MINUTES

RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD:	LOWER ALLEN TOWNSHIP
REGULAR MEETING	MARCH 24, 2022
The following were in ATTENDANCE:
BOARD MEMBERS	TOWNSHIP PERSONNEL
Greg Mahon Scott Duncanson	Commissioner Nagy, Commissioner Liaison Rebecca Davis, Public Works Director
Richard Grove	Heather Douden, Administrative Assistant &
Robert Pelles Josie Dougherty Susan Parry	Event Planner Renee’ Greenawalt, Recording Secretary

Mr. Mahon called the March 24, 2022 Regular Meeting of the Lower Allen Township Recreation and Parks Board to order at 7:00 pm.

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

Ms. Parry motioned to approve the minutes from the February 23, 2022 Regular Meeting with corrections. Mr. Pelles seconded. The motion carried 5-0.

PUBLIC COMMENT – Highland Park

There were no public comments.

Ms. Davis presented current pictures of the park to guide the discussion. She also reviewed planned improvements including painting of benches and riding toys, future replacement of the pavilion and play structure as well as landscaping improvements.

Pete’s Field is the park designated for April. Dougherty volunteered to take pictures. Ms. Parry suggested using the inventory checklists from the prior year as a guide for taking pictures. Ms. Davis noted that township staff were using GPS software to map the parks for asset management. She indicated that she would bring the GPS unit along to the upcoming park tours to demonstrate its use.

COMMISSIONER LIAISON REPORT

Commissioner Joshua Nagy reported he would announce the upcoming events at the next Board of Commissioners meeting. He also expressed interest in the discussion of the Yappy Hour event.

TOWNSHIP STAFF REPORT

Ms. Heather Douden presented the Recreation and Parks Staff Report. She noted that the parks were becoming busier as the spring sports seasons had begun. Mulching and field maintenance were underway. Construction of the pickle ball courts has started and would be completed within the week. The concession stand will be completed before the end of the spring season.

Regarding activities, Ms. Douden reported that the barn and pavilion rentals have returned to a pre COVID-19 level. She also said that several community organizations have been renting it during weekdays.

OLD BUSINESS

Easter Egg Hunt – April 9, 2022

Ms. Douden reported that the egg stuffing was nearly completed. Additionally, prizes were donated by Fountain Blue Skating Rink, Monkey Joe’s, and Color Me Mine. Walmart would be providing 500 filled eggs.  Ms. Dougherty’s sorority would be stuffing the goody bags. Regarding staffing on the day of the event, Ms. Douden noted that two CSO’s would be present to assist with parking. There were two volunteers from Member’s 1^st who will assist the committee members. The arrival time for volunteers will be 8:30 AM.

Gardeners Gathering – April 30, 2022

Ms. Parry reported that donation letters will be given to Highland Gardens, Ashcombe’s, Black Landscaping and Royer’s. Stouffers is already sending a $25 gift card. Ms. Douden provided the event flyers to be included with the donation letters.

Set up will be at 9 AM. Committee members will volunteer, and Mr. Duncanson will coordinate the plant swap.

Ms. Davis discussed her plan to apply for the PA American Water grant but noted that since the funds are awarded in May and must be used within the calendar year, the date of the event would have to be pushed back for next year. She noted the event would be beneficial for MS4 outreach and could be tied into Lower Allen’s stormwater and water conservation efforts. Could also look outside at other grant funding ideas to tie into this event. Committee members expressed their desire to include the rain barrels for next year.

Ms. Dougherty suggested livestreaming the event via Facebook live to reach a broader audience and draw attention to the event. Ms. Parry offered to provide a press release regarding the event for media distribution.

Yappy Hour

Ms. Dougherty first reported that she had discussed a potential beer festival event with the Township Manager, Mr. Vernau. She is pursuing a meeting with Dauphin County Parks and Recreation to gain some insight from their experience with their events. Possible dates for such an event would be July 9 and October 22.

For Yappy Hour, the group discussed that in the past it was held on a Thursday night from 5-7 PM in the vicinity of the dog park, and included food trucks, a local brewery, pet vendors and several other organizations had information tables.

The first step would be to secure a date and CSO’s for the event, to be held in September. Ms. Douden would draft letters to seek donations.

Ms. Dougherty suggested asking a local radio station to be there and broadcast live. She committed to draft an invitation requesting organizations to partner with the township.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business to discuss.

ADJOURN:

The Regular Meeting of the Recreation and Parks Board Adjourned at 8:17 PM.

The next meeting will be April 27, 2022 at 7:00PM.