VERNON TOWNSHIP — The Roche Park playground may have a major renovation in its future to the tune of approximately $500,000, most it compensated with grant funds.
At Thursday’s meeting of the township supervisors, Township Manager Robert Horvat talked over the challenge, which would use Community Advancement Block Grant (CDBG) money and a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Organic Means (DCNR). Horvat stated he had spoken with a playground tools company to get some preliminary costs for the renovation.
“It is looking in the community of a 50 %-million-dollar task,” Horvat reported, “but $100,000 would be lined by CDBG, the DCNR grant we are asking for is a 50 p.c match, so township funding would be in the neighborhood of $150,000.”
Horvat claimed he desired to deliver up the expenses to the supervisors to get their feelings on the issue prior to he moved further forward with organizing.
“I never want to go by means of and format a playground for a 50 percent-million bucks and you fellas convey to me ‘Just devote the $100,000 of the CDBG revenue,'” he claimed.
Supervisor Greg Smith expressed some incredulity at the rate point, declaring he couldn’t “believe that it charges this considerably.”
Horvat explained that a significant part of the expenditure arrived from a proposal to use poured-in-spot rubber as the surfacing for the playground ground. The charge of employing that product is close to $180,000, he reported if the township did not acquire the DCNR grant, he would propose applying wooden mulch as an alternative.
Smith asked about the probability of utilizing rubber mulch. Having said that, Horvat said if that option were taken, he would also want some improved drainage place in, as there have been times in which rainwater has scattered mulch on the nearby roadway, and he wouldn’t want that to happen with rubber mulch.
Supervisor Vice Chairman Fritz Snyder advised forming a committee for the park in purchase to oversee its advancement relocating forward and help continue to keep up routine maintenance of it. He reported he was in favor of expending money on the park.
“We cannot go anyplace but up there, and I am all for expending dollars on this playground,” Snyder reported.
He has seen the park often becoming rented out or observed it talked about on social media.
Further more, he stated the township has traditionally despatched revenue to the Meadville Area Recreation Intricate (MARC), and expressed a preference for investing far more within the township alone for recreational reasons.
“I know much too the MARC’s heading to continuously be knocking on our doorway, asking for a lot more dollars, and we really should be paying out it in our personal yard,” he reported.
No formal vote was taken pertaining to the renovations at the assembly. Horvat reported he would transfer forward with the $500,000 price tag in thoughts for now.
“We are going to get started big, whittle it down if we have to,” he instructed the Tribune.
For the duration of the assembly, Horvat mentioned the township would be in a position to use cash received from the COVID-19 stimulus offers to pay for the challenge. To do so, the township would use the lost profits strategy, which employs stimulus income to substitute profits the township did not obtain due to the pandemic.
Nonetheless, the genuine function on the playground will most likely not take spot for numerous many years. Horvat said he expects the DCNR grant, if the township receives it, to not arrive in until finally about 2023.
Vernon Township supervisors will up coming fulfill on Sept. 2.
Sean P. Ray can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by electronic mail at [email protected].