Forks Supervisors Try for $250,000 Grant

Forks Township is hoping the state will approve a $250,000 grant to help offset costs for a proposed park.

On Thursday, Supervisors approved submitting an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for $250,000 to help pay for work on the proposed 42-acre park at Newlins and Richmond roads. 

Supervisors had considered applying for $500,000 in funding for the matching grant program. However, that motion failed 3-2 with Supervisors Erik Chuss, David Billings and Robert Egolf casting no votes, saying that figure was too high.

The township has already earmarked $1.2 million for future recreation projects and earlier this year, supervisors created a master park plan committee to review and suggest plans for the 42-acre parcel.  

Some suggestions include a skate park, ice skating rink, tennis courts, gazebo, pond, bike path, walking trail, picnic grove, grass maze, baseball field, boardwalk, community gardens, marketplace, hockey rink and amphitheater. There are also more than 200 parking spaces. One point of contention is the proposed amphitheatre. The township has already planned for an amphitheatre on Sullivan Trail next to the municipal building that is estimated to cost between $279,000 and $378,000.

“The amphitheatre is $350,000,” said Chuss. “It just seems like we’re grabbing numbers out of the air. I don’t know if we’re quite ready yet.”

Plans that have been drafted by Kimmel Bogrette Architectural are conceptual at this phase. The estimated cost of the park once all phases are done is $4.3 million. That figure could change, however, with construction costs often fluctuating.

Some supervisors were also hesitant to allow a grant writer from Kimmel Bogrette draft the application at a cost of $14,500. Instead, supervisors voted unanimously in favor of directing township manager Richard Schnaedter and municipal staff to draft the application in time for the April deadline.