Charlestown Township Parks & Recreation Board Great Valley Middle School Minutes of Thursday, July 20, 2017

Present

Minutes for Approval

The July minutes were approved with a single correction: “Kona Ice” will be present for Charlestown Day. [edit August 2017: this has changed, water ice will still be available, via a different truck]

Old Business

No Old Business for this month.

New Business

Charlestown Park Report

• Final repairs to pavilion and playground area
  • Mr. Kuhn says that the list of remaining items not completed properly has been compiled and delivered to the Surety. We are providing a opportunity for them to respond.
  • A schedule for the repairs is being worked on, the repairs have not yet begun.
  • Bob Dettore is coordinating with the Township, the Surety, and the companies who could also make the repairs.
  • Mulch will be added to the playground area, prior to Charlestown Day.
• Bids on the South Parking Lot overhaul are moving forward
  • Plan has been approved by Supervisors and Planning Commission.
  • Will look similarly to the new parking lot once completed.
• Park AED
  • Mr. Hubbard would like confirmation from the club directors that coaches and leaders will be trained to properly use the AED
  • Mr. Lawrence will reach out to the clubs to discuss
• Mr. Lawrence reports that Pavilion reservations have been busy, including multiple weddings
  • Mr. Hubbard inquired about a series of what appear to be glue dots on the concrete of the main pavilion, later identified to be hot glue (rubbing alcohol should remove it)
  • Mr. Kuhn asked if we should have eyelet hooks installed so that people don’t screw/nail/glue things to the pavilions. Favor for the idea was expressed, but no formal consensus was reached.
• Burnout” complaint on Academic Way.
  • Mr. Hubbard mentioned a noise complaint which was received from park neighbors, as well as a rubber patch left on Academic Way. There has not been a repeat of the incident at this time.
• Bathroom Maintenance:
  • Mr. Hubbard expressed that the bathroom maintenance had improved from prior months (toilet paper is now being regularly replaced), but were still not up to standards. Charlestown Landscaping had taken over the cleaning and is interested in continuing, but will need to improve the frequency and thoroughness of the cleaning.
  • Mr. Kuhn asked about Charlestown Landscaping hiring the person who had been handling maintenance until earlier this year (Paul), this seemed possible. Mr. Hubbard to discuss with the company.
  • Mr. Lawrence mentioned public feedback asking for trash bins inside the bathrooms, including diaper receptacles and small bins on the walls inside the stalls in the lady’s room.
• Chain across Avenue E:
  • Mr. Lawrence mentioned that the new post on Academic way near the PMYC clubhouse is an inch further away than the old one, and the chain no longer reaches it.
  • People parking along Avenue E witnessed the prior week.
  • Mr. Hubbard will address this.

PASC

• PASC’s dumpster was filled by other people’s household trash
• Charlestown Day doesn’t need to use the PASC dumpster this year
• Field maintenance and fall recruitment both appear to be going well

PMYC

• Mr. Kuhn addressed feedback from the public regarding the monument space near the clubhouse needing to be cleaned up. Mr. Lawrence will reach out to the club to address the need. (This cleanup was completed two days after the meeting)
• Fall opening is September 17^th.

Mountain Biking

• Multiple positive reports from the public about the club and their trail maintenance efforts.

Healthy Kids Running

• Multiple positive reports from parents in and around the township, including a manager from Kimberton Whole foods. Excellent feedback!

Trails (Sue Staas)

• Charlestown Landscaping has kept up with mowing the Pickering Trails. They will pick up the trail from Aldham Road to the beginning of the Thompson Trail the next time it needs mowing. Thanks to Larry Bull for doing the initial mowing/whacking.
• Two Trail walks are scheduled for late summer/early fall.
  • Butterflies at Brightside Gardens on Saturday, September 9 at 10 AM. Meet at the gardens. This is a great walk for the kids - lots and lots of butterflies! Esther Underhill will lead the walk.
  • Birds along the Horse Shoe Trail on Sunday, September 24. Meet in the Ctown Elementary School parking lot at 8:30AM. This is the first bird walk along this trail. It is also the beginning of Fall migration, so there may be some surprises! Walk will be led by Lisa Tull.

Charlestown Day (Karen Schlichter)

• September 16^th, 10-2!
• Banners and signs are ready, volunteers from the group were identified to set them up.
• Mr. Hubbard asked if closing Academic Way for the event had been confirmed, Mrs. Schlichter thought it would allow for easy access to food trucks, free up more parking, and give a good location for emergency vehicles. Mr. Lawrence agreed.
• Vendors to arrive starting at 8:30, done setup by 9:30.
• Pete Warner’s band has expressed interest in playing again; Mr. Lawrence will work with them on a schedule up until 10AM
• Flag ceremony/Opening at 10AM
• Mr. Kuhn mentioned that his wife may know someone who can give an invocation.
• Blue Plate Specials will play starting at 10:15
• Science Tellers will begin at noon.
• Blue Plate Specials will play again after Sciencetellers, at ≈12:45
• Stage was discussed, but it was decided that the cement area by the bathroom storage doors was sufficient
• Shade tent options for the bands were discussed in case of hot or rainy weather
• Face Painter
• Kat Fittness will provide fun family activities through the day
• Bounce house, bubbles and balloons confirmed
• Mrs. Schlichter and Mr. Lawrence will meet with Phoenixville’s Voxipop for television coverage the week of August 14.
• Two way radios were very helpful last year; will have them again for this year.
• Need to finalize parking volunteers; Scouts?

Other Business

• Sets of the Stones balls for playing on the park’s stones course are now available at the Township office.
• The Opening day for the Stones course hosted a tournament by experienced players, and introduced the game to a number of people.
• The Disc Golf demonstration the same day also saw interest from the public.
• Both groups have offered to be available for Charlestown Day, which will see larger attendance.
• Esther Underhill: The stone wall on the Jenkins property is overgrown and impeding sight lines for cars. Charlestown Landscaping has been mowing that area, Mr. Hubbard will ask them to weed whack the brush back as well.
• Discussion regarding Parking lot options for Jenkins property, minimizing impact while keeping parks cars off of the adjacent road shoulder.
• Brightside farm trail was not mowed last year; Mr. Kuhn mentioned that the paved trail construction should begin in the fall; addressing the grass trails at that point as well would make sense.
  • Brightside Farm manager Alix Coleman expressed concern regarding “undulating” trails via an email after the meeting, worried that farm equipment crossing the paved trail may damage the trail. Since the field at the center of the trail is still intended to be used for hay production, making sure that farmers can get to the area is important.
  • A similar farm park in Darlington PA has moved to mowing their trail area and no longer harvesting hay; possibly for related reasons.
• Mr. Lawrence will coordinate between the University of Valley Forge, the Penn State Extension program, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural society on a tree care training day; date to be determined.
• Next Parks meeting to be held at the pavilions at Charlestown Park

GVNC

• There was an extended discussion surrounding the status and future of the Great Valley Nature Center. With the prior Supervisor’s meeting covering much of the same ground, with the following additions:
  • Former GVNC board members and employees expressed concern over the possibility of not having year-round events (the Supervisors have agreed with this), and with the possibility that educational material was not being preserved.
  • They have offered to lead the Supervisors on a walk of the GVNC to review the daily operations and answer any questions.
  • The Township had discussed purchasing the property, however the cost of rehabilitating the site to modern standards could be expensive (top estimate reached above $750k).
  • The repair estimates vary, depending on if the deed restrictions “meeting place and educational purposes” would allow the occupancy permit to be legally maintained. It appears it can, which provides flexibility.
  • Discussions with the Upper Main Line Y are already underway, but keeping the option to have a non-exclusive agreement so that fall and winter programs can still be available was deemed important.
  • Mr. Lawrence mentioned the prior discussions of future township office locations, and asked if the GVNC would be an option.
    • Mr. Kuhn noted that the offices had once been at the GVNC, but there had been concerns about safety with just one or two people on-site, given the remote location.
  • At this point, waiting to see how the meetings with Upper Main Line Y, and what they might be willing to put forward to defray the costs of building repairs will be needed to determine the next steps.