Blueprint Committee Gives Presentation on Community Park Project

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published October 30, 2020 4:29 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Federal and state officials were in attendance at a presentation on the ongoing community park project on Second Avenue in Clarion on Thursday afternoon.

U.S. Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson, State Senator Scott Hutchinson, and Sheila Fitzgerald Sterrett, Northwest Regional Manager for U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, were in attendance at the presentation, which gave an overview of the ongoing Clarion Community Park project.

Committee member Theron Miles (pictured above, standing), who was also representing Miles Brothers, LLC, gave the bulk of the presentation, noting that the project was conceived due to Clarion Borough not having a public children’s playground.

Miles also noted that the location that has been purchased for the project had previously been used primarily as a construction laydown yard.

“This is a beautiful part of our town that is completely underutilized,” Miles said.

Miles went over the arrangement of the park and all of the amenities it will include, from the basketball courts and tennis courts, which can also be utilized for pickleball and volleyball, to the green space and the playground, which will include the first completely ADA compliant public playground in Clarion.

He also explained the centerpiece of the park, which is a multi-function center. The area will have a fountain and splash pad in the summer months, as well as life-size chess and shuffleboard, which will sit next to the public restroom, locker rooms, and concession stand. However, in the winter months, the same area will be converted to an ice skating rink.

“This allows for us to have another sport in the community. We can have ice hockey, which many citizens travel to Kittanning or other communities to play,” Miles noted.

“We talked to the YMCA about them running this league and creating this opportunity, and the gentleman that runs the YMCA was more than excited about it because he was one of the kids who traveled to play ice hockey.”

According to Miles, when it isn’t being utilized for ice hockey, it will be available for open ice skating for the community.

“This is right in the middle of our town. This allows 6,000 people in our borough to be able to walk to this community park and use this for recreation.”

Miles noted the project is planned in three phases, with the first phase already underway. The first phase will include project engineering as well as the construction of the parking lot, the green space, and the playground, which the committee hopes to complete in summer 2021.

The second phase, which is planned for the following year, will include the construction of the basketball courts, tennis courts, and pavilion, and the third phase will be the construction of the centerpiece of the park, with the splash pad and ice rink.

Following Miles’ segment of the presentation, Blueprint Committee member Eric Funk presented on some of the funding for the project.

Funk explained that Melissa Bauer and Al Lander created Clarion County Adventures, which is the applicant for the tax credit program that is going to be helping to fund the park. He also reported the committee has met with representatives from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) regarding the tax credit program.

The committee currently has $377,000.00 pledged toward the project, according to Funk.

“We’re just as excited as we can be with this first effort,” he noted.

“We do intend to continue to use the Neighborhood Assistance Program in subsequent years, perhaps the full NAP program which would take us from a 75 percent to an 80 percent tax credit.”

He also noted that Farmers National Bank, First United National Bank, and Clarion County Community Bank are three of the larger donors for the program at the moment.

Clarion Blueprint Community Program Manager Jessica Funk also spoke about the financial end of the project, noting the committee is pursuing many avenues of funding, including a Gametime grant the committee received this week.

According to Funk, the total cost of the playground equipment is just over $180,000.00, and the grant will cover nearly 50 percent of that cost, with a 50 percent match in funds from the committee.

She noted the committee also plans to apply for a USDA Community Facilities Grant Program, as well as an EDA Public Works Assistance Program, CARES Act funding, and some possible programs through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) as well as DCED.

“We’re excited to see what we can get from these programs to make this park a reality.”

Following the presentation, Rep. Thompson asked about the total cost of the overall project, which Miles stated is currently estimated at around $3.4 million.

Thompson then made a suggestion for another possible avenue for helping fund the project.

“This is a funding source I’ve worked very actively in supporting,” Thompson said.

Thompson reported the funding source is the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal program funded through royalties from continental shelf energy production.

“I don’t see our communities benefiting from this for whatever reason in the past. It just struck me we have opportunities, and with your leadership, this would be a great one.”

According to Thompson, about $900 million per year is invested across the nation through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Thompson went on to say he would be very happy to see a project like the Clarion Community Park receive funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

“This is an exciting project; it’s well thought out, meeting community needs.”

Following the presentation on the community park, Thompson, Hutchinson, and Sterrett were also given a private, closed to media presentation on the Glassworks Business Park, American Precast Industries, and rural business development in our local area.

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