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Town Park Talk

9 min read
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A sign adorns the fence at Canonsburg Town Park’s pickleball courts in June 2020.

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The rules for the use of pickleball courts are posted on a fence at Canonsburg Town Park.

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A sign hanging in Canonsburg Town Park

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During the winter months, when very little sunshine is visible, lots of work is being done behind the scenes to make the park enjoyable for the summer.

NEW VFW POST 191 PAVILION

The new pavilion has finally broken ground, and we are excited to see the progress. It will be located near the Velma Jeffery playground. We have decided to name it the VFW Post 191 pavilion in honor of the members who have always supported the park. Without their help over the years, our park would not have thrived, and we are grateful for their support. A major water line needs to be moved. Although this small setback has pushed our opening date a couple of weeks, it is planned to be available this summer. A drinking fountain will be installed, and we hope to add permanent restrooms next year. In the meantime, there will be an upscale port-a-potty replacing the existing one. The pavilion dedication will be in mid-August, as long as all goes well with the installation. There are still some amenities we would like to add to the project, so let us know if you are interested in helping out with the cost of landscaping, tables, sinks, etc. to make this the best new addition to our community park. We believe this will get a ton of usage, being at the entrance to Town Park, especially since it is next to the playground. Once all the enhancements are completed, this pavilion will be an excellent rental. It is approximately half the size of the Yoney Pavilion and will hold around 40-60 people.

BENCH AND PICNIC TABLE PROGRAMS

In anticipation of the new VFW Pavilion, Friends of the park is holding a picnic table campaign and hopes to provide tables toward this project. If interested, please see the provided flyer.

We only need one more table to reach our goal. Listed below are some of the people who have been gracious enough to support our needs to outfit the new pavilion with picnic tables.

David Holliday

Julie YarkoskyJ

Passante family

Russo family

Cunic family

Startare family

York family

Slovenian Savings and Loan Association

AHEPA 156 Philanthropic Society Inc.

PICKLEBALL

The Friends of Canonsburg Park Pickleball Youth Tournament has been canceled due to the coronavirus. Sponsorship was provided by Range Resource, Slovenian Savings and Loan Association, David Holliday and Washington Financial Bank of Canonsburg. We appreciated their support and look forward to holding the event next year. The tournament was free to students in middle and high school. If you would like to play in a youth tournament, contact: canonsburg.pickleball@gmail.com.

NEW SIGNAGE

We are delighted to announce the replacement of both of the main entrance signs to the park, as well as the addition of flags on the pathway poles connecting the two ball fields.

The new signs, produced by Printscape, will make a huge impact. Both prominently display the CTP logo. The sign at the Woodland entrance is the larger of the two, and also has the slogan “Creating Memories Since 1923”. The new signs are a continuation of our effort to update, brand and help with the logistics of the park. We are also working on a best practice document that will further support these efforts. Discussion is underway to plan and budget for an update of the park master plan, which will include the best practice document so that future generations have a road map to follow. This will be targeted and budgeted as a 2021 project.

CROSBY HOUSE

Along with a new roof, this historic structure is being painted, and several uses for this building are under consideration. Please feel free to let us know on Facebook what you would like to see here.

NIGHT AT THE RACES

Unfortunately, the Canonsburg Friends of the Park was not able to hold their first Night at the Races, scheduled for April 18. To raise funds for matching grant applications, this was to be our kick-off this year. We have been successful in our past efforts to secure funding for projects such as the basketball court and the new VFW pavilion currently under construction. Our group has seen that raising funds through volunteer efforts gives us an edge when applying to charitable foundations for matching funds and, in some cases, is required. To continue this funding effort, we need the community’s help. We are always looking for like-minded individuals to join in enhancing our Town Park. We hope to hold this and other fun events next year.

TOWN PARK POOL

The pool and pool house have been maintained over the winter months, and we are excited to announce the June 20 opening! While we will not be offering pool passes this year, the price remains the same for daily admission at $6.00. There will be discounted pricing for children ages 4-12 at $3, and kids 4 and under are free. Please be patient as we navigate through this new world of preparation and prevention so that we can all be safe and have fun. We are very fortunate to open the pool at all, as many communities have decided to stay closed this year. There will be signage with the new rules. We have gone to great lengths to open this year, so please follow the new rules and realize that we have to obey specific guidelines to remain open. Thus, we will not be open on the 4th of July as the rest of the festivities are canceled. We are considering keeping the concession stand open on this day for people who wish to use the park individually. The concession will be open with a limited menu – all food will be prepackaged, so please plan accordingly. There will be two constant cleaners from 12-6 each day, maintaining the hygiene of the common areas. The maximum capacity will be 250, and that includes employees. Please try to bring exact change to facilitate the lines. That said, Canonsburg Counsel has voted on building a new pool house on the original foundation, only slightly smaller. The new building will cost approximately $600,000 and has been under serious consideration for the past several years.

The new slide has been installed, and the old, larger slide has been secured and reinforced. You may notice Public Works in the pool area and all around the park. They do such a fantastic job all through the year, and behind the scenes, we are very fortunate to have such a great group working so hard for our community.

If you want to become a lifeguard, please contact Mr. Adam Manion at maniona@cmsd.k12.pa.us as several lifeguard and cleaning positions will be available this upcoming season.

CONCERTS IN THE PARK

Our summer concert series will indeed happen! We will be holding a limited concert season this year, starting on July 19 at 6:30 pm. All three concerts are scheduled to be held at the amphitheater. However, that could change at the last minute to a virtual show streamed on Facebook with no audience depending on the COVID-19 situation and other factors such as weather.

We had planned a substantial indoor concert fundraiser in the late fall, but unfortunately, that has had to be put on the agenda for next year. More details to come. The lineup is as follows:

House of Soul: July 19

East End Trouble: Aug. 6

Tom Terling Bank: Sept. 6

We would like to thank our sponsors, who helped make these concerts possible this year: Slovenian Savings and Loan, Sarris Candies, Robert A. Simonin Agency, Washington Financial and Country Paws Grooming.

Check Facebook or the borough website for upcoming news and details. We look forward to a great summer concert season. We are planning an exciting lineup!

LSA GRANT FOCUS: PATHWAYS AND ENTRANCEWAYS

For many years we have tried to consider the best solution to our deteriorating walkways and pathways throughout the park. Many areas are crumbling, disintegrating or are too steep to be safe. Most are not ADA compliant due to their age, and this is the main focus on our agenda for grant writing this summer. Along with the pathways, we are going to focus on walking bridges, culverts, storm drains and much-needed drinking fountains throughout the park. Several fountains have been vandalized over the years, so we are looking at indestructible, if possible, replacement possibilities. The cost of this massive project is over $250,000. Matching funds will be needed for these projects if awarded. We will reach out to the borough for assistance, but this needs community support. With all of our fundraisers canceled this year, this matching requirement is becoming ever more difficult.

SOFTBALL

The fields are being excavated, getting ready for play as summer is right around the corner, and girls softball with it. Many new enhancements have been added to these fields, and the numbers of youth playing are increasing and getting younger every year. This season the concession stand is being painted, and new signage is all around – come on up and check it out!

PARK TREES

Unfortunately, with the age of our park comes the maintenance of removing trees and stumps. This is a project for us every year and can be quite costly, depending on the number and age of the trees that need attention. If you have any interest or ability to work on the addition of trees to our park, please let us know.

WATERFALL

There is a natural spring waterfall located in the middle of the park below the pickleball courts. The site had been vandalized and hence abandoned since its first implementation approximately 20 years ago. The general concept of architecture is being designed, and bids are being gathered to recreate this fantastic natural water feature. It was initially named Louga Falls, as Lou Gadani was instrumental in its first creation. The new renovation of this area will be constructed with boulders and landscaped with flowers when complete. It will not be too deep for safety reasons, but it will be a beautiful enhancement to our park. If you would like to help with this project, please contact Lou at 724-724-7968.

We are always looking for volunteers on the Park Board and Friends of the Park. Please let us know if you would be interested in volunteering.

For more information on any of the above, contact Terri J. Startare at startare1@verizon.net.

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