Parks & Rec Minutes
June 5, 2023 @ 7pm
Tonight’s meeting will be a hybrid meeting – both via Zoom and in person at the Township building.
Call to Order
Board Members Present: Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Liz Malone, and Jane Kennedy
Staff Members Present: Abbey Swan
Professionals Present: NA
Public: Paul Mullin, Tom Parr, Chris Parr
The Parks and Recreation June 5, 2023 agenda was posted on the Township website and at the township building on June 2, 2023. Agendas were made available to the public at the meeting.
The 2023 Parks and Recreation meeting schedule was published in the Daily Local News on December 27, 2022.

​Public Comment - NA
Minutes approved – May 1, 2023
Old business
          Summer Series Recap: Hook – Our new projector system worked great. Set up and tear down went really well. We set the screen up next to pavilion 1 and the popcorn machine in pavilion 2 with solar pathway lighting in between. String lights and the spot light illuminated the popcorn station well. Set up was good. Isabel/United Sports donated loads of fun pirate toys which were a huge hit with the kids. Turnout was decent.

          Jimmy Jorge Concert – Turnout was low, despite the usual level of advertising. There were a number of competing events that night, including Coatesville Prom and First Friday. It was also very hot. We had the drip tent set up and it was a hit. We need extra corn starch for future bubble tables. We also need a new bubble bucket, the old one was leaking. The band was great! We may want to consider a different Friday for next year’s events if Coatesville plans to continue their first Friday series. We also maybe started a little early.

Summer Series Update - Puss in Boots – July 7

National Night Out August 1 (Parks and Rec Role) – Everyone is planning on coming. Abbey will let the group know what is needed for set up. Parks and Rec will have a table near the pollinator garden with coloring pages and Helen will check out pollinator kits from the library so we can do some citizen science observations. Abbey will make sure the rain garden sign is up before then.

Town Tours and Village Walks – July 20th 5-7pm – Tom Parr spoke briefly about the plans that have been developed for the event. They’re still working out details. Volunteers will be needed at refreshment tables and parking.

Community Day Table – September 9 – We’ll talk more about this at our August meeting.

Dog Park Knotweed Removal – Abbey plans to go this week to cut it down. Helen and Anne plan to join her on Wednesday at 10AM.

Clean Up Crew – July 15th will be our first Clean Up Crew event. Everyone will meet at North Caln Road. Chris Parr offered to be point person for this event since Isabel may still not be fully mobile at that point.

New Business
          Initial Budget Discussion - our budget recommendations need to be to the board in September/October. Abbey showed our worksheet from last year with what we recommended for events and for each park. The board will review the budget and come to the next meeting with ideas to discuss. Abbey proposed creating a new parks, environmental resources, and open space plan – the board was generally favorable. Abbey will pursue getting some proposals.
          Community Day Art Show – Liz asked the group for input for an art show theme. They decided on a general theme of Caln Township Outdoors. Abbey and Liz will meet up later this week to iron out the details.
          Dog Park Pavers – Anne did some research about potentially selling pavers for the dog park as a fundraiser. After discussion of the options, Anne offered to create an online survey to gauge interest and we’ll discuss it further. She’ll also survey the public about sectioning off an area for smaller dogs.
Adjournment

Respectfully submitted,
Abbey Swan
Parks and Recreation Recording Secretary 

Parks & Rec Minutes
May 1, 2023 @ 7pm
 
Tonight’s meeting will be a hybrid meeting – both via Zoom and in person at the Township building.
Call to Order
Board Members Present: Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Isabel Clark, Liz Malone, and Jane Kennedy
Staff Members Present: Abbey Swan
Professionals Present: NA
Public: Andrea Disario, Tom Parr
The Parks and Recreation May 1, 2023 agenda was posted on the Township website and at the township building on April 28, 2023. Agendas were made available to the public at the meeting.
The 2023 Parks and Recreation meeting schedule was published in the Daily Local News on December 27, 2022.
Public Comment - none
Minutes approved – April 3, 2023
Old business
Egg Hunt Recap – Much better organized than last year. Isabel did a great job as a fill-in for the bunny. We really appreciated the extra help with egg stuffing. The PA system and extra help made for a much better event. We ended up with about 2300 eggs, we could use more eggs in the older kids groups.
Buffer maintenance recap – we got a lot of work done, especially considering the number of volunteers. All of the trees were tended to in both Lloyd and Municipal Park. The survival rate was quite good, especially in Lloyd Park. We’d like to do maintenance at least once per year in early spring.
Summer Series Update
Hook – May 5 – The movie is scheduled to start at 8:00. The group plans to arrive at 7:00 for set up. We’ll plug the popcorn in in pavilion 2 with extra lighting and the screen etc. plugged in to pavilion 1. Abbey will pick up some pathway lighting to help guide the way. Isabel has some pirate items that she’d like to donate. Helen made cute eye patches as well.
Jimmy Jorge and the Latin Express – June 2 – the concert will go from 6-8:30 pm with a 30 minute break between sets. Abbey plans to get some more lawn games for that night and some basketballs. Big checkers would be fun if we can find one. We’ll do the bubble table as well and sidewalk chalk. We also can put out the tiki torches if we want. The group plans to arrive around 5. Abbey can get some water to hand out.
Food trucks – Philly Hots, East Coast Mini Donuts
Puss in Boots – July 7 -8:30 PM
National Night Out (Parks and Rec Role) August 1 – the Police will have a tent for vendors and sponsors. There shouldn’t be a ton of set up involved, but they would like us to attend to volunteer if possible. Liz plans to make up some Caln-themed coloring pages that we could distribute.
New Business
Clean Up Crew discussion – The Parrs would like to create a littler clean up station in the park with buckets that people can use to clean up if they’d like to. July, September (do a sign up at Community Day), and November can be the dates for this year and March, May, etc. going forward. Caln Clean Up Crew. We’ll ID specific places and the whole group will do one spot each month. We’ll start at 9am on the 15th on North Caln road. Abbey will get the litter clean up signs from PennDOT if we can. We’ll suggest people bring their own supplies, but we’ll bring all of our leftover stuff in case anyone needs them. Public works will pick up the bags. Abbey will send out all three dates and a sign up genius so we have contact info if we need to cancel.
Invasive removal – Abbey discovered some Japanese knotweed in the dog park which needs to be addressed. PennState extension recommends cutting it in June and then herbicide application in August or September. Maybe next year clean up day can be an invasive removal day.
Community Day table – the group would like to have a similar table again this year. They can talk about the pollinator and rain garden projects. We’ll skip the seed balls for this year. Maybe pollinator coloring pages.
Tom Parr came to invite the Parks and Rec Board to help out with the Town Tour and Village walk on July 20th.
Adjournment
 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Abbey Swan
Parks and Recreation Recording Secretary
 

Parks & Rec Minutes
April 3, 2023 @ 7pm
 
Tonight’s meeting will be a hybrid meeting – both via Zoom and in person at the Township building.
Call to Order
Board Members Present: Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Isabel Clark, Jane Kennedy
Staff Members Present: Abbey Swan
Professionals Present: NA
Special Guests: Tom Parr, Chris Parr, Gary Duzan, and Mark Evans.
The Parks and Recreation April 3, 2023 agenda was posted on the Township website and at the township building on March 31, 2023. Agendas were made available to the public at the meeting.
The 2023 Parks and Recreation meeting schedule was published in the Daily Local News on December 27, 2022.
Public Comment - none
Minutes approved – March 6, 2023
Old business
Clean Up Weekend Recap – The group agreed that doing the whole weekend was a great idea. We picked up 225 bags of trash, 13 tires, and had 92 total volunteers (130 signed up, but the weather caused some cancellations). A number of people picked up supplies ahead of time and did their own mini clean ups. A good turnout considering the rainy weather on Saturday. Next year, try to get a sponsor to cover the cost of tire recycling. The area behind Lomax is especially in need of further cleaning. Deploying from the meet up spots was much more organized than our usual approach of meeting at the Township Building.
Chris Parr brought up the idea of establishing a more frequent (monthly) clean up group. The board would like to pursue this and plans to discuss at our next meeting. Maybe once every 2 or 3 months to start with. Abbey suggested purchasing the litter crew ahead signs if we’re going to move forward.
Book Box – Dawkins Park – Public works installed a PULL Station in Dawkins Park. It’s located across the street from 22 Johnson Ave. Dawn Coughlan and her DAR group have already filled it and plan to keep it maintained. Carpentry discussion led to a need to enlist Tom to help build some birdhouses for the meadow park!
Summer Series – movie/band choices: The group decided on Hook for May, Puss in Boots for July, National Night Out (Chico’s Vibe, fireworks etc.) for August. Abbey is still finalizing a band for June 2nd.
Egg Hunt – On April 8. To help with organization, we’ll have the sound system set up this year. We’ll have a table with Jelly Beans, photos with the bunny, coloring sheets, and gold eggs with prize slips. We’ve got 2200 pieces of candy. The Little League knows not to have a conflicting event. The board will arrive at 11, the event starts at 1. We’ll have some extra helpers too.
New Business - none
Adjournment
 
Respectfully submitted,
Abbey Swan
Parks and Recreation Recording Secretary
 

Parks & Rec Minutes
March 6, 2023 @ 7pm
 
Tonight’s meeting will be a hybrid meeting – both via Zoom and in person at the Township building.

• Call to Order
• Roll Call: Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Liz Malone, Isabel Clark, Jane Kennedy and Abbey Swan. Guest: Tom Parr
• Public Comment
• Approved Minutes -  February 6, 2023
• Old business
  • AV system orientation – The group learned how to connect the new projector and old sound system.
  • Clean Up Weekend Update
    • At least 100 people signed up so far – Abbey will continue to promote. We especially need more volunteers for North Caln Road. There are two large scout troops, plus Giant staff. The parks and rec members will take shifts to oversee. Abbey will investigate getting road signs to make sure people slow down. We discussed getting some waders to wear while cleaning the creek. Abbey will make sure everyone has the appropriate supplies for each clean up site/time. If the weather is bad, we’ll still meet at the designated spot to distribute supplies and people can do their clean up later on.
  • Event update – National Night Out/Chico’s Vibe
    • Instead of having our Chico’s Vibe concert the same week as National Night Out, we decided to combine both events. Parks and Rec will propose co-sponsoring National Night Out. Chico’s Vibe is available, so Abbey will make sure everyone is ok with this plan. The date is Tuesday, August 1st. Abbey will touch base with the new Little League chair about this event and our other events.
  • Tennis Court Update
    • Tennis Court quote will be going before the Board of Commissioners for approval. Abbey added new posts on to the quote because the old ones are in pretty bad shape.
  • Summer Series
    • Abbey has found a contact with a Mexican Cultural organization who can help us find a band – they also have a traditional dance performance group we might want to look into. Mariachi bands are very expensive so maybe out of our price range for this year.
• New Business
• Adjournment

Parks & Rec Minutes
February 6, 2023 @ 7pm
 
Tonight’s meeting will be a hybrid meeting – both via Zoom and in person at the Township building.

• Call to Order
• Roll Call – Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Liz Malone, Isabel Clark, and Abbey Swan. Guests: Sam Wiener and Tom Parr
• Public Comment - none
• Minutes to consider – November 17, 2022 - approved
• Election of Officers
  • Chair – Helen Eckel-Wiener
  • Vice Chair – Isabel Clark
  • Secretary – Abbey Swan
• Old business
  • Recap Tree Lighting/Holiday Decorating Contest –
    • Tree lighting went well, good turnout, the dancers were a nice addition. We really need to figure out the electrical since the breaker continues to blow. We appreciated the Rotary’s refreshments and the decorated tent we set up worked out pretty well. The heaters were a nice addition. Our sleigh really needs an upgrade.
    • We’d like to consider a flyer to encourage people to enter. We had 21 entrants, many new ones this year. Abbey will bring the category numbers to the October meeting to help with planning. The group might assign people to categories, instead of asking them to pick their own next year.
  • Bus trips
    • Krapf is already all booked up, basically. Abbey is looking into other bus companies. Abbey will bring survey results for the group to see to our next meeting.
  • Beaver Creek trail update – rep meeting
    • Aerial mapping of Lloyd Park has been completed (thanks to a DCED grant). Abbey will apply for the same grant for the next chunk of engineering.
    • Abbey will work on setting this up – all of the Parks and Rec members would like to attend.
  • Meadow pt 2 – the group agreed that our second acre should be a tidy rectangle shape – not necessarily adjoining the first acre. Abbey has gotten two benches from Giant (thanks!) and we’ve gotten $600 to spend at Ernst seeds, through a grant. Anne suggested adding some shrubs or trees for shade and a wind break.
  • AV system – JL Entertainment suggested we keep our existing sound system (but learn how to use it and get a new mic) and get a new projector instead. The system will allow us a lot more flexibility.
• New Business
  • Schedule 2023 Events
    • Clean Up Day – we decided to hold a Clean Up WEEKEND this year to allow more participation – March 25/26
    • Egg Hunt – April 8 (no rain date)
    • Tree maintenance day – April 22 (2x 3h shifts – both parks)
    • Meadow Workshop – May 6th @ 2pm
    • Summer Series – May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4 (Chico’s Vibe). We’ll do a TBD mix of movies and concerts. Maybe a Latin band for May 5?
    • County History Tours – July 20
    • Community Day – September 9 (Parks and Rec will participate again)
    • Others?
  • Tennis Court resurfacing – Abbey has engaged a company who will oversee the court resurfacing by our staff. We’ll add pickleball lines, using the existing tennis net for the pickleball). The group chose to paint the courts blue with white lines (light blue for pickleball) and a green surround.
  • Anne asked about discounted ticket sales by the Township. Abbey mentioned that we should revisit this once a new public works admin has been hired, since existing staff don’t have the bandwidth to manage this.
• Adjournment

Parks & Rec Minutes
November 7, 2022 @ 7pm
 

• Call to Order
• Roll Call – Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Liz Malone, Isabel Clark, Jane Kennedy, and Abbey Swan.
• Public Comment - none
• Minutes to consider – October 3, 2022 - approved
• Old business
  • Recap Meadow Seeding – seeding went well, especially for our first time. We had a great turnout. The group agreed we should do a similar event the next time around – hand seeding for the next acre. Abbey will get started laying out the second acre to seed this year. We’ve got journals, pencils, and bug/bird guides for the journaling bench thanks to the Master Watershed Stewards. The MWS and master gardeners are also creating educational materials and workshops for the meadow. Helen suggested a workshop focusing on invasive species.
  • Recap Halloween Party – also went really well. Shannon Cooper Dance really added a lot to the event. Their feedback was to get a better sound system for the event for announcements. They’re happy to do it again next year. They would also be happy to have other “trunks” participate next  year. Maybe we should start the costume contest after the party starts so that the little kids aren’t waiting around for the judging while other people rush to get there. We’ll revisit this for next year.
  • Spackman Farm Event – November 19th – event will take place at 3:30 PM. An ad will go out in the county’s historical newsletter. We’re asking for RSVPs due to parking restrictions and to have enough donuts. We’ll need parks and rec folks to help direct parking. We’ll have generators, tables, chairs, cones, and barricades. Mark is providing a sound system. The program will include Paul Stephens, Paul Mullin, and elected officials. We’ll have refreshments and photos of the inside of some of the buildings on display. Volunteers will arrive around 2:30.
  • Planning Tree Lighting (December 4th) – event starts at 5. Volunteers should arrive at 3:00 to set up luminaries. Meistersingers are in, fire company is committed, and tour guides are set up for the school house. We’re waiting to hear back from the Rotary about refreshments. We selected Shannon Cooper’s Dance Academy to be the tree lighters as a thank you for all of their help. We’ll offer again that people could make ornaments at home for the township tree – we have plenty of bulbs from previous years. We’ll also be collecting food bank and toys for tots donations.
  • Park bridge Update – the old covered bridge near pavilion 1 has been replaced with a new concrete bridge. It turned out great, but was pretty expensive.
  • Master Plan/grants update – Abbey met with folks from Gilmore & Associates whose grant person said not to bother getting a grant for a master park plan for Municipal Park but if we wait until we’re working on that part of the trail, we can update the park as a trailhead for the new trail as part of the same grant. We’ll be spending $70,000 ($50,000 grant funded) for engineering of segment 5 of the trail. The DCNR application takes MUCH longer than DCED, which is good to know.
• New Business
  • Holiday Decorating Contest – we plan to go out together to do the judging which will take place on  People can enter again, they just can’t win in the same category as last year. Parks and Rec volunteers will select the best house in each of four categories: "Best Use of Lawn Ornaments," "Best Use of Lights," "Best Multimedia," and "Classic Holiday." We will also have a "Residents' Choice" Category (winner selected via vote on Facebook). Winners will receive a prize and special award ornament. Sign up is by December 16th with judging on the 21st from 6-9pm.
  • 3rd PULL Station location – Abbey will reach out to Ms. Vivian to get her thoughts about putting a pull station in Dawkins Park. Maybe closer to the road to be more visible.
• Adjournment

 

​Parks & Rec Minutes
October 3, 2022 @ 7pm
 

• Call to Order
• Roll Call – Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Jane Kennedy, Liz Malone, Isabel Clark and Abbey Swan. Guest: Tom Parr
• Public Comment
• Guest – Mark Evans (Spackman Farm event)
  • Mark came to discuss with the group hosting an event to highlight our plans and work on the Spackman Farm property. After some discussion of conflicts with our holiday events, November was agreed upon as a good time to host such an event. Mark will be back in touch with more specifics after discussing it with the Historical Commission. We also discussed future ideas for art events (plein air) or a hayride. Mark, Abbey, Tom and Chief Elias will plan a trip to the farmhouse to discuss security.
• August 1, 2022 Minutes were approved
• Old business
  • Recap August 5 (Chico’s Vibe + fireworks)
    • The rain held off until the very end of the event and everyone was pleased with the turnout. The bubble station and cornhole were a hit. Adding additional music events with other types of music would be fun. We may consider adding more music next year instead of movies. In January we’ll discuss planning events for the year.
  • Recap Community Day
    • Everything went well – the location worked great so we plan to stick to that spot again.
  • Planning – Meadow Seeding Event (October 22)
    • Abbey will promote the event to attract volunteers. The final herbicide treatment was applied. We just need to till/power rake the week of the planting. Seed is on the way. We’ll use plant pots lined with plastic bags for the volunteers distributed. We’ll mix the flower seed, grass seeds, annual rye (cover crop), and kitty litter for spreading together. It will need to be rolled once the seed is spread. Abbey and Meaghan will be leading the workshop.
    • Master Watershed Stewards has a team of 13 volunteers who are assigned to help with education for our meadow conversion project. They’ll be creating posters, brochures, workshops, and an online resource repository. Tom is creating a cool journaling bench for the meadow.
  • Planning – Halloween Party (October 30)
    • Shannon Cooper’s Dance Academy offered to run a trunk-or-treat for our event (plus face painting, games, and snacks). The group agreed that it would be a great addition. We could trunk or treat in the parking lot. We also decided to add a photo booth this year. Abbey will get costume prizes for each age group. We’ll also set up the scavenger hunt again.
  • Initial Planning – Tree Lighting (December 3rd)
    • The group agreed to stick with the usual plan for this year – Meistersingers, Rotary snacks, bon fire, Santa from the fire company, luminaries, and a Schoolhouse open house. We’ll do a food and toy drive at the event.
  • Park bridge Update
    • Public works is working on a replacement for the old Covered Bridge in the park. It’s almost ready to be installed – just awaiting a few final pieces.
• New Business
  • Municipal Park master plan
    • Abbey suggested and the group agreed about seeking funds for a new master plan for Municipal Park. There is no master plan for the park. Jane will send Abbey some resources for adding inclusive playground equipment to the park.
  • Beaver Creek Trail update
    • We received a DCED grant for $50,000 for engineering segment 5 of the trail. The engineer will do as much work as we can for that amount. DCED encouraged us to reapply next your for more funds for the project.
• Adjournment

 

Parks & Rec Minutes
August 1, 2022 @ 7pm
 

• Call to Order
• Roll Call – Present: Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Jane Kennedy, Liz Malone, Isabel Clark and Abbey Swan.  Guest: Tom Parr
• Public Comment – Tom asked about National Night Out and Abbey responded that due to staffing and covid, it hasn’t been held the past few years. It’s expected to resume in 2023.
• Approved minutes from June 6, 2022
• Old business
  • Summer Series
    • Recap June 17 (Sing 2) – great turnout, technical difficulties. Abbey figured out the problem after the fact so we’ll be good for next year. We liked the location next to the pavilion rather than across the stream. Need to figure out the electric load if we use the popcorn machine and the screen on the same plug. We ended up with the popcorn in the other pavilion, which was good too. We should hang hooks to hang the string lights ahead of next years’ events.
    • Reschedule July 1 (Hook) – We weren’t able to find a date to reschedule our rained out movie. We decided to save it for next year (maybe May – Peter Pan Day).
    • Planning August 5 (Chico’s Vibe + fireworks) – the event is rain or shine. Abbey will provide an update on Wednesday regarding the weather. Not much set up for us to do – everyone pretty much takes care of themselves.
  • Community Day Update
    • Parks and Rec Table – we’re at 35-40 vendors for Community Day. Parks and rec decided to have a table where we’ll talk about our ongoing projects and make seed balls for people to take home. Abbey will get the materials. Abbey needs to look into selling pavers for the dog park fundraising. We’ll set up a schedule for staffing the table. (we also had a brief discussion about the dog park plants – some of them died, but others did well. We may have to replace plants next year. Anne will make a poster asking people to water the plants and describing what they are)
• New Business
  • Thornridge Playground – Abbey reported that the small playground that the township owns in the Thornridge neighborhood is in bad shape and is just really old. The Director of life safety says it need to be torn down. We do not have plans to replace it right now. Some residents have expressed concern, but the playground hasn’t ever been accessible to the public, so there isn’t any existing budget for replacement. We could consider adding a playground once the meadow park is completed. We also talked about nature-related items for kids – a learning garden etc.
  • We need to propose a Parks and Rec budget to the Board in October. We’ll have that discussion via email. Abbey will send the current budget and expenditures for the group to have input on.
  • PULL stations have been a hit! We’ve gotten lot of volunteers and Tom actually constructed a 3rd box for us. We need to find a place to put it!
  • Fall event dates:
    • Meadow Planting: October 22 (RD Oct 23)
    • Halloween Party: October 29 (RD Oct 30)
    • Tree Lighting: December 3rd (RD Dec 4th)

Plus a possible November event with Historical Commission

• Abbey ordered a new sand digger for the park, plus a few replacement swings. The walking bridge in the park has been ordered – it will be a concrete slab with metal railings. It should last forever. We’ve also gotten an electrician to update the lights in the Municipal Park bathrooms and make some other improvements.
• Adjournment

 

Parks & Rec Minutes
June 6, 2022 @ 7pm
 

• Call to Order
• Roll Call – Present: Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Jane Kennedy, Liz Malone, and Abbey Swan.  Absent: Isabel Clark
• Public Comment
• Minutes approved – May 2, 2022
• Old business
  • P.U.L.L Stations Update – Both PULL stations have been installed. Abbey is waiting on books from AHHAH. After the books arrive, Abbey will publicize the boxes and search for volunteers to monitor them.
  • Summer Series Details
    • June 17 (Sing 2), July 1 (Hook), August 5 (Chico’s Vibe + fireworks)
    • Abbey ordered popcorn bags, so we’re set to go with that. She’ll test out the popcorn maker, screen, and sound system before the event. Sing 2 starts at 8:30, Parks and Rec volunteers will plan to arrive at 7:30. Abbey will get string lights to decorate the bridge and pavilions. Abbey will check in with Debbie from Rita’s, she hasn’t heard back from her at this point. Abbey will bring bottled water for emergencies and try to see if anyone from Alex’s Lemonade Stand want to attend.
  • Wildflower Park Update
    • Abbey met this week with the grant folks from PennState Extension to learn about the requirements of the grant we are receiving from them.
  • Community Day Update
    • Community Day is confirmed to take place in the Park instead of on GO Carlson. Giant is happy to let us use their parking. Thorndale UMC will let us use their parking lot for vendor parking. Sponsorships are coming in. Abbey’s lining up activities. Parks and Rec will discuss hosting a booth.
  • Parks Tour Recap
    • We had a nice time exploring our parks and the Spackman Farm property.
• New Business
  • Dog Park Planting – Anne
    • Anne presented her urine-tolerant planting trial in the dog park. She planned out gardens using the free plants and got them planted once they arrived. 10 sites are participating in the trial – all up and down the Northeast. The nursery included a sign which is posted in the beds. She also suggested running a fundraiser for the dog park allowing people to purchase memorial bricks or pavers to use around the benches.
  • Possible joint event with Historical Commission
    • The Historical Commission asked us to see if Parks and Rec might be interested in a joint event, possibly at the Spackman Farm and perhaps around the holidays. The group is open to the idea, but thought maybe a fall event, to highlight the farm might make more sense (since we already have multiple holiday events). We discussed a hay ride and/or activities in the barn. A presentation of the property’s history would also be interesting.
  • Bus trips – Jane asked if we’re going to do any trips. Abbey’s happy to try to find a new bus company if the group would like to offer some. We then talked about bringing back the historic trolley tour with the Historical Society.
• Adjournment

 

Parks & Rec Minutes
May 2, 2022 @ 7pm
 

• Call to Order
• Roll Call – Brett Klukan, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Isabel Clark, Jane Kennedy, Liz Malone, and Abbey Swan. Guests: Tom Parr and Gary Duzan.
• Public Comment - None
• Minutes approved from April 4, 2022 meeting.
• Old business
  • Easter Egg Hunt – Egg hunt was well-attended, especially with little league kids who were also using the park that day. Next year we need to double check with them to make sure not to double-book the park. There was also an early start from the older kids – next year we need to assign someone to attend each age area.
  • P.U.L.L Stations Update – Helen is decorating the Lloyd Park station with dogs. Liz finished up her schoolhouse painting on the station for Municipal Park – it looks awesome. Abbey will coordinate installation with Public Works. We’ll put them near the playgrounds. We still need a volunteer to maintain the box at Lloyd Park, but Isabel offered to help monitor it in the meantime.
  • Summer Series Update
    • June 17 (Sing 2), July 1 (Hook), August 5 (Chico’s Vibe + fireworks) – Movies were chosen by vote on Facebook. Abbey will check on the popcorn supplies for movie nights and reach out to the school district and fire company about the fireworks. We should bring back bubbles for Chico’s Vibe. We’ll ask Big Boize and Rita’s to attend the concert night. Abbey will look into getting some outdoor lighting for that night.
    • Sponsor – Chester County Dental Arts will sponsor the concert and fireworks for $300
  • Wildflower Park Update – we applied our first batch of herbicide to the first acre of wildflower meadow. We were also included in two Master Watershed grant applications that were awarded to support the project. DEP Environmental education grant will pay for signs and supplement the seed  costs if we don’t get them for free from PG&A. We’ll also get money from a PA American grant for infrastructure for the park. Abbey reached out to the neighbors nearby and she’ll continue to work with them to make sure everyone’s happy.
• New Business
  • Parks Tour – on May 9th the group will meet up after 4:30 to drive around an familiarize ourselves with all of the parks and open space in the township. Anne volunteered to drive.
  • Community Day is progressing, we’re still finalizing location and other details.
• Adjournment