South Strabane Township disbands parks and recreation commission
The South Strabane Township Board of Supervisors enacted an ordinance this week that will dissolve the parks and recreation commission.
The supervisors voted 3-2 to do away with the commission at their meeting Tuesday. Supervisors Bob Weber and Russ Grego voted against it.
Earlier this year supervisors had reopened the budget and developed a new spending plan that would have cut the $10,000 allocated to parks and recreation. However, that revised budget never came to fruition because it was not properly advertised prior to the Feb. 15 deadline.
Supervisor Jeff Bull said the decision to move ahead with the cut “was more of a budgetary reason than anything.
“Ten thousand dollars doesn’t sound like a lot of money. It doesn’t take into account the $6,000 public works put in there. It doesn’t take into account the staff time to do it,” Bull said. “I think what people have to understand, financially South Strabane is upside down … We either fix the spending or we raise taxes. It’s that simple.”
Township resident Joe Roach spoke in support of the parks and recreation commission at Tuesday’s meeting.
Who doesn’t love a park? An area of our township for all to enjoy, out in the open air, green grass. It gets folks away from their ever present screens … A lot is happening at the parks. Even memorials, birthdays and holiday events. If I didn’t know better, that all sounds like positive energy floating throughout our South Strabane Township communities. From what I understand, it’s not a costly venture. Much is provided through volunteerism,” Roach said.
Parks and recreation had helped to put on multiple events in South Strabane, such as Breakfast with Santa during the holiday season.
Bull said the future of those events “remains to be seen.”
“Is that what government is supposed to do? Is that government’s responsibility?” Bull said.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, supervisors approved a $435 payment to GG&C Bus Company to provide a shuttle for the March 31 public hearing on the data center ordinance.
The hearing is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. at the South Strabane Fire Department station at 172 Oak Spring Road. Due to limited parking, there will be a shuttle available at the nearby parking lot of Big Lots in Oak Spring Center.