Charlestown Township Parks & Recreation Board Via Webex Thursday, October 15, 2020

Present

Announcements

The next Trail Workday is October 24^th at 9 a.m., followed by November 14^th at 9 a.m.

Minutes for Approval

The September minutes were approved.

Business

Youth Sports

Mr. Lawrence updated the Board on COVID data. One visiting team last month was not following guidelines but it was quickly dealt with and there have been no problems since. Local schools are opening in hybrid style so it should be interesting to see any change to the currently non-increasing positive testing percentages. There are 1-day long spikes here and there ((72 cases on 10/8) but generally the County sees 45 new cases a day. Charlestown Township (population of ≈5000) has had no deaths and is at .89% positive cases (of township population). Schuylkill is at 1.07%, Phoenixville at 1.46%, East Vincent is higher at 2.23% but has a veteran’s home within its borders raising the figure, and the surrounding area of West Chester-West Goshen-Avondale is at ≈4%. Mr. Lawrence is closely watching County data regarding COVID.

Clubs are asking their visitors to use clubhouse restrooms and not the main Park restroom. Therefore, the PASC has rented some additional portable restrooms to help. However, they needed to padlock them since it became apparent that they were getting much more traffic than from just the PASC soccer club.

Part of the reason may be since the Park restroom ran out of supplies and had to be closed. The custodian will be stocking more supplies. However, the PASC was away at a tournament so the usage was not due to the teams.

Mr. Lawrence reminded Mr. Maurer about the Google Calendar for posting game times. Mr. Maurer mentioned that the Board of Supervisors had mentioned the possibility of taking a break when Phoenixville starts back to school but Mr. Hubbard said due to the hybrid style of classes, he didn’t think that was an issue. Mr. Lawrence said to continue keeping good records and using the health form, since this seems to be a good system.

Mr. Lawrence will contact Healthy Kids Running and the PMYC for an update.

Charlestown Park

Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Hubbard discussed obtaining a cost estimate from the Park caretaker to repair the two concrete sided benches.

Mr. Hubbard will obtain information about a virtual 5k from VirtualRunningClub.com. The next steps will be to schedule and advertise the run at the next Drive-In Movie on October 24^th.

Open Space Inspections

Mr. Theurkauf found three issues at the Park that needed timely attention, 2 benches with rotted footers and a missing board, and the sandbox area was overgrown. Mr. Beyer suggested going over the inspection report with Mr. Lawrence and deciding what will be the responsibility of contractors such as Davey Tree or Charlestown Landscaping vs. volunteers.

Trails

• Pickering Dam Trail– benefited greatly from the workday, a lot of debris was removed. Davey Tree has 3 large downed trees to remove.
• Pickering Dam Trail– the roadside parking area was repaired with the assistance of the Roadmaster. He also repaired the footbridge area.
• Pickering Dam Trail– Mrs. Csete will put an article in the Newsletter but there will be an email blast for the workday (since it will be before the Newsletter).
• Pickering Dam Trail– Mr. Beyer and Mr. Quay will re-blaze it.
• The Thompson Trail was visited by the Roadmaster and many trees are down.
• The Horseshoe Trail– the Roadmaster will work with Davey Tree to remove some Tree of Heaven along this trail. It is causing an increase in Spotted Lanternfly sightings. The HOA of Spring Oak has offered to contribute to the cost of this and will be contacted.
• The Brightside Trail is in good shape.
• The McDevitt Trail– Mr. Buck and Mr. Beyer will discuss clearing the fallen trees. Mr. Mount has not visited it lately.
• The Rails-to-Trails Project– The DVRPC has grant funding available for trail construction. Mr. Lawrence sent them Mr. Beyer’s email address and phone number and a rep from TMAC may be contacting both gentlemen. The discussion would be regarding the Devault Rails-To-Trails Project and also about connecting area trails. The William Penn Foundation will be involved and Mr. Lawrence asks anyone on this Board to join in the conversation to push this project forward.

Drive-In Movie Night

Mr. Lawrence said Ms. Fox was handling most of the planning and costs were down from the last Movie Night. Sponsors are still needed! At 1:00 p.m. Coco will play, then at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone will play. Screen-shots of sponsors plus pictures of carvings, art, and costumes will play in between movies. The Mobile Mess Hall will provide food, with a special pick-up table to provide social distancing.

Ms. Fox has offered to help with Charlestown Day and other events. Since there is an open/possible seat on the Board, she has offered to donate her time and serve as the events coordinator.

Theurkauf Design and Planning has offered to cover the cost of movie licensing. Any profit made will go to the Park & Rec Committee for other programs. A flexible donation of $250 will pay for an entire screen for each sponsor, $100 will be for half a screen, and a suggested donation of $5 per car will be set. However, no car will be turned away since there is room for 50 cars.

He invited volunteers for the movies.

Brightside Farm Park

Mr. Buck said that the gardeners are cleaning up now. They have seen an increase in Spotted Lanternflies. Mr. Lawrence suggested he speak with Mr. Goodman from the EAC and Alix.

Adjournment was at ≈8:30 p.m.