Borough Council eyes moving forward with plansA measure came before Borough Council in March 1999, in which council members expressed their support for several proposed features including a biking path, sledding hill, an ice skating rink, a sculpture garden, two picnic areas, parking areas, a perimeter trail, a nature trail, managed meadows, and 6 acres of grass.
By: Mark Moffa
ALLENTOWN Richard Switlik, in his final meeting as a Borough Council member, pushed the council to take action on Heritage Park, pointing to the governing body’s inability to move on an agreement made two years ago.
The land for the park was purchased approximately eight years ago through the state’s Green Acres program. And now, with an announcement Dec. 21 that the borough received a $20,000 donation for the park, Mr. Switlik is hopeful the council will begin to move on the issue.
"I’ve been working very hard to give it some kind of direction," Mr. Switlik said Tuesday.
He said he was able to reach an agreement in 1999 with the business community, Environmental Commission, and Recreation Commission to allow 6 acres of grass in the park, which has entrances behind the Old Mill on South Main Street and from Gordon Street.
A measure came before Borough Council in March 1999, in which council members expressed their support for several proposed features including a biking path, sledding hill, an ice skating rink, a sculpture garden, two picnic areas, parking areas, a perimeter trail, a nature trail, managed meadows, and 6 acres of grass.
The ice skating rink would have to be removable to comply with Green Acres statutes, which call for no permanent structures in the park.
"The 6 acres of grass is key to moving forward," Mr. Switlik said.
Mr. Switlik said the rest of the plans for the park likely would proceed once the grass was installed and people could begin using the land.
In 1999, Mayor Stu Fierstein appointed a panel consisting of members from every committee or commission in the borough to examine the park situation and deliver recommendations to the council as to how to go about accomplishing the agreed-upon measures.
"I think the mayor had a great idea with the creation of a blue ribbon panel," Mr. Switlik said.
But, according to township officials, the panel did not have a quorum for any of its six scheduled meetings last year, and no progress was made.
Mayor Fierstein said he will try to fix that problem this year.
"After reorganization I will be sending a letter to each commission and committee asking that they officially appoint two people," he said. Last year, each group was individually responsible for sending someone to the meetings.
Over the last two to three years, about 400 trees and shrubs were planted in the 37-acre park in an effort to begin creating the nature trail and the area has been cleaned, Mayor Fierstein said.
That’s about the only action that has taken place, however.
The obstacles, Mr. Switlik said, are the lack of funding and the differences in opinion that remain between those in the borough.
"Everyone looks at it and sees something different," Mr. Switlik said.
On the one extreme, he said, are those who would like to see virtually nothing happen to the park; these people would like the whole park to become a type of managed meadow.
"On the other extreme are those who see it as an athletic field complex," Mr. Switlik said.
Although he’s unhappy with the lack of recent action, Mr. Switlik, who chose not to run for re-election last year, is hoping the borough will begin the arduous task of installing the grass this year.
"It would take some pretty heavy equipment to get it to the point where you could plant grass," he said. Many of the plants have been there for a long time, he said, and have developed an extensive root system.
Mr. Switlik said he and Councilman Art West mapped where the grass will go and the location was agreed upon by all of the groups in the borough.
He said at the Dec. 21 Borough Council meeting that there seems to be a lack of understanding as to which commissions or committees are responsible for which portions of the park project.
He also criticized the borough’s government in general, saying there is a lack of communication between committees and the council and between the committees themselves.
Mr. Switlik also accused council members of "looking at the clock waiting to get out" of the council meetings, a charge Mayor Fierstein quickly took umbrage with.
"It’s not a matter of looking at the clock," the mayor said.
"Time was a factor," Mr. Switlik responded.
On Tuesday, Mr. Switlik downplayed his earlier comments, saying "Everybody is very busy."
Mayor Fierstein said the groups involved in the "blue ribbon" committee are the Recreation Commission, the Shade Tree Commission, Historic Preservation Committee, the Environmental Commission, the Economic Development Committee, and the Americans With Disabilities Act Committee.