Meetings planned to ensure July 1 start of Allegheny Valley Regional Police

Officials from Cheswick and Springdale Township are expected to vote Thursday on the final items needed for the new Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department to begin operating on Monday.

Michael Girardi, vice president of the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Commission overseeing the department, said they will meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday to vote on the final budget and officially hire the officers.

Springdale Township supervisors will meet at 5:30 p.m. and Cheswick council will meet at 7 p.m. to vote on the budget and give final approval to authorize the officers to operate in each municipality, Girardi said.

Girardi said the final budget is expected to be around $455,000, slightly under the original estimates made when the merger plans first began.

Girardi said the officers to be hired already are officers from Cheswick and Springdale Township.

They’ve already received the new police badges and patches and the police cars are being redone with the new name.

The new department will be headquartered in Springdale Township with a substation in Cheswick, Girardi said.

The first shift of the new department is expected to start at 7 a.m. Monday.