Friday, May 18, 2012
Parks, roads departments being consolidated; county's legal department being rebuilt
Last fall, residents thronged a hearing held by the previous Montgomery County administration after a preliminary version of the 2012 operating budget proposed the elimination of the county's parks department, among other drastic funding cuts. That Board of Commissioners eventually passed a budget that hiked property taxes by 17.5 percent and kept the Parks and Heritage Services department intact. Thursday morning, Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro announced that the department had been eliminated, after all. Parks and Heritage will soon cease to exist. The same goes for the Public Property department and the department of Roads and Bridges. In their place will be a single, new department: Infrastructure and Public Assets. "The …
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Horsham Land Reuse Authority acted on 17 notices of interest submitted for various parcels of Willow Grove air base, including roadways that would be extended through the property.
Transportation is king for the Willow Grove air base redevelopment. And, with an airport decidedly out of the picture, the Horsham Land Reuse Authority agreed Wednesday that including other modes of transportation, such as bike trails and roads, is key. The HLRA gave the ok for further consideration to just under half of the 17 notices of interest for various entities looking to acquire land for free or at a dramatically reduced cost. For the most part, that means the HLRA’s consultant, RKG Associates, will incorporate those greenlighted applications into one of three potential redevelopment plans to be presented at the HLRA’s Aug. 17 meeting. “Our approval or acceptance of an NOI provides direction,” HLRA Chairman W. William Whiteside …
Saturday, June 18, 2011
UD P&R is phasing out common grass for more efficient warm season grasses.
With the summer quickly approaching and the season's warmest weather with it, many Upper Dublin residents have been heading to Mondauk Common, the township's largest park, for some exercise, games or relaxation. However, what they might be wondering, as they approach the corner of the park located on Susquehanna and Broad, is what is with that huge brown patch amongst the rest of the green grass in the well-maintained park? And the answer, according to township Parks and Recreation director Derek Dureka, is that it's just a temporary eyesore that will soon be taken over by a new planting initiative. "What we're doing is killing off the cold season grasses, and planting for warm season grasses," Dureka explains. "These you only have to mow …
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The MonDaug Bark Park, founded in 2005, is in urgent need of turf care
Built in 2005 due to a high demand for a dog park in the area, Upper Dublin's Mondaug Bark Park is situated on one acre of property within the Mondauk Manor Park. Residents originally petitioned for the park, but unfortunately the township could not provide the necessary funds to take on the project. As a result, a group of motivated community organizers and dog owners called the Friends of the MonDaug Bark Park formed in 2004 to pick up the slack. They managed to raise $25,000, which paid for the fences and the various necessities of the park like benches, bag dispensers and a bulletin board. It was a great park when it first opened, full of lush grass and was well maintained. Dogs and owners alike loved it. Now however, as a result of …
Lee
9:30 am on Monday, May 21, 2012
Mr. Starr worked for the GSA in Phila yikes. GSA does not have a stellar reputation for cost cutting for a Federal Agency. You know one of the reason so many people attending in the Fall, was because Park officials and outdoorsy businesses had sent out email alerts falsely saying all the parks and trails were going to completely close forever, so of course everyone rose up! Can you say propaganda… more ›