Charlestown Township Parks and Recreation Board Great Valley Middle School 255 North Phoenixville Pike, Malvern, PA Minutes of Thursday, April 16th, 2015

Present:

Parks and Recreation Board: Chris Lawrence, Suzanne Banks, Alix Coleman, Mary Lou Forcine, Kevin Kuhn, Karen Schlichter, and Sue Staas.

Consultants: none

Staff: Tim Hubbard, Property & Safety Coordinator and Lisa Gardner, Recording Secretary.

Call to Order:

7:30 p.m.

Minutes for Approval

The minutes for March were approved.

Old Business

1. Charlestown Park – new official address is 100 Academic Way, Phoenixville. This was required for establishing electric for the Park improvements.
   1. Fence: The Roadmaster called Long Fence for a removal estimate. The old fence will be used for the Pavilion area construction and then stored until it is used again for field remediation.
   2. Signs: Mr. Hubbard found tree tags at the Township Office that match the ones at the Park. Mr. Lawrence contacted the manufacturer, Voss Signs, to see if they could make more. The discussion is ongoing.
   3. Maintenance: Mr. Cabot reported he emptied some trash containers and worked on the bridge. Mr. Hubbard thought only cosmetic repairs were still undone and would probably be finished on Earth Day (April 18th). Benches throughout the Park are in various states of disrepair. Mr. Cabot will repair some of them, and the Pavilion picnic benches will be stored. Mr. Kuhn will research the cost and material of new benches. Mr. Cabot will continue to work on the repair list made during the winter.
2. Brightside Farm Trails – Mr. Kuhn updated the Members stating that Concept #5 was sent to the Planning Commission for review, comments, and possible recommendation for approval. They suggested two minor changes to the most recent version. The Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors, to move the parking lot toward the Wisner Rapp House, away from and in respect to the cross street neighbor. Mrs. Leland also suggested adding the word “Park” so that the official name would be Brightside Farm Park. Next would be obtaining a permit from PennDOT and a review by the County.
• The Historical Society is returning to their Board to discuss the parking lot location.
• Mrs. Staas, from the Trail Committee, would still like the parking lot on Hollow Road.
• Spaces will be able to accommodate horse trailers.
• No trail improvements are proposed that would impact wetland areas, or lands under easement, with the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trusts.

There will be new signage at the Farm. Before installing a sign, Mr. Kuhn would like confirmation from Ms. Coleman, regarding the cart trail walked by Revolutionary War soldiers. Mrs. Staas wants a historical sign on the old Pickering Trail at the Charlestown Road entrance, for what she believes may be a very old dam. She needs someone to research this too.

Both members were given suggestions to contact HARB, put the information request in the newsletter, consult the Phoenixville Historical Society, and Chester County Historical Society. A historian from the Valley Forge National Park and author Bruce Mowday were also suggested contacts. Mr. Kuhn would like to keep all the signage projects separate.

New Business

1. Earth Day Events
1. Trail Cleanups
   The Girl Scouts will be working along a trail from Dickson Drive to Hollow Road. The Brownies will be at Brightside Farm and Alix Coleman will be coordinating. The Boy Scouts may not be available as a group, but were given thanks for cleaning up trash near the Pickering Trail. Mrs. Staas said there is a lot of trash along Route 29. The Phoenixville Soccer Club has offered their help and they will be cleaning up the tire and trash at Charlestown Park. Mr. Hubbard reminded Mr. Lawrence that part of the lease agreement for the Club included post game cleanup.
2. Mr. Lawrence distributed an example of a one color Charlestown Park & Trail Cleanup logo for a T-shirt he may print for future helpers at the Township’s parks and trails. But for Earth Day, volunteers will be wearing safety vests. He also received two bat houses for the park.
3. Penn State Pollinator Talk
   Mr. Lawrence is coordinating this with Nancy Gaspari. It is at the Charlestown Elementary School Library on April 22nd at 7:30 p.m. The talk will be about 45 minutes long with solutions for pollination, and time for questions. Members suggested videotaping the Talk.
4. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Tree Tender Planting will be on April 25, at Charlestown Park at 9 a.m.

   Monday the 20th Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Kuhn will mark the spots for Mr. Thompson to dig the holes. Then Mr. Thompson, Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Lawrence will be bringing fifty 6-8 foot bare root trees, of various native pollinator friendly species, to the Park. They will be planted by volunteers of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Valley Forge University, and local residents. Stakes and straps are included, but deer protection is still a concern that Mr. Lawrence will research. Mulch will be available, but a plan for watering still needs to be set up.

5. The Trail walk with the Charlestown PTO and Screen Free Week is still on hold.
2. Charlestown Park
1. Mr. Cabot was finding the dog waste receptacles filled with trash. He wanted additional receptacles next to the dog waste stations. Also, visitors suggested containers near the parking lots and more near the pavilions.
2. A locked dumpster may be needed in the future.
3. As a reminder, there is an alcohol and glass ban being enforced at the Park.
4. Erosion near the soccer field benches is a problem. Mr. Lawrence may have found an Eagle Scout to take this project on, he will be contacting him.
5. Mr. Kuhn said the Park improvement plans have been finalized. Trash cans and grills have been added to a total reaching near one million dollars. The Township is not currently concerned with the out parcel that was to be used as excess parking. A new 80 car lot near 5th Avenue promises to be easier for obtaining permits and approvals.

   Mrs. Schlichter stated that she and Laura Assayag had tried to attend the last project meeting to discuss playground equipment with Mr. Detorre. They had not been informed that the meeting location had changed. Mr. Kuhn promised to remind Mr. Detorre to consider visitors that will be coming to the meetings, when changing the time or place.

3. Rails-To-Trails
   1. There is an meeting on April 28th for the team to review and comment on the draft Feasibility Report. Mr. Lawrence said the trails were opening in Phoenixville and he was hoping for some pictures of the Rails-to-Trails project for display.

Other Business

Mrs. Schlichter said the next Charlestown Day is October 3, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are currently talking with the Great Valley Nature Center about being this year’s beneficiary. The first meeting will be May 13th.

Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.