AN The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, November 22, 2000 3 Rec park (continued from page 1) went out to look at the 80-acre plot — and were amazed at what they saw. “This is an excellent piece of land for what we want to do,” Sutton said, noting it had {lat land, gradual slopes, wooded hill- sides, rustic areas, fields —all the ideal kinds of terrain for the project. Ina further stroke of luck, there were 50 additional acres, contiguous to the plot, owned by private individuals. When Sutton and Baker detailed to the owners what they hoped to do with the land, they said, “For that kind of purpose, we'll sell the property.” Later, when Sutton, Baker and Rick Allén were in Senator Lemmond’s office in Harrisburg to discuss the project with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), they looked at the properties on a map, and discovered they were almost exactly geographically in the middle of 10 Back Mountain com- munities. e intend to build, cor struct, and maintain this project without a tax increase.’ Gary Baker Rec board member The BMR Board has since pur- chased options for both proper- ties, and intends to buy them within theyear. Rep. George Hasay helped with a grant from the De- partment of Community Economic Development; other funds came from the Sordoni Foundation and anonymous donors. Once the properties are bought, they will be used for recreation or environ- mental conservation purposes only — they will never be devel- oped. Baker explained: there would be three main phases to the project. The first and most critical phase is to acquire the land and do a feasibility study. It is hoped funding will come primarily from grants, Baker said. “We feel con- fident, but grants are very com- petitive,” he added. DCNR will pay 50 percent of the property value, but the remainder needs to be raised by BMR. Estimated cost tor the entire project is $15 million. "How is it going to be paid for?” Sutton asked. “I haven't the slightest idea.” Various fund-raisers and contributions from individuals Coy LD rus F: 70) Pha id Ad PAC Sd ror = A drawing shows the proposed Back Mountain Sports and Recreation Comples. and corporations are the most likely means of raising money; using tax money is not an option, Baker said. “We intend to build, construct, and maintain this project without a tax increase.” The feasibility study is to en- sure the project can be done, funds can be obtained, and the project can be managed and maintained long-term. This study is funded by a “peer-to-peer” grant from DCNR; Julie McMonagle has been hired as the peer counselor for the project, and she will direct the studies and help to get the com- munity involved. “It's important to understand how important phase one is,” Baker said. McMonagle agreed. “There's a lot of funding through DCNR to build, but there's not a lot of money available through the state to maintain,” she said, which is why it's so crucial to do these studies. The first phase has already started, and should be done by August, 2001, which is when the 12-month options to buy the prop- erties end; by fall of that year, the second phase will begin, once DCNR reviews the report and de- cides whether or not to fund the “There's a lot of funding through DCNR to build, but there's not a lot of money available through the state to maintain.” Julie McMonagle Peer counselor for project project. The second phase entails the development of the outdoor, or passive, part of the recreational complex. All the outside work will be done during this phase: the fields, the trails, the picnic areas, and so on will all put into place. “From there the project becomes sort of a work-in-progress,” Baker said. After the second phase is com- pleted, the third will begin: decid- ing on the indoor facilities, which will be the last and most difficult — not to mention most expensive — phase of the project. “Wee going to do this project whether phase three happens or not,” Sutton said. “The indoor facilities will be the icing on the cake.” Baker said the surveys showed, interestingly, the most requested feature for the indoor facility was a coffee shop. Dr. Griffiths said a TR POPPI TDI SRE ET A 2 wn 8 it . 3 J N Grotto! Grot » IE 4 Pi I ie: 2 | ® N 0 NE b alljemen Sil “51%, a 5S Er JE ve E~ Come a ) See » The Parade of Trees at Grotto Pizza Harveys Lake Now on Display I ta SA rotto > Piz “== the legendary taste nan Ye Make Your Holiday Party Reservations Now! * Cozy Fireplace and Lakeview Dining « The Perfect Holiday Setting Parties of 20 to 120 «Call 639-1264 Today!! J Dh 77a AS z 47, re: 45d A xed po Zoey WE Sh 45 5 45 a ER Zo EA: A frecsrenormns 8: (fo fir BofA mR LATA PAF or PAF BAB A Pl FAP BAP A FGA Po coffee shop would be “a place for adults to go and gather and have a place for themselves” while their children are playing sports. “I love indoor facilities,” BMR board member Rich Coslett said. Coslett said he had done studies on indoor facilities and visited many. There are already several gyms in the area, he said, and they are all filled to capacity; the proposed one at the recreational complex would be for organized and unorganized sports, from basketball and volleyball .to track and weightlifting. “I envision an indoor facility that doesn’t. have bleachers — a heavy-use facility.” “I envision an indoor Jacility that doesn’t have bleachers — a heavy-use facility.” Rich Coslett * Bec board member Coslett said. “Sports are a great way to bring people together ... sports are the great equalizer.” Several members of the audi- ence asked questions about such concerns as lighting, traffic safety, and the opportunity for further growth of the recreation center. Rich Gorgone of Dallas, the ath- letic director at Lake-Lehman, asked if the Back Mountain Little League would move into the facili- ties, and whether its fund-raising money would go to the recreation center. Sutton said the board had spoken with the Back Mountain organizations and they have yet to decide what to do. As for the fund-raisers, Sutton said, there would be a small fee for use of the fields which would go towards maintenance, but the League would keep most of its money. Jim McCarthy of Lehman asked whether a pool at the recreation center would have an influence on the pool being built at Dallas. Karen Kyle, a member of the Dal- las School Board, said the de- mand for pool use was greater than the current facilities could provide. : Gary Baker implored people to get involved. “Talk with a neigh- bor, talk with a friend, go out for coffee and talk about the project,” he said. Dave Sutton agreed. “If we have another one of these,” he said at the end of the meeting, “make sure you come and bring your friends and relatives.” Who's on board? The Back Mountain Recre- ation board of directors are: Dave Sutton, Chairman; Rick Allen, Gary Baker, Jeff Box, Richard Coslett, Gilbert Griffiths, Joe Killeen, Karen Kyle, Joan Makowski, Eric Marquart, Shirley Moyer, Kevin Rose and Kathleen Sav- age. Volunteers clean up ehildren’ s books A “Wash, Repair, Replace or Withdraw” project in the children’s room at the Back Mountain Memorial Library was launched recently to remind the children to care for the books they check out by respecting them and keeping them from being damaged. They shouldn’t eat or drink while handling library books, and they should return them on time so that others may read them. : Pictured washing books are Janna Schmid, left photo, and Rita Rusnak and June Jones, above. Rita and June have been volunteers forfive years. Janna, who lives in Shavertown, is a sophomore at Bishop O'Reilly High School. 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