HAWLEY, PA — The addition of a $250,000 fire tower would give Sunrise Park goers a new and higher vantage of the Lackawaxen landscape — if the town gets the grants it needs to purchase it. 

What’s the draw? 

"It can be the centerpiece of [the] Lackawaxen's township park up here, Sunrise Park," said Supervisor Michael Mancino, explaining the project at a Monday, September 16 meeting of the Board of Supervisors. 

Sunrise Park offers residents and visitors green space and a pavilion with walking trails behind the township building at 169 Urban Road, Hawley. 

While historically fire towers have been used to watch for forest fires, the fire tower under discussion for Lackawaxen would be used for recreation, not for safety.

Marcino says the addition would be a “draw.” The township is developing the trails and has a “responsibility” to increase park usership, he said.

The idea of putting a fire tower in the park came from the township's building officer, Rich Tussel, said Mancino. 

Tussel is an "avid hiker," said Mancino, and he often hikes in state parks with fire towers along their trails. "The draw is, you hike three or four miles into the woods, you're headed towards a[n] asset where you climb up and the views are spectacular. And then he comes down and he hikes back out."

Who will pay?

The township is looking to get a 100 foot tower, at an overall cost of roughly $250,000. 

The township is applying for several grants to cover the cost of the fire tower, with the Board of Supervisors authorizing the applications for an amount not to exceed $300,000. If the applications are successful, the town would only have to contribute a 15% local share, which would amount to roughly $40,000 in cash and in-kind submissions. 

The purchase would get the township an existing, antique fire tower – "We're trying to secure a tower, because they're rare," said Mancino. 

Once purchased, the tower would be disassembled from where it stands, and the individual parts would be brought to a plant to be re-galvanized, a process that gives them a protective zinc coating. Then, the pieces would be brought to Lackawaxen for reassembly. 

Alan Engvaldsen, Chairman of the Lackawaxen Township Planning Board, questioned the practical impacts of the tower, such as the maintenance costs, the liability insurance and its benefits to the town. 

"We're not making anything out of this," Alan Engvaldsen, Chairman of the Lackawaxen Township Planning Board said. "All we're doing is drawing people to the park. There's no monetary benefit."

The township's current building insurance policy will cover the tower at no additional cost, according to Mancino. Regarding its other benefits to the town, Solicitor Tom Farley said there could be some indirect monetary benefits. "People stay over or they [attend] restaurants and promote the area — if they're here, they're going to buy things," he said.