Springettsbury Township Park and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes

Rec Board: Sherry Nichols, Andy Mears, Sean Georgi

Director: Colin Lacey

Colin began the meeting by welcoming all attending community members and board members, preceding with the Pledge of Allegiance.

The first order of business was communication from community, as Ken Swalgin of the White Rose Pickleball Association was prepared to make a presentation to the board regarding the conversion of township tennis courts into pickleball courts. Also, in attendance were Ken’s supporters, who are members of the White Rose Pickleball Association, some township residents and some non-residents. Ken began his presentation by providing background information on the sport of pickleball and the national presence the sport has amongst all age groups. He then proceeded to illustrate his proposal to the board, conveying that his organization’s goal is to convert 3 of the designated tennis courts into 6 standalone pickleball courts at Springettsbury Township Park. Currently, Springettsbury Township Park has 6 tennis courts, 3 of which serve a dual purpose, as these 3 tennis courts are also lined with Pickleball boundaries for play. The Rec Board provided feedback to Ken and his organization with Sherry Nichols stating the importance of having a Pickleball presence in the township and how the sport attracts a wide variety of ages and abilities. Conversation further continued when a discussion of overall costs for the conversion developed. Ken stated that his organization would handle overhead costs for this conversion and that the Township would help in the costs of resurfacing the courts. The Board did recognize the positives in the cost effectiveness of this method for conversion, but a consensus amongst the board was that the Township should not decrease in one area to increase in another. To take away from the tennis community to provide for the pickleball community would compromise relationships.

The Rec Board seeks to increase in relationships and amenities that compliment as many individuals as

possible. Colin also made a statement pertaining to the tennis courts, in order to qualify as a competitive tennis playing site within the PIAA Rules, a site must have 5 tennis courts to conduct competitive play. With York Catholic Boys & Girls JV/Varsity Tennis Teams conducting play at Springettsbury Township Park, eliminating 3 of the 6 courts would disqualify our site for their play. The tennis courts are also used for the “Tennis for Kids Program, Township Programing and Community Play.” The Rec Board would rather pursue the development of 6 standalone Pickleball Courts at a separate location in Springettsbury Township Park and not interfere with the established tennis courts and given the available budget and priorities of the department, the development of these separate Pickleball Courts are not within the planned budget for 2018. With this understanding Ken appreciated the time and conversation from the Board and accepted its direction.

The next communication from community came from Charles Wurster. He explained to the Rec Board, as he was campaigning for the Board of Supervisors position that he spent time going door to door in many parts of the Township seeking the opinion and insight of its residents, but one area in particular was Augustus Schaefer neighborhood. He informed the Rec Board of the resident’s expectations of the neighborhood park and the questioning of it status. Many of the Augustus Schaefer park neighborhood

residents participated in a Master Plan Committee for this park in 2009 and have yet to see a lead on

their efforts. Charles’s goal was to bring forth this information to the Rec Board to aide in the direction of the department. Colin followed up Charles’s input with the idea of using potential recreation fees towards Augustus Schaefer Park. With the Triplet Springs Development and the Pleasant Valley Tract Development, the department will have additional funds to spend on the Township’s Parks with Board approval, these rec fee must be spent within 3 years from time of receiving. Colin detailed the Board on the Township’s Recreation Planning District Map as a reference tool to how the recreation fees must be spent. Colin further detailed some potential concepts on how to delegate the fees with Board approval. One of the potential concepts involved Augustus Schaefer Park, and using the recreation fees to develop this park to please the neighborhood residents. Colin informed the board that he will develop a scope of work with YSM to make Augustus Schaefer Park ADA Complaint and to have some style of attraction implemented and will report back to Rec Board with this info. Colin also referenced to the board projects and ideas towards Springettsbury Township Park, such as the development of a pickleball/Bocce Ball area, or more active recreation equipment such as an American Ninja Warrior Course. The Board shared their ideas about each concept and would like to see more concrete development in these ideas before proceeding, such as price point, scope of work and target audience. Colin plans on providing more detail at the next meeting.

The next agenda item addressed was the Saturday in the Park Event and the progress made for the direction of the day. The Board expressed the need for a main attraction for this day, such an electric run for teens that would involve music and night time activities. Andy Mears passed along a connection to Ballyhoo Sports, Dave Marsh who would be potentially interested in leading the sports activities for this day. Colin informed the Board that he will be meeting with Dave from Ballyhoo Sports on Friday, March 23^rd. Also, the deposit for the Carnival Attractions and games has been made. The total cost of the attractions is $9,000.00. Research for new attractions will continue and updates will be provided.