Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes - August 4th, 2025

Parks & Rec Minutes
August 4, 2025 @ 7pm
 
Hybrid meeting was held both via Zoom and in person at the Township building

• Call to Order
• Attendees: Jane Kennedy, Helen Eckel-Wiener, Katie Brauchle, Anne Duzan, Brett Klukan, Elizabeth Malone, Sam Wiener
• Staff Preset: Abbey Swan and Jessica Markovich
• Public Comment
• Minutes approved – July 7, 2025
  • Minutes passed 6-0 with an abstention from Anne
• Old business
  • Summer Series Finding Nemo Recap  
    • People really turned out for it, which was exciting, and the kids seemed to love the craft. All the equipment worked and set up ran smoothly. We had around a crowd of 75. The scavenger hunt was a hit, and the decorations from Jane were very popular. The Board had gotten there earlier than usual for setup, which didn’t take too long.
  • Clean Up Crew – July 12th Recap
    • We had about three people who signed up other than the P&R Board, so with the next two clean ups being further out we are hoping to gather more volunteers. The volunteers who did attend were great, and a lot was cleaned up! Helen noted that it was nice to meet at the beginning and to then have all the volunteers spread out across the stream, so we were getting the most coverage and not too crowded. Some notable finds here a Kmart shopping cart, a couch cushion, a computer screen, and a large garbage can. The area closest to Handi-Crafters was extremely dense and is a good spot to keep in mind for future clean ups.
  • National Night Out Finalizing Plans
    • Everyone from the P&R Board will be in attendance. P&R will be providing an Art in the Park session. There will be a main craft activity table, a table specifically for making art for the Art Show, and a freestyle art table. This craft will be creating wildflowers to be displayed on a mural. A few P&R members will be at the Art in the Park tables, while others will fill in to man other activities if needed. Jessica asked the Board if the other members are not needed elsewhere, should we make a bubble station for kids. The Board decided to bring the materials to have one just in case. Liz asked where the art table would be, and Jessica and Abbey answered that it would be near the Pollinator Garden. Abbey said that we could pick to be either on the side of the Pollinator Garden that we usually are for Community Day, or if we want to be on the south side of it. Sam asked if there was going to be a fishpond, and Helen answered that we will be doing that at Community Day. Helen asked what time to arrive, and the board was asked to be there at 5:30 PM but whenever they can come is perfect.
• New Business
  • Summer Series Wonka Final Planning – August 8th
    • Rescheduled from June 14th, the Summer Series Wonka movie night had been moved to August 8th. Jessica reported that some more candy and chocolate bars need to be purchased, but a lot of the materials for the craft are all ready to go due to it being rescheduled. Abbey and Jessica will be making golden tickets to put into the popcorn bags, and any attendee with these tickets can pick a prize. Since the Board thought that they had gotten to the last Summer Series a little early, Jessica suggested moving our arrival time from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM, and because we are doing less activities the Board agreed to this. We will have popcorn as usual.
  • Jahaco Memorial Benches Program
    • Jahaco, a new local business that has previously presented to the P&R Board, has reached out to the Township to introduce a new memorial bench campaign in Caln! Those who are interested in purchasing a memorial bench can do so off Jahaco’s campaign on the website “See My Legacy”. All benches will be made with 100% recycled materials with the ability to put a placard on them. The benches will be $899. The Township will have the ability to decide what locations the benches will go, how many, and what colors they will be. Purchasing and installation will all be through Jahaco, apart from Public Works helping with installation if concrete is needed.  Jessica showed their demo website to the Board and walked through what they would do. Caln Township is the first municipality that they are working with! Jahaco is also looking into the option of adding a section on this website where purchasers can upload photos and descriptions of who they bought the benches in honor of. Jane asked if we would post it on our website once we get the final details, and Jessica answered yes. Jessica and Abbey are meeting with Jahaco later this week to give the specifications of location, color, and amount. Jessica presented these questions to the Board. The Board decided to have the locations be at Caln Municipal Park, Ruth B. Dawkins Park, Lloyd Park, Meadow Park, and along G.O. Carlson. Municipal, Lloyd, and Meadow Park will have 5 benches available at each location. If there is an increasing demand, the Board will go to Jahaco to ask for more to be added. Jane asked if Jahaco had any other products other than benches. Jessica answered that she believes they are primarily selling benches now, but that Jahaco said they could do other items if they had the mold for them. For colors, the Board went between having the option of choosing between three colors (green, brown, or gray) or just doing green across the board. After reviewing the colors on Jahaco’s website (which they also found out that they do in fact sell items other than benches) and discussing what colors would suit each park best, the Board ultimately decided to just do green. Helen suggested doing a different color for the legs of bench, if possible, but that Jahaco previously had only been doing black legs. Jessica said that she would ask. Jessica stated that Jahaco is looking for a local company to do the plaques for the benches as well.
  • Community Day Updates and Final Planning
    • One month and a day away! We are doing well for sponsors and vendors, still waiting for some checks to be sent but a majority have been received by the Township. The contract with the band Jimmy Jorge and the Latin Express is being finalized, and we are working on finalizing the performance schedules with Shannon Cooper’s Dance School, Lupo Taekwando, and Russell’s Dance and Baton School as well. Parks and Recreation are planning to have the duck pond again. Everyone on the Board will be signing up for shifts. We have one other volunteer who has signed up so far who is not on the Board. Helen asked to confirm that we would be having fireworks, and Jessica said yes. The Police will be helping to monitor the fireworks. Helen asked about the Art Show, and Liz expressed concern about not having enough art for it. Abbey said that we need to promote the Art Show more on social media. Liz is hoping to have more entries submitted at National Night Out, and Abbey mentioned encouraging participants at Photos at the Farm to submit as well. Helen and Liz discussed the Art Show set up last year, that it was supposed to be on the fence but due to the rain it went to the Township building in addition to the Coatesville Area Public Library. Set up for the day begins at 10 AM with vendors arriving at 12PM. Abbey reminded the Board that if they knew anyone who was interested in volunteering to let them know as we are looking for more!
  • Art in the Park Class Updates
    • Tickets for the classes aren’t selling as fast as anticipated, but 11 were sold for the photography class so far, and 8 for the botanical sketching class. Helen asked if there was a minimum that we had to have or if we just moved forward with any number, and Jessica confirmed this and said that the maximum attendance for each class is 25. The photography class will be promoted a couple more times on social media to push ticket sales. Abbey said that she is going to put out a poster as well for National Night Out.
  • Kings Highway Strategic Task Force Meeting Update
    • Helen gave a recap of the Kings Highway Task Force Meeting and its purpose, which is to revisit the Kings Highway Park plan that was first developed in 2008. The Task Force is focusing on the basic logistics of a park – bathrooms, parking lot, etc. – and getting it open to the public. The 2008 plan had intended attractions to be added, but for now Helen said the main focus is the basic logistics. Sam asked if the farm would stay exactly how it is now, and Helen said that the buildings on the south end would remain the same, but the rest of the acreage might change in phases with the 2008 plan. Liz asked if having access to water and bathrooms requirements before opening, and Abbey answered that the park could be opened if the Task Force figured out a safe way for parking as a portable toilet could be added for the time being. Kings Highway Task Force Meetings are open to the public and occur on the fourth Tuesday of every month.
    • Kings Highway Strategic Task Force Recommendations Support (Action Item)
      • The Historical Commission came up with a list of recommendations for the next steps of taking care of Spackman-Davis Farm and were seeking Parks and Recreation’s support of the letter. There were three phases in the letter, with the recommendations revolving repairs to the house and barn on the property, such as repairing stone walls around the property. Many of the recommendations have already been completed over the years. Helen asked if these repairs would come from the Parks and Recreation budget, as the Historical Commission has budgeted for things revolving the Spackman-Davis Farm and the Friends of Spackman-Davis Farm are also raising funds to help repair it. Abbey answered that repairs for the Spackman-Davis Farm were included in the line items for park improvements in the Parks & Recreation budget, but if there are specific things for it that the Board would like to see done, we could request it for the budget. Anne asked if there were any plans for using the barn for activities/events, and Jessica and Helen answered there are no specific plans in the near future other than repairing the barn, but that people have expressed interest in this. Helen explained that making the property safe for visitors is the directive right now. Abbey mentioned that if Parks & Recreation wanted to come up with a list like this of our own goals, that is something we can do in the future as well.  Helen asked if Parks & Recreation’s support would help the chances of receiving any grants for this, and Abbey answered that it would once a formal report is created.
        • A vote was held for the Parks & Recreation Board to sign off on the list of recommendations. The motion passed 7-0.
  • 2025 Budget Request (Action Item)
    • For the Parks Budget, the Meadow Park budget was increased, but all other line items remained the same as 2025. It was increased to $5,000 to match the PECO grant that Township recently received to finish seeding the meadow. Abbey proposed requesting a new line item for tree maintenance for $25,000. The Board discussed that a replacement needs to be picked for the merry-go-round in Municipal Park, plus adding playground borders and additional play equipment. In Lloyd Park, budgeting for updating the grills and for landscaping and signage for Beaver Creek Trail will need to be considered. The same thing will also need to be considered for future Kings Highway Park as a trail is planned to be added to the property, as well as house expenses at the Spackman-Davis Farm.
      • A vote was held that this budget request would be used to advise the Board of Commissioners when determining the 2026 Park Budget. The motion passed 7-0.
    • For the Events Budget, the Community Day expenditures and revenue were increased to $15,000. Summer Series and Art in the Park remained the same at $10,000. Holidays and Clean Up Events increased by $500 to be $4,000. The budget for Bus Trips remained at $6,000. Both Bus Trips and Community Day budgets are offset by revenues.
      • A vote was held that this budget request would be used to advise the Board of Commissioners when determining the 2026 Events Budget. The motion passed 7-0.
• Adjournment