Pocopson Township
Chester County, Pennsylvania
 

Pocopson Township
Parks, Recreation & Trails Committee

Minutes from Meeting of November 13, 2007

Attendees:
Tom Bierl                     Zeke Hubbard
Sandy Retzlaff              Ricki Stumpo

1. Open Meeting: Zeke Hubbard opened the meeting at 7:40 PM.

2. New Business:

a) The Mastons, potential buyers of a property on Corinne Road (three lots owned by Berlin), attended the meeting to ask about the Township’s future plans for the open space in that vicinity. It was explained that the approx. 80 acres are currently owned by Chester County and will be transferred to the Township, likely by the end of 2007. Township ownership means that the County can’t expand the prison.

Will be deed-restricted as dedicated open space, with a trail easement.  Baseball and soccer fields – which close at dusk -- could be located in the upper flat area near the woods. The buyers asked about alternate locations for the fields; but the area closer to Wawaset is a floodplain and is also reserved for spray field expansion by prison. Pocopson Park has fields off Locust Grove Road; the initial expectation that those fields would be underutilized turned out to be untrue. Additional building in the area, e.g., Toll Brothers, will increase demand for fields and other recreation.

There was brief discussion of the open space development rights on the Cousins property being purchased by the Township and County; this is not the same property being discussed above.

Goal is to keep open space and provide for recreational needs of community. Only a trail is  planned at this point, but since it is parkland, other recreation can and likely will occur. Buffer zones for neighbors, parking, etc., are always a consideration and those within 1000 ft are notified when planning begins. The Parks, Recreation & Trails Committee makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors (BOS), which makes the final decisions.

b) Jack Robinson of Wawaset Road attended to ask about the proposed bicycle trail that would pass in front of his house. The trail would be located within the right of way of the road and will be constructed with $144,000 in grant money that the Township has to match. Mr. Robinson suggested that those funds be used to pave trails that we already have, rather than create this new trail. Zeke suggested that Mr. Robinson write a letter to the BOS stating his concerns about the trail going across the front of his property.

c) Lawrie Bolger has agreed to join the Parks, Recreation & Trails Committee. She reviewed some of her efforts regarding litter control in the Township:
·        sample letter to businesses asking them to support litter control initiative
·        list and thank “Green Heroes” in newsletter
·        put up signs honoring those who regularly clean up the roads (Lawrie to contact Bill Harwood for names of sign companies to ask for quotes)
·        Goal for 2008: have sponsors for 20 road segments. Some might clean up the road(s) themselves; another option is to sponsor a highway and pay someone else to clean it up
·        Seeking leaders for community clean up; Lawrie will chair but would like representatives from throughout Township
·        Will ask Brandywine Hardware to provide a recycling bin for the Post Office

PennDot will pick up trash on Adopt A Highway segments  and from community clean ups on State roads only; otherwise, the Township is responsible for picking up bags after cleanup. Could also inquire if the local waste disposal companies would pick up trash on Township roads after a cleanup as a community service.

Funding for Litter Control to be discussed later in meeting, under Budget.

2. Review of Minutes from Meeting of October 9, 2007

Motion to accept minutes of October 9, 2007 with amendment that pavilion floor will be installed “at a later date”, rather than “later in 2007”; seconded; approved by all in attendance.

3. Announcements:

a) Karen Eckard has resigned from the Township effective November 12, 2007. A new employee has been hired on a temporary basis. Zeke Hubbard will be appointed Acting Treasurer and assume the Treasurer’s bond.

b) Steve Conary was elected to a 6-year term as Supervisor, beginning in January, 2008.

c) Steve will not continue on the Open Space Advisory (OSA) Committee, which he has chaired. Sandy Retzlaff is interested and will send a letter to the BOS stating interest. Bill Sellers also knows of a resident who might be interested in being appointed to the OSA Committee.

4. New Business:

a)  Playground
·        Sandy noted that the playground equipment should have stickers affixed to identify appropriate age groups. She has ordered new ones, which Zeke will have the Public Works crew install.
·        Sandy recommended that a large sign be installed on the playground that says something like: “Welcome to Pocopson Park. This is a play lot. Please supervise your children.”
·        Stickers on steps are starting to peel off, which could make them slippery. Public Works crew will consider adding sand to paint and painting the steps, or trying a different type of stickers. Township can modify the equipment so long as we don’t affect its structural integrity.
 ·        Final inspection of the tot lot has not been completed. Will need to order independent audit through a certifier, which can be done after the signage described above is installed.
·        Concern that the bar at the top of the steps on the horse climber is too low for kids to pass under without bumping their heads. Sandy has asked Gary Helmuth of General Recreation to come out and see if there is room to move the bar higher. The horse was a custom structure based on another form, so there may be a design issue to solve. 
 

b) Revisit how the trail process works – perhaps at a Work Session after the January meeting? A meeting with BOS and all Committees was to be held in September, 2007; could this be on the agenda when a new meeting is scheduled? Cooperative focus: How can the PRT Committee better serve the Township and the BOS? Zeke suggested reviewing the minutes from about eight years ago for procedures about subdivision plans coming to the PRT before going to the Planning Commission (PC) or BOS.

c) Bill Haaf issue on solar installation: action tabled until December meeting, with handout distributed for review before that meeting.               

5. 2008 Budget Request

Discussed and prioritized requests for 2008 Budget, which is currently under development:
1) Pavilion floor: $6,000 for textured finish concrete floor
2) Stream Team: $1,000 for equipment and reagents
3) Trail Installation: $10,000
·        blaze trails with paint so people can see locations before installation
·        need GPS (via Brandywine Conservancy) to specifically locate trails
·        $5,000 for trail identification; $5,000 for materials / installation
4) Pavilion: $4,000 for tables
5) Litter control: $300
6) Additional playground equipment (swing set) for 4-7 year olds: estimated cost is $3,200 for one that coordinates with existing tot lot structures

6. Township Meetings Review:  
Board of Supervisors: Covered above under Announcements.

7. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 PM.

 __________________________________________                       

Ezekiel C. Hubbard, Chair, Parks, Recreation & Trails Committee

______________________________

Peggy Lennon, Recording Secretary