Police Chief Matthew Tharp) brings a lot to the table.”

McDonald police will continue providing coverage to Robinson until the end of the year. Mt. Pleasant will assume the job at midnight Jan. 1.

When reached for comment, Tharp provided a statement saying if the contract is finalized, the department is “excited at the opportunity to work with their community, visitors and businesses to provide professional police services as we do our community now.

“We are fortunate to have five employees who currently or previously worked for the municipality that previously covered them, which will greatly aid in knowing many of their residents, streets and best routes to respond for emergencies in their community. We will provide a more thorough statement when our services officially begin in their community,” Tharp wrote.

John Zilich voted in favor of the Mt. Pleasant contract along with Christopher Amodeo. Zilich said the cost and being located in the same county were the main reasons he voted yes. He also said the neighboring municipality has a police department that is “on the rise.”

“They are moving forward in a direction that I like,” Zilich said.

He noted that he has been a firefighter for 20 years, and had concerns about intercounty communications if they went with North Fayette. Zilich pointed to the Sept. 30 shooting in the 1000 block of Spring Street that killed 50-year-old Eric Cefalo. No one has been charged in the shooting.

Zilich said that communication issues between agencies in Washington and Allegheny counties during that incident were a motivating factor in sticking with a Washington County police department.

He was not as concerned with response times, and said officers are typically on patrol and not waiting for calls at the station.

“Police are out and about,” Zilich said.

Zilich said a steering committee is discussing a possible regional police department covering Robinson, McDonald, Midway and Mt. Pleasant, and wanted to clarify to residents the contract for police coverage was an independent issue.

“This decision had absolutely nothing to do with police regionalization. They are two separate topics,” Zilich said.