Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee

PARRC MEETING MINUTES May 25th, 2022-A hybrid meeting In attendance: Michael Lenhart, Borough of Pottstown Bill Keohane, Lower Pottsgrove Township Charlie Valentine, West Pottsgrove Township Tim Konetchy, Montgomery County Planning Commission Cathy Paretti, Upper Pottsgrove Township Craig Colistra, Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation Jay Erb, North Coventry Township Annique Ruiz Brown, Upper Pottsgrove Township resident Karen Nocella, East Coventry Township David Yeck, Wm. & Dorothy Yeck Family Foundation McKenna Powanda, Douglass Township Tricia McCloskey, PARRC Regional Parks Planner Meeting Notes: 1. Call to Order- 4:30pm and Pledge of Allegiance 2. Welcome and Introductions 3. Meeting minutes from April 27, 2022, were motioned for approval by C. Paretti and seconded by C. Valentine, all approved. No abstentions or corrections. 4. Executive and Subcommittee Reports. a. Treasurer’s Report. C. Paretti previously provided the Treasurer’s Report and it was accepted by the Committee. C. Paretti indicated invoices were sent out on May 2nd and are due on June 22nd. The projected amount for 2023 (year 5) is $7,496. b. Events Subcommittee. C. Colistra stated that after listing to the input of municipalities, fall seems like a better time to hold volunteer events. The time frame for the volunteer events will not be restricted and will be structured as event opportunities arise. C. Colistra also stated that we need branding for the event, and he suggested “People for Parks”, which can also be used at a later date for fund raising. He stated that PARRC should come up with other ideas for the volunteer program. M. Lenhart stated that he has a fall date and event. C. Paretti stated that she will need a Veterans Island cleanup prior to Community Day. K. Nocella shared about her experience participating with Litter Lifters in Phoenixville. 40 volunteers participated and she stated the events was incredibly well organized and she will coordinate with Beth who runs the events. K. Nocella also commented on East Coventry’s Bird House building day and although she was not able to attend, she received a very nice email from a couple who attended the event and were very complementary of it. M. Lenhart stated he will email the dates for the fall events with details. One of his initial ideas was to decorate Manatawny Green for Halloween. B. Keohane stated that the bathrooms at Gerald Richards Park need to be painted which could serve as a volunteer event. c. Financial Sustainability Subcommittee. M. Lenhart put the draft resolution and memo on the screen and the both were reviewed and revised. J. Erb stated he sent the drafts to E. Batdorf, Township Manager, and she had no edits. T. McCloskey to make the edits and resend to the municipalities to send to the governing bodies for consideration. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for grant funding to cover the costs of setting up the nonprofit organization. C. Colistra indicated that PAHWF may be a potential source of funds through its Capacity Building grant. M. Lenhart indicated the need for a motion on the resolution and memo. B. Keohane made the motion to approve the memo and resolution with edits to be approved by the municipalities at their next meeting. C. Paretti seconded the motion. Motion passed. d. DEI Subcommittee. T. McCloskey discussed starting an “Equity Assessment” for parks in the PARRC region, to include ADA access, ADA facilities, ADA play equipment, walkability, and bus routes. C. Colistra also indicated evaluating the need for Spanish signage and incorporation of the 10 minute walk data. www.parrc.net 1  5. County Planner Updates R. Griffith-not present T. Konetchy stated that a Planning Smarter event will be held at the Hill School on June 16th from 5:30 to 7:30pm. There is no charge to attend. T. Konetchy stated he will have the signed PMRPC contracts sent by the end of next week. K. Nocella asked about the check for East Coventry Township and T. Konetchy indicated that it should have been sent last week. ** (Due to C. Colistra needing to leave, he provided the PAHWF update at this point in the agenda.) C. Colistra announced the PAHWF grant awards, noting the competitive round and the fact that $1,000,000 in requests were made than the Foundation has to give out. C. Colistra announced the awards as follows: Upper Pottsgrove-$32,000 for Sprogels Run Trail Improvements, West Pottsgrove-$15,000 for the Pool Property Master Plan, North Coventry-$15,000 for Coventry Woods Chestnut Hill Access Improvements, East Coventry-$35,000 for Parkerford Riverside Park Engineering, Adventure Grove Playground, Inc.-$22,000 for a Master Plan for Hoffman Field and Inclusive Playground and PARRC-$6,000 for development of the Interactive Map and StoryMap for the PARRC region. 6. Planner’s Report. T. McCloskey provided the Planner’s Report for the last month which included submission of four grant applications for three municipalities totaling just over $2 million. T. McCloskey noted that in the previous three days, grants totaling over $400,000 had been awarded to the PARRC municipalities, including the MontCo 2040 grants, the Chester County Preservation Partnership Grant, and the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Grants. 7. Old Business a. PARRC Non-profit designation update. See discussion above. b. Judo Club funds. Item tabled as M. Lenhart and C. Colistra left the meeting prior to this item agenda. c. PARRC intern. Item tabled as C. Colistra left the meeting prior to this item agenda. 8. New Business a. M. Powanda brough up the trail counter issue and asked if T. McCloskey could send him the information the trail counters so he can put a line item in his budget for next year. T. McCloskey was asked to create a list for all the municipalities of the number and locations of where trail counters are needed. D. Yeck shared that he did some research into trail counters and determined that the TrafX counters are among the best and most accurate counters. He was told by a TrafX employees that PARRC were getting old and may not be able to be repaired. B. Keohane said the data collected from the counters is the best way to see the positive impacts from the investments being made into the parks. b. K. Nocella added an item, the GoPA100 initiative. K. Nocella explained that East Coventry is considering the formation of an Environmental Advisory Committee. K. Nocella discussed the GoPA100 legislation to transition Pennsylvania to 100% renewable energy by 2050. She asked that an email be sent to PARRC municipalities with the GoPA100 information and that this item be placed on next month’s PARRC agenda for further discussion. She also stated that Senator Katie Muth who supports the legislation will be at the Unitarian Universalist Church in North Coventry on Sunday 6/5 at 2pm to discuss GoPA100. 9. Grant Announcements. a. PAHWF awards-see above. b. Schuylkill Highlands Minigrants. T. McCloskey stated that a total of three applications were submitted by Pottstown, East Coventry and Lower Pottsgrove. c. DCED Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program Grants. T. McCloskey stated that one application will be submitted by the Borough of Pottstown for improvements at two parks- Chestnut Street Park and South Street Park. www.parrc.net 2  10. Partner Updates: • Douglass: M. Powanda discussed the recent MontCo 2040 award for the tennis court and pickleball court redevelopment project. He stated he was contacted by someone from the Boyertown League who wanted all of the courts to be pickleball courts. M. Powanda also stated that will the funds from the Yeck grant, work at Smith Road Park is almost complete. The township is considering developing a new arboretum in the township in existing open space. • East Coventry: K. Nocella indicated all her news and updates were covered in agenda items. • Lower Pottsgrove: B. Keohane indicated that the Summer Concert Series starts on June 26th and runs for six weeks. The improvements at Gerald Richards Park is close to the end. T. McCloskey to send copy of PAHWF Connections grant to Bill. He also stated that Fish Rodeo was cancelled due to the netting in the stream getting washed away from the heavy rains and all the fish swam away. May transition to Sanatoga Lake next year. • North Coventry: J. Erb shared that the Coventry Woods Festival and Goat Race was last weekend. He stated the logistics were off, but that about 2,000 people attended. Luke Skywalker won the goat race and the historic smokehouse was fired up and cooked on for the first time in 80 years. • Pottstown: M. Lenhart had to leave the meeting prior to this item. • Upper Pottsgrove: C. Paretti shared that the Open Space and Recreation Board met with CMC Engineers about the revisions to the Master Plan for Hollenbach Park, and that changes to the plan will be made for the next open space meeting. Sussell Park has received the PECO Green Region grant and the PMRPC grant for the Schwenk Road Trailhead was awarded to the township. • West Pottsgrove: The township is seeking members for the Pool Property Master Plan committee. • PAHWF: See above. 10. Public Comment. None. 11. Action Items. None. 12. Next PARRC meeting is June 22nd. 13. Adjournment- A Motion to Adjourn was made by J. Erb and seconded by M. Powanda, meeting adjourned at 6:10pm. www.parrc.net 3