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SALISBURY TOWNSHIP A regularly scheduled meeting was held on the above date at the Salisbury Township Municipal Building located at 2900 South Pike Avenue, Allentown, PA 18103. The meeting was brought to order at 7:30 P.M. Committee members in attendance: Frank Adamcik, Walt Aungst, Antonella DiMatteo, Frank McCullough, and Mark Wilson. Township staff in attendance: Genny Baillie, Township Recreation Director. Approval of May 2010 Minutes: Old Business: New Business: One resident in attendance, who has lived on Andrea Drive for 13 years, expressed emphatically that the park has become overrun with non-resident older teens and young adults (he counted 31 just before this meeting and 32 the prior evening). His concerns with these large groups include (1) their constant use of profanity, (2) littering instead of using the readily available garbage receptacles, (3) their dangerous, illegal driving along the streets surrounding the park (speeding and ignoring the posted stop signs), (4) illegal parking along the streets (parking in front of residents’ driveways) and (4) their overall intimidating presence at the park discourages neighborhood families from bringing their children to the park. He stated that the large number of basketball hoops (eight) was excessive for a neighborhood park, being two or more times the number present in any other park in the Township (for example, Lindberg Park has four). He stated that he created a petition, which 42 neighborhood residents signed, requesting four of the eight hoops be removed. This petition was presented at the regular meeting of the Township Commissioners on July 8, 2010, and they referred his concerns to this committee. He feels as if the Township is saying, through their policy, that Green Acres Park belongs to the whole Lehigh Valley and not to the Township residents (including those in the neighborhood surrounding the park). He said that many who signed the petition would have attended these meetings, if not for the fear of retaliation if their names were published. Another resident in attendance, who has lived close to the park for over 36 years, was Fifth Ward Township Commissioner Joanne Ackerman. Ms. Ackerman echoed the concerns expressed by the other resident and also mentioned that drug deals have been seen, water pipes have been found, and marijuana smoke has wafted into her home from its alleged use at the park. She also recommended that the Township honor the request stated in the petition to take down four of the eight basketball hoops at least “for a time”, such as for the remainder of this year. After listening to these statements, the members of this committee expressed concerns that simply removing the basketball hoops would not necessarily solve the problem and could, in fact, make the situation worse, as having only four hoops at the park (the number currently used for the games) would mean that there would not be the additional four vacant hoops for use by neighbors and residents. The committee agreed that the best solution was increasing police presence at the park and, specifically, stricter enforcement of park rules and of traffic and parking laws. The police department had recently increased their patrolling of the park and its surrounding area in cars and on bicycle, and they had been issuing verbal warnings regarding the rules, but these warnings were apparently quickly disregarded after the police left and on subsequent days. The committee also felt that having more signs with the park rules posted in prominent locations (such as on each basketball hoop and behind the benches) would help police with enforcing those rules. The committee members agreed to bring ideas for the size and content of these signs along with other ideas to help with this situation to a separate meeting of the committee on Thursday, August 19th, where they will finalize their recommendations to be presented at the next regular meeting of the Township Commissioners. Summer Playground Program: Ms. Baillie reported that the program is doing very well because of the great group of counselors and cooperative weather (other than that both movie nights needed to be cancelled because of rain). Playground Day is scheduled for Wednesday, July 28th, at Lindberg Park. Daily attendance has been great: 50+ at Laubach Park, 30-35 at Lindberg Park, 20-25 at Green Acres Park, and 20+ at Devonshire Park. Township Bus Trips: Ms. DiMatteo has continued to explore the details regarding the Township organizing two bus trips for its residents. The committee discussed insurance coverage for these events. Ms. DiMatteo confirmed that the bus companies being considered are fully insured during transport of passengers to and from the destination of the event, but that their insurance does not provide coverage for these passengers while at the destination. There was general agreement that residents who attend such an event do so at their own risk and that the Township should not need to bear any costs of insurance for participants. Recreation Advisory Committee Bylaws: Mr. Adamcik distributed and presented the proposed updated Bylaws to the committee. On motion by Mr. Aungst, seconded by Mr. McCullough, the Recreation Committee approved the Bylaws as submitted. 2010 Project List: Mr. Adamcik distributed and presented the updated 2010 project list to the committee. September Parks Tour Dates: The committee will meet on Monday, September 13, 6:00PM, at Laubach Park to begin its tour of parks on the eastern side of the Township and it will also on Wednesday, September 15, 6:00PM, at Green Acres Park to begin its tour of parks on the western side of the Township. The motion to adjourn was made by Ms. DiMatteo, seconded by Mr. Wilson, and approved unanimously by the committee at 8:55PM. Next Meeting: Respectfully submitted,
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